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.
ALABAMA LIVING is delivered to some 420,000 Alabama families and businesses, which are members of 22 not-for-profit, consumer-owned, locally directed and taxpaying electric cooperatives. Subscriptions are $12 a year for individuals not subscribing through participating Alabama electric cooperatives. Alabama Living (USPS 029-920) is published monthly by the Alabama Rural Electric Association of Cooperatives. Periodicals postage paid at Montgomery, Alabama, and at additional mailing office.
POSTMASTER send forms 3579 to: Alabama Living, P.O. Box 244014 Montgomery, Alabama 36124-4014.
ALABAMA RURAL ELECTRIC ASSOCIATION
AREA President
Karl Rayborn
Editor Lenore Vickrey
Managing Editor
Allison Law
Creative Director
Mark Stephenson
Art Director
Danny Weston
Advertising Director
Jacob Johnson
Graphic Designer/Production Coordinator
Brooke Echols
ADVERTISING & EDITORIAL OFFICES:
340 TechnaCenter Drive
Montgomery, Alabama 36117-6031
1-800-410-2737
For advertising, email: advertising@areapower.com For editorial inquiries, email: contact@alabamaliving.coop
NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE: American MainStreet Publications 611 South Congress Ave., Suite 504 Austin, Texas 78704
1-800-626-1181
www.AMP.coop
www.alabamaliving.coop
USPS 029-920 • ISSN 1047-0311
FEATURES
6
24
Field to Market
LIGHT UP NAVAJO
Crews from two Alabama electric cooperatives traveled to Arizona in July to help in a national effort to bring electricity to members of the Navajo Nation.
Wiregrass family keeps produce fresh and affordable.
Beacon for seafood
About 24 miles from Dauphin Island —stands a beacon of seafood— the Lighthouse Restaurant. Many claim it has the best in Alabama.
51 Annual WEC
Christmas Art Contest
Entry forms are available now.
Look for this logo to see more content online! 51
ON THE COVER
C&B Farm and Produce Market in Wicksburg sells many products, such as canned and jellied peppers, deer corn and more. Read about the family farm on Page 6.
Board of Trustees
David Winstead District 9 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
Kip Justice District 6
Donald Ray Wilks District 7
Greg McCullough District 8
Turning wheels of history
BRAD KIMBRO CEO Wiregrass Electric Cooperative
Eighty-five years ago, families in this area came together to bring electricity to the Wiregrass by forming a cooperative, Wiregrass Electric. It was a history-making moment that made our way of life possible. This cooperative honors that history and the path it laid for us to continue growing and coming together as a community.
Electricity has made us more connected. Six years into our Broadband for the Wiregrass partnership with C Spire, formerly Troy Cable, we’ve made tremendous progress in bringing broadband internet to the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of those families. Because of this partnership, the vast majority of our member-owners today have access to reliable highspeed fiber internet. Much like electricity did for our community in the 1940s, this utility improves lives and builds a better future for this corner of rural America.
Electricity also transformed our local agriculture. When electricity first came to Wiregrass farms, something as seemingly simple as electric lighting improved agricultural productivity. Farmers could spend more time in their fields instead of rushing home to tend to household chores before sundown. Today’s modern equipment and technology allow them to manage irrigation systems, maintain optimal storage conditions for their produce, keep tabs on their inventory and run their operations more smoothly.
While harvests can be unpredictable by nature, reliable power helps farmers and sellers meet the food demands of our community and beyond. You can read on Page 6 about how one
farmer and his family who run C&B Farm and Produce in Wicksburg are doing that in our community.
And we’re not stopping here. As far as we’ve come, there are always ways to improve that benefit our members. That’s why I was grateful to accept an invitation to Washington, D.C., to advocate for better processes that help electric co-ops get emergency aid when a disaster hits. This measure would improve cooperatives’ ability to borrow money to rebuild their systems quickly. At Wiregrass Electric Cooperative, we’re always focused on our members and keeping costs as low as possible for you.
From the Silent Heroes we honor in this magazine every month, to small family businesses providing valuable services to their community, to our members who donate to Operation Round Up Foundation every month, there are so many good people in our community who make me proud to live here and be a part of the Wiregrass. And I am proud to work for you.
At Wiregrass Electric, we take our role in supporting local businesses and helping to secure a bright future for all seriously, keeping in mind everyone who lives, works and runs a business in our area. And as always, our primary mission is to keep serving you with affordable and reliable electricity. We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished together and excited for what’s to come.
Be sure to tune into our 85th Annual Meeting on Oct. 18, which will be livestreamed at noon on the Wiregrass Electric Cooperative Facebook page to learn more about what’s going at your cooperative.
WE WILL BE CLOSED FOR THE LABOR DAY HOLIDAY MONDAY, SEPT. 2.
2024 Annual Meeting Packet COMING SOON
Look out for the Wiregrass Electric Cooperative 2024 Annual Meeting packet, arriving in your mailbox soon. This packet is your guide to understanding what we have achieved together in the past year and where WEC is heading next. Inside, you’ll find:
§ 2024 Annual Report
§ Profiles of board candidates in Districts 2, 5 and 8
§ A ballot
§ Registration card
Participate and win
§ Return the mail-in registration in the provided envelope by Oct. 17 to earn a $5 bill credit.
§ All registered participants are automatically entered into a drawing to win several large bill credits, including two top prizes of $500 each.
By participating, you‘re engaging in our democratic process, electing your representation on the board of trustees.
Annual Meeting details
It’s easier than ever to participate in our Annual Meeting. We’ll be livestreaming the entire meeting, including the prize drawing, so you can join in from anywhere.
WHEN: Friday, Oct. 18, starting at noon WHERE: A livestream on WEC’s Facebook page. Can’t make it? A recording of the meeting will be available for later viewing.
Why tune in?
The 2024 Annual Meeting is an opportunity to learn in detail about your co-op’s performance, accomplishments and future plans from WEC’s leadership. These meetings are integral to our mission of serving you with transparency and accountability.
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.
Payment Options
BY MAIL
WIREGRASS ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE PO BOX 70878
CHARLOTTE NC 28272-0878
WEBSITE
Payments may be made 24 hrs/day by Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express and E-Check on our website at www.wiregrass.coop.
PHONE PAYMENTS
Payments may be made any time by dialing 1-800-239-4602.
NIGHT DEPOSITORY AND KIOSKS Available at each office location.
IN PERSON
Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Payment kiosks are also available 24/7 in all offices.
Locations:
• 509 N. State Hwy. 167 • Hartford, AL 36344
• 13148 W. State Hwy. 52 • Samson, AL 36477
• 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.
of Community Power
Wicksburg’s C&B Farm and Produce Market is rooted in family, tradition
Ludell Edmonson shells peas by hand in between helping customers on a busy Tuesday morning at the market.
On a sunny summer day at C&B Farm and Produce Market in Wicksburg, Ludell Edmonson might be inside hand-shelling peas after a surprisingly good harvest. Nearby, Linda Edmonson — widow of the late Charlie Edmonson, the “C” in C&B — is probably chatting up customers, asking them about their day while they shop the fresh fruits and vegetables on display. Bobby Edmonson — the “B” in C&B — could be at the farm tending to tasks like fixing a tractor, gathering fresh tomatoes or blueberries to take to the market or defrosting a cooler at the store.
The market is open year-round, with summer being the busiest season for this family-run farm and produce business — and that means there’s always something to do.
“I’ve been in the farming and produce business all my life,” Bobby says. “I started this with my brother in 1972. My brother Charlie passed away in 2020, but we built this together.”
It started with melons
For decades, the brothers row-cropped rented land, raising cotton, peanuts, soybeans and corn. Then they tried watermelons — harkening back to the days of their youth when they would sell tomatoes and watermelons around Slocomb and Hartford. The fruit was profitable, despite having to be hauled around to markets in Birmingham.
That is, until those markets became saturated with melons in 2000.
“So I brought them back here and sold them straight to the public,” Bobby says. Out of a pickup truck and trailer, he and his brother hawked melons on the side of the road. Bobby estimates they sold 300 on their first day, making a pretty penny. They wanted to do more of it. So, they diversified.
They started growing peas, butterbeans, peaches, tomatoes, cantaloupes, potatoes, squash, cucumbers, turnips, blackberries, sweet corn, okra, peppers and more. And that’s how C&B Farm and Produce Market began.
On the corner where their farmland abuts Highway 84, where their farmland abuts, the same spot where they first started selling their melons, they set up a produce stand and later built a small building to front their new venture.
“It’s good for our farm and good for moving our produce, not having to go off and sell it to other places,” Bobby says. “It helps the customers, too, because we can sell it at a cheaper price cause it’s less people handling the produce. Every time it changes hands, the price goes up.”
From field to market
Now, the Edmonson family manages a smaller farm, sharecropping over 250 acres with other local farmers for their peanut and cotton production, while independently managing 40 acres for fruits and vegetables. This arrangement provides their business with stability. While there’s often only one chance to produce a peanut or cotton crop, there are more opportunities with produce.
“Like these peas right here we’re shelling, they made a good crop,” Linda says. “We thought they’d dried up and died, but it started raining. This is the second crop. We were totally shocked.”
Bobby adds, “And they’re still making more.”
A way of life
The Edmonsons’ roots in agriculture run deep. Bobby, Charlie and their five siblings
grew up working their grandfather’s farm. Their great-grandfather was a farmer, too. And Bobby and his siblings kept up the tradition with their kids and grandkids. One of his grandsons, who’s worked alongside Bobby on the farm since he was 4, is now “beating the bush” every day, Bobby says.
When Bobby is asked if he ever considered a different career path, he swiftly responds, “Nope. I wouldn’t change it for nothing.”
Farming is a tough life requiring hard work. There are also many challenges, like unpredictable weather, market fluctuations and changing government regulations. But Bobby and his family say they get by on faith. “It does get hard — it’s not all roses,” Bobby says. “The good Lord has blessed us, and we depend on God to guide us through these slow times and keep us grounded in the good times.”
Strength in community
They have a close relationship with local community members, who’ve become loyal patrons of their produce market over the years. But every customer who approaches the corner store is treated like an old friend. The family hosts groups and other vendors often, giving them a venue to barbecue, sell their wares or fundraise for various causes. Bobby also stages flowers in the garden to provide photo opportunities for visitors.
Meeting their customers face-to-face helps them know what products are in demand. Over the years, the family has added products such as deer corn, syrup made from sugar cane processed on-site and pepper sauces and jellies. Many years ago, they learned that people wanted already-shelled peas, ready for cooking. “When we got pea shellers, it was a big boon for us,” Linda says.
Another popular item is boiled peanuts, a Southern delicacy, often sold in bulk to later be purchased at high school football games. And they still sell watermelons.
The best part about their business, though, is that he’s always surrounded by his family, Bobby says while sitting across from his wife, Margie, and his sisters-in-law, Linda and Ludell. All of his kids and grandkids and many of his nieces and nephews have helped out with the business, in some capacity, so they all know the ropes. He hopes that the next generation will continue the family’s farming tradition.
Summer is the busiest season of the year for the C&B Farm and Produce Market.
From left, Margie, Bobby and Linda Edmonson agree that C&B Farm and Produce Market is a family affair, the best aspect of the business.
Advocating for affordability
Improved federal aid crucial for rural electric co-ops
Federal aid that helps electric cooperatives repair their systems in the wake of disasters is important for maintaining affordability, said Brad Kimbro, CEO of Wiregrass Electric Cooperative in testimony before the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Subcommittee on Rural Development and Energy.
“Responding to a disaster is not just about physical damage,” Kimbro told the subcommittee. “These storms take an emotional toll on our communities and our cooperative employees.”
Kimbro highlighted the impact of Hurricane Michael in 2018, which struck the eastern part of WEC’s service territory, causing around $8 million in damage. He emphasized the vital role of the Rural Utilities Service, or RUS, work plan and the Federal Emergency Management Agency Public Assistance, or FEMA PA, process in financing recovery efforts.
“We are grateful that we were able to work within our RUS work plan to finance recovery efforts and ultimately secure reimbursement through the FEMA PA process,” Kimbro testified. “It is hard to overstate the importance of these programs. Without them, higher electric bills would have placed financial strain on the communities we serve, with our most vul-
nerable members feeling it the most.”
However, Kimbro pointed out that while these programs are crucial, they often come with significant delays and bureaucratic hurdles, making them less effective in immediate-need situations.
“Securing an RUS electric infrastructure loan requires time and extensive paperwork,” he said. “An electric utility focused on response and recovery after a hurricane or other severe weather event needs access to capital quickly. For this reason, obtaining a new RUS electric infrastructure loan for rebuilding is not an option.”
Kimbro also addressed the challenges associated with FEMA’s disaster relief aid, citing some co-ops’ lengthy delays in receiving assistance. He noted that some co-ops in Alabama and Florida have waited years for reimbursement after hurricanes or storms, which forces them to take out large loans or draw down on lines of credit to cover recovery costs.
“It is a major issue of concern for those co-ops, particularly when they are required to take out large loans or draw down on lines of credit to cover the imme-
diate costs of recovery to return their communities’ and residents’ lives back to normal as quickly as possible,” Kimbro said. “When electric cooperatives must borrow to cover these recovery costs until reimbursement is made, it means potentially years of accumulating interest, the cost of which is borne by the cooperative consumer-members.”
Kimbro urged senators to support the FEMA Loan Interest Payment Relief Act, which would require FEMA to reimburse electric co-ops and local governments for the interest paid on loans to rebuild their systems. He argued that this act would provide much-needed financial relief and help keep rates affordable for cooperative members.
“I am thankful for the opportunity to advocate for sensible solutions to the issues facing electric cooperatives,” Kimbro added. “I want to express my gratitude to Chairman Sen. Peter Welch and ranking member Sen. Tommy Tuberville for their commitment to addressing these critical challenges.”
From left, WEC CEO Brad Kimbro, Sen. Tommy Tuberville, and Mark Bohlin, general manager of Perdido Bay Water, Sewer and Fire Protection District, gather after a Senate hearing on emergency response and federal aid.
Power line landscapes
“High Wires and Hollywood Heifers”: The unfinished Bellefonte Nuclear Generating Station in Hollywood. SUBMITTED by Barbara Tillery, Mentone.
and
The most beautiful sunsets can be found in Battleground AL along the power lines! SUBMITTED by Lisa Wilkins, Danville.
The Tennessee River at Flint Creek and the mouth of Point Mallard. SUBMITTED by Nikki Wilhite, Hartselle.
November theme: “Hunting Season” | Deadline: September 30
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.
Andrew Grice loves riding
taking pictures of power lines of all kinds. SUBMITTED by Dianne and Andrew Grice, Clio.
Sunset in Dothan. SUBMITTED by Regina Studnicka-Szabo, Dothan.
Spotlight | September
Alabama co-ops help with storm restoration
On Aug. 5, several Alabama crews traveled to areas of Florida hit by Hurricane Debby, which made landfall as a category 1 storm along the Gulf Coast of Florida. Baldwin EMC, Central Alabama EC, Clarke-Washington EMC, Coosa Valley EC, Covington EC, Pea River EC and Pioneer EC sent a total of 55 men, including service and right-of-way crews, to Talquin EC, headquartered in Quincy, Fla.
At the height of the storm, more than 21,500 services, or about 39 percent of its total services, were without power.
When the Alabama crews were released on Aug. 7, the men from Covington EC continued on to Tri-County EC, headquartered in Madison, Fla. The men from Covington were among more than 500 lineworkers, right-of-way and support personnel working to get the lights back on at Tri-County. After the storm passed through, nearly 19,500 of the co-op’s 21,000 meters were without power.
Another storm system blew through north Georgia on July 30. To assist in restoration there, Tallapoosa River EC sent personnel to North Georgia EMC, and Sand Mountain EC and Central Alabama EC went to Amicalola EMC, headquartered in Jasper, Ga. The Tallapoosa River crews continued on to Amicalola when they were released. A total of 27 men from the Alabama co-ops traveled to Georgia to help there.
Alabama students bring invention, ingenuity to aerospace industry
Universities across Alabama have become hubs of aerospace innovation, with student and faculty projects that offer promising contributions for the global industry.
Among the interesting aerospace initiatives going on at the state’s universities:
• The Astrobotics team at the University of Alabama recently notched its ninth win in a robotic competition held in a simulated lunar environment.
• Auburn University students also competed in an aerospace contest last spring, achieving a top 20 international finish for its remote-controlled airplane built for the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Design, Build, Fly competition.
• At Tuskegee University, students are developing small spacecraft, called CubeSats, which orbit the earth while conducting scientific experiments. The school is the first and only historically black college or university to offer a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering.
• And a NASA grant is fueling the work of two University of Alabama at Huntsville researchers who are studying lightning flashes detected in space and what they reveal about developing thunderstorms.
This story originally appeared on the Alabama Department of Commerce’s Made in Alabama website.
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 October issue.
Submit by email: whereville@alabamaliving.coop, or by mail: Whereville, P.O. Box 244014, Montgomery, AL 36124.
August’s answer: This wooden railroad water tower, lower left, in Red Bay, Alabama has been moved to the site of the future Red Bay Railroad Park that already has a caboose donated to the Red Bay Museum and will soon have a steam locomotive from the 1920s. The water tower was known to be in place by 1907 from photographs. Not one board came off the tower when it was moved. (See photo at right, contributed by Vollie Pierce of Franklin EC).
The town has a new website, redbaymuseum.org, that has been updated recently and highlights the small-town museum there. (Photo contributed by Scotty Kennedy) The randomly drawn correct guess winner is Connie Yurechko of Franklin EC.
Enjoyed ‘Princess’ column
I just wanted to write a note to say how much I loved your article, “The Princess and the Pony” (“Cup o’ Joe,” July 2024). I was smiling and chuckling all the way through the article. One day you should leave that car to Rilynne along with a copy of this written story. I enjoy most all of your written stories very much. Thanks for giving us a good chuckle; you are appreciated!
Carol Islands, Thorsby
Crew from Central Alabama EC replaces broken pole.
Find the hidden dingbat!
We got a record number of correct submissions (over 400) for the August “Find the Dingbat” contest, leading us to believe that we might have made it too easy? Whatever the case, we were glad to hear from so many readers who enjoyed spotting the Olympic torch on the beach on Page 26. Or, as Charlotte Stewart of Gilbertown, a member of Black Warrior EMC put it, “from the Olympics to the sands of coastal Alabama.” And Vivian Walker of Union Springs, a member of Dixie EC, wrote us, “While the world is focused on the Olympic Games which includes lots of swimming, thank you for reminding us that when we go to the beach, rip currents are dangerous!” Teresa Bloom of Arab EC even told us that she got some help from her “little 10-year-old Shih-tzu.” Caleb Richards, 17, was visiting his grandparents in Gulf Shores one weekend and his grandfather showed him the article and he began looking. When he came to Page 26, “My initial thought was that they wouldn’t hide it in such a serious picture which depicts a group of lifeguards rescuing a swimmer,” he wrote. Yet he noticed
along!
Marilyn Peters of Gallion, a member of Black Warrior EMC, toured the Pacific coast and visited Redwood National Park, including this stop to view interesting carvings at Trees of Mystery
one of the umbrellas “looked a bit off. For starters, it didn’t have anything under it (chair, towel bag, etc.), and then I realized it was silver.” He compared it to the torch image in the instructions and realized they were a match.
Congratulations to our randomly drawn winner, Gloria Annette King of Southern Pine EC, who wins a gift card from Alabama One Credit Union. This month we’ve hidden a football helmet for all you fall sports fans out there. Good luck!
By email: dingbat@alabamaliving.coop
By mail: Find the Dingbat Alabama Living PO Box 244014 Montgomery, AL 36124
Sponsored
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.
Dale and Carla Hall of Eutaw, members of Black Warrior EMC, traveled to Denali National Park in Alaska with their magazine.
Pam and Darrell Flores of Guntersville took their first island trip to Jamaica with their copy. The members of North Alabama EC recently celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary.
Evelyn Jimmerson of Gilbertown, a member of Black Warrior EMC, took her magazine on a cruise to Princess Cay in the Bahamas.
Patricia Klein of Seale, a member of Tallapoosa River EC, took two copies of her Alabama Living Magazine with her to Helen, Ga. She made plans to make the trip after reading about Alpine Helen in her magazine.
In Klamath, California.
2024
photo contest winners
Picture this: Boys and girls, birds and donkeys, Northern lights and bright sunflowers. All of these and more were submitted into the Alabama Living photo contest, which we hold annually to celebrate some of the state’s great amateur photographers.
There were so many entries in the “nature” category that the editors split the category in two: “Nature – scenery” and “Nature – animals and insects.” The editors judged the photos on composition, photo quality, adherence to the category, point of view and creativity. With so many good entries, the judging was difficult!
Thanks to all those who submitted photos this year. The winner of each category wins $100; those and the honorable mentions are shown here in the magazine. Go ahead and start thinking about what you might enter next year!
ALABAMA TRAVELS
1st place
Matthew Crowell
North Alabama EC
“(The
Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville) is one of my favorite places that I’ve been to in the whole state. One of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen.”
Arthur Davis Baldwin EMC
“I decided to arise early in the morning to hike on the trail around the lake right at sunrise. … It reminds me of (the times my wife and I have had at the park), and of the beauty of God’s creation.” (Photo taken at Chewacla State Park)
“Let the good times roll! The Order of Mystic Magnolias have a fabulous time celebrating their 2024 Mardi Gras theme, ‘Girls just want to have fun.’ These ladies have been parading in Fairhope since 1994.”
Lisa Floyd Baldwin EMC
AT PLAY
“I
Matthew Crowell North Alabama EC
leaned my camera over the edge and pointed it straight down to get this unique perspective of kayakers maneuvering the rapids of Little River Canyon.”
Sharon Tucker Cullman EC Hayden, a soonto-be graduate, and Houston, an alumnus of Cullman High School, celebrate achieving a milestone of life’s journey.
1st place
Anna Stanley
Joe Wheeler EMC
Stanley’s daughter, Avery, “loves picking flowers, gathering eggs and taking care of her baby chicks. These were her first baby chicks that she raised from her grown chickens in the incubator.”
Phil Berube Dixie EC
“Not only is my grandson cute and adorable trying to fill his bucket, but the individual water droplets reflect him and his blue hat.”
Jeremy Raines Helena, Ala.
A father and son ride together during the Mother’s Day event at Helena Hollow.
1st
place
Lisa Floyd Baldwin EMC
“These sweet little donkeys, Becca and Fluffy, make me smile every time I see them.”
NATURE – ANIMALS, INSECTS
Meredith
Crigler Baldwin EMC
“It was a great catch for both of us that beautiful beach morning. He got breakfast and I got the shot!”
“Eyes bigger than stomach! This white pelican appears to have bitten off more than it can chew!”
Tom Ress Baldwin EMC
Ernest Flippen Jr.
Arab EC
“Was a nice crisp early winter morning. I had noticed these three beautiful wood boat houses many times but the light was never favorable. But this morning I got there early and waited.” (Photo taken on Lake Guntersville)
1st place
Drew Senter Oxford, Ala.
“On a rare night this May, Alabama was pleasantly surprised by the Northern Lights. What a treat to see this natural phenomenon all the way down here in the South!” (Photo taken in Delta, Ala.)
“Sunflowers and sunsets … it doesn’t get much better than that!”
NATURE – SCENERY
Hayley Walters
Dixie EC
(Photo taken at Society Hill in Auburn)
‘A mission trip for linemen’
Co-ops work together to bring electricity to Navajo
By Allison Law
America’s rural electric cooperatives have worked to bring safe, reliable electricity to their members for nearly 100 years. Bringing power to rural areas in developing countries – places like Guatemala, Bolivia and the African continent – is a natural extension of the cooperative model. But there are people in the United States – a prosperous nation with significant natural resources – who even today still do not have electricity.
lands
Two of Alabama’s co-ops traveled to the rural desert Southwest in July to participate in Light Up Navajo, a mutual aid training project launched in 2019 to connect homes to the electric grid. Each year, utilities from across the country send electric crews to the Navajo Nation to build power lines and help connect homes.
Each co-op sent one four-man crew to a remote area in the Kayenta township in the Navajo Nation in Arizona, about 25 miles south of Monument Valley and the Utah state line. The territory of the Navajo Nation is vast: 27,000 square miles, or roughly the size of West Virginia. Joe Wheeler EMC, based in Trinity, and Dixie EC, based in Montgomery, became the first Alabama co-ops to participate in Light Up Navajo.
Also on the trip was Chad Smith, statewide safety specialist for the Alabama Rural Electric Association (AREA), which publishes Alabama Living. Smith was the safety representative and documentarian for the trip, and previously worked as a lineman for 11 years.
Linemen are accustomed to doing storm work – traveling to areas hit hard by natural disasters and working with the local electric cooperative to help bring people back online and turn the lights on. But this project, Smith says, was different. Its remote location on a Navajo reservation, and the low density of customers, meant that progress, while tangible, seemed incredibly slow.
After a hurricane, when a visiting co-op crew begins working, “you can work two to three days and get hundreds or thousands of people on,” Smith says. “The whole time we worked (in Arizona), I think we turned on seven meters.”
The crew from Dixie EC sets a pole. The terrain at the Arizona job site ranged from very fine sand – almost like powdered sugar – to extremely rocky.
There are still 13,000 households on the Navajo reservation that do not have electricity. But the homes are so far apart, a crew might build 10 miles of line and connect only two homes to the grid.
Generations of poverty
As much as he was struck by the natural beauty of the area –Smith’s phone is crammed full with photos he took there – what made the biggest impression on him was the poverty.
The unemployment rate there is more than 14.6%, and 37% of the Navajo people live below the poverty line.
“A lot of the people on the reservation basically are surviving,” Smith says, and not really living. With no refrigeration, families only buy the refrigerated food they can consume in a day; everything else will spoil by the next day. Coolers can help, but with heat in the 100-plus range in the summer, the ice melts quickly.
The remoteness of the area means a lot of traveling for things most Americans take for granted. Going to a store can mean a two-hour drive one way. Children might have to get up by 5 a.m. to be driven to a bus stop an hour away, and then still have to be bused to school. They might not get home till after 7 p.m. and do homework by candles or flashlights.
Without electricity to run water pumps – water is already a scarce commodity in the desert – the residents carry water tanks on the backs of vehicles to fill up, a trip that can be an hour or more.
ter the visiting crews leave.
The Light Up Navajo project, which runs from April through July each year, is a tremendous help to the authority, which must spend $40,000 to build enough miles of primary power lines to bring electricity to a single home in a remote area. Walter Haase, general manager of the utility, says the contributions of the manpower as well as materials allows the authority to spread its dollars further.
The biggest impact, Haase says, can be seen in the daily lives of the people who are finally enjoying the benefits of electricity.
“You’ve got refrigeration for the first time, which is huge,” he says. “You’re able to cook and heat your home without having to burn coal and wood. … Having electricity erases the worry. It gives people more time in their lives … It’s a gift that all Americans deserve.”
Though the nation’s rural electric cooperatives usually help other sister co-ops in times of a disaster, the Light Up Navajo project is a coordinated effort of co-ops as well as public power utilities and investor-owned utilities.
The families, Smith says, are usually multi-generational and live in small dwellings and cook over fire. Once the home gets power, part of the family will move and build nearby, waiting their turn for power. The cycle seems never-ending.
Those who do receive power, Smith says, are grateful for even the smallest things. One family spoke at the project’s closing dinner, a way for the locals to say “thank you” to the visiting linemen. The family said the first night they received power, the whole family sat around a fan. They stayed up late, amazed that they didn’t have to turn off the fan and the generator that powered it.
‘There goes our help’
Light Up Navajo is coordinated by the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority. The authority is a not-for-profit enterprise of the Navajo Nation that provides utility services on reservation lands, primarily in the four corners area of Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico. The authority is responsible for maintaining the lines af-
The traveling teams this year were from Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin.
The authority is grateful for the help of the visiting crews, and saying goodbye to them is difficult, Smith says.
The manager of their district told the Alabama crews that every year, the Light Up Navajo project is bittersweet. “At the beginning (of the project) we’re excited and by the end, we’re sad,” Smith recalls the manager saying, “because I see all of y’all leaving, and there went our help until next year.”
Knowing they’ve made a difference, even for just a few households, makes the work and long travel worth it, Smith says. “This is one of the highlights of my career, as far as helping people,” he says.
Information from the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) contributed to this report.
participated in the
The linemen who
project: Dixie EC: Caleb Duncan, Cody Snell, Ethan Ray and Josh Shreffler
Joe Wheeler EMC: Kenneth Hanvy, Jeremy Henderson, Drew Parker and Ben McLemore
A selfie taken by AREA safety specialist Chad Smith while on a power pole shows the remoteness of this part of the Navajo Nation.
A crew from Joe Wheeler EMC prepares to set a pole. Note the remote location. PHOTO BY JEREMY HENDERSON
The crew from Dixie EC, center in blue shirts, and from Joe Wheeler EMC, at right in khaki shirts, with two linemen from the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority and a resident who had just received power at her home.
Lighthouse Restaurant
a beacon for superior seafood
Story and photos by Emmett Burnett
You may not know about Irvington Alabama, but you should. For in this unincorporated community, about 24 miles from Dauphin Island, stands a beacon of seafood, the Lighthouse Restaurant. Many claim it is the best in Alabama.
Proclaiming first place is quite a claim, considering the multitude of great eateries in coastal Alabama. But to the folks who dine here, seafood superiority is not bragging. It is a fact.
Lighthouse accolades are many, including a Bayou La Batre Area Chamber of Commerce’s Taste of the Bayou’s “Judge’s Choice Winner” for best gumbo. A “Best Seafood” title was bestowed upon the Lighthouse in Mobile’s Lagniappe newspaper’s Nappies Awards.
“That is a big deal to us,” says Randall (Randy) Stork, who co-owns the restaurant with his sister, Lucretia Stork. Pointing at various award banners, plaques, and signs displayed in the lobby, he adds, “Seeing all of the other great seafood places in our area, and yet we win, means a lot to me.”
Customers agree. Sharron Upton and Shirley Presnall are frequent visitors from Satsuma, Alabama, a 60-mile round trip. “I mean, look at this,” Sharron says, referencing a fork-impaled golden fried shrimp with a rich aroma only surpassed by its taste. She adds, “The food is just great.”
concedes, “We are not an easy place to come to. It is off the beaten path. When seeing our dining room packed, knowing people drove past a lot of good restaurants to be here, tells me we are doing something right.”
The “something right” includes combo platters of fish, oysters, shrimp, crab claws, stuffed crab or crawfish tails. Other favorites are fish dinners of mullet, catfish, grouper and flounder.
The restaurant’s address is 12495 Padgett Switch Road. Randy
For the saltwater impaired, the Lighthouse’s 12-ounce ribeye, homemade 8-ounce or 10-ounce hamburger steaks, Philly cheese steaks, chicken, pork chops, hot roast beef, and numerous others are excellent choices.
Daily specials are handwritten on an erasable ink board. On today’s visit the Wednesday special is corned beef hash or fried pork chops, each with two sides, selected from scalloped potatoes, turnip greens, pickled beets and onions, big white lima beans or fried okra as side choices.
“Try this, it’s a customer favorite,” says Randy’s wife, Kisha Stork, as she sets the table with a whole flounder. It is called ‘whole’ because it almost covers the whole plate. A bottom feeder no more, the flounder rises to the occasion.
“Everything here is good but the signature dish is our crab claws,” Kisha adds, while serving a platter piled high with fried
Lighthouse co-owner Lucretia Stork serves a table with shrimp and crab claws.
just right crustacean appendages.
One would be hard pressed to find someone in the Irvington/ Bayou La Batre area who has not enjoyed fresh Gulf crabs from the Lighthouse, keeper of the claw. Crab claws are popular for take-out or dining in. On today’s visit, virtually every table includes crab claws, either as a side, main course, or both.
The gift of shellfish are from local waters, hook, line and pincher. Actually all fish items served are local, from “up the road.”
“Up the road” means Bayou La Batre, the seafood capital of Alabama, a few miles away. Randy notes that his restaurant’s seafood journey derives from Bayou La Batre’s fishing boats, then cooked to your liking, and served fried, blackened, grilled, and more.
He also adds, “Our catfish is from Mississippi and our banana pudding is from my grandmother.” Her recipe has not changed since 1984.
told me, ‘Son, if you can’t make it Monday through Saturday, Sunday isn’t going to help you.” The Lighthouse still lives by that creed.
Continuing the family-run restaurant through the years, uncles, aunts, parents, and other relatives made the Lighthouse shine. Family members worked in every aspect of the business, from operations to stirring gumbo.
The other recipes and the restaurant have been in Randy and Lucretia’s family since its 1983 startup.
The Lighthouse legacy originates with the brother and sister’s grandfather, Earl Stork, who in the early days of operation insisted the restaurant close on Sundays. Randy recalls, “My grandfather
The Lighthouse Restaurant
12495 Padgett Switch Road
Irvington, AL 36544
251-824-2500
Hours: 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday and Tuesday; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday; closed Sunday
l
The Storks’ culinary techniques were handed down through family generations. Randy and Lucretia obtained the family business around 2020.
But the restaurant of renown originated much smaller, basically, in what is now the foyer. The business and the building grew over the years. Today it seats about 150 and often.
At 11 a.m. customers literally file in as the doors open. On busy days, by noon pa trons wait for a table.
tomer base is diverse, ranging from tourists (Bellingrath Gardens is 13 miles away) to area workers, business people, and devoted fans. “We have people from all over,” says Randy. “Last week a couple from Thomas ville (Alabama) visited, a 240 mile roundtrip.”
Regardless of miles traveled, seafood lov ers seek the best and to many, Irvington, Alabama is their destination to a beacon, the Lighthouse Restaurant.
Irvington
Randall Stork, co-owner of the Lighthouse Restaurant, greets customers in the lobby.
The lunch crowd at the Lighthouse Restaurant.
Two of the Lighthouse restaurant’s popular items - flounder and crab claws.
One of Irvington, Alabama’s favorite monuments, The Lighthouse Restaurant marker.
Combating elder abuse
Elder abuse is the intentional mistreatment or harming of an adult over age 60. This abuse can take many forms – physical, emotional, sexual, and financial exploitation, as well as neglect. In the United States, an estimated 1 in 10 adults over the age of 60 experience some form of abuse each year. That number is likely much higher because elder abuse is often underreported, especially in underserved communities.
Abuse victims typically show emotional and behavioral red flags, such as depression, unusual fear or anxiety, or intentional isolation. Many victims are abused by someone they know or trust. It’s important to look for unusual changes in behavior around:
• Family members.
• Staff at inpatient facilities.
• Hired or volunteer caregivers.
Kylle’ McKinney, SSA Public Affairs Specialist, can be reached by email at kylle.mckinney@ssa.gov.
Education
Across 1 Founder of Tuskegee University, Booker T. ____
7 Carry with difficulty
8 School time periods
9 Moral principles 11 Completed
13 A collection of things in math
14 “ The Father of American Education” Horace _____
15 Curriculum component
1 7 Alabama, famed ship
19 Upset
20 Home of the War Eagle
22 Divinity school subj., abbr.
23 Oscar-winning actress, ____ Berry
24 Fall flower, for short
26 Creature in Darwin’s evolution theory
2 7 NEA’s 2024 Higher Educator of the Year, Susan Williams
29 Former military member 31 Equal Opportunities Act, for one
32 Basis for Little League divisions
33 Editor, abbr.
34 “Mountain Music” is one
35 The Crimson Tide, abbr. Down
• People in positions of trust like doctors or financial advisors.
You can help make a difference by checking in with older loved ones. The first step to preventing abuse is to look for signs of mistreatment or physical harm, including bruises, burns, and other unexplained injuries.
There may also be signs of neglect such as:
• Hunger and poor nutrition.
• Poor appearance or hygiene.
• Lack of necessary medical aids like glasses or medications that a caretaker should be providing.
There may also be indications of financial abuse, including:
• Unpaid rent or other bills.
• Sudden changes to a will.
• Unusual changes in money management or habits.
• Large, unexplained financial transactions.
• Allowing someone new to access bank accounts.
1 Humor
If you suspect that a person is a victim of elder abuse, please report it. If you or someone you care about is in a life-threatening situation, call 911. If you suspect possible abuse – but see no immediate danger – contact:
• Your local Adult Protective Services at napsa-now.org/help-in-your-area.
• The National Center on Elder Abuse at 1-855-500-3537 (ELDR).
You can also find additional local resources by searching the Eldercare Locator for your community at eldercare.acl. gov/Public/index.aspx. Take some time to call or visit an older adult. Ask if they are OK and listen to what they tell you. Pay attention to signs of abuse or unusual behavior. Most of all, don’t be afraid to report suspected abuse. For more information about elder abuse visit ssa.gov/payee/elder_abuse.htm
Please share this information with your loved ones.
crossword
by Myles Mellor
2 Alabama’s 2024-2025 Teacher of the Year, Deborah _____ (teacher at Airport Road Intermediate School in the Elmore County School System)
3 Assuming that’s true, 2 words
4 Donated
5 Refined or crude
6 School transport vehicles
7 Period of instruction
10 Curve like a rainbow shape
12 MasterCard alternative
14 Noteworthy, as a performance
16 Person honored with an award for outstanding creative or intellectual achievement
18 She taught Helen Keller to read, write and speak, Anne
21 Chrysalis
23 Daughters of the American Revolution’s “Outstanding Teacher of American History” in 2024, Marcee _____
24 Italian educator who developed the Montessori method of education, first name
25 High IQ group 28 Atomic energy unit
30 Chicken’s product
Around Alabama
SEPTEMBER
1-2
Cullman 28th annual Sweet Tater Festival, Smith Lake Park, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday (Labor Day). Live entertainment, food vendors, arts and crafts vendors, and of course, sweet potatoes. Car show on Monday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. $5 per person, and armband allows for entry both days. Search for Smith Lake Park or Cullman County Parks on Facebook.
6-8
Irondale 52nd annual Gem Show, hosted by the Alabama Mineral and Lapidary Society. Irondale Civic Center, 3521 Ratliff Road. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Serious collectors will find prime specimens of minerals and fossils; lapidarists will find stone beads, slabs and cabochons; jewelry admirers will find beautiful, natural adornments. Educational activities and an expanded children’s section, door prizes and more. $5 adults, $3 students and 12 and under free. LapidaryClub.com or find the event’s page on Facebook.
7 Montevallo Tinglewood Festival, Orr Park. The town is often recognized for the carvings of Tim Tingle in Orr Park; each year, thousands of visitors come to enjoy the carvings. This festival celebrates wood carving
and other wood working crafts. See a chainsaw carving exhibition, artist booths, demonstrations and more; try your hand at a whittling contest. Classic car show, tractor show, food trucks, live music and children’s activities. TinglewoodFestival.com
7-8
Cullman
Bernard Blues and BBQ, on the grounds of St. Bernard Abbey and Prep School and Ave Maria Grotto. 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Artisans from around the Southeast will have pottery, wreaths, metal and glass art and much more. Enjoy the best pulled pork in the Southeast as well as ribs, hamburgers, brats and chicken. Cash prizes totaling more than $12,000. Admission is a $10 requested donation; children under 12 are free. No pets please. Ave Maria Grotto is open for a reduced admission price of $5 all weekend. StBernardPrep.com
21 Fort Payne Boom Days Heritage Celebration, 100 Alabama Ave. NW. This event honors the area’s rich cultural past with events that tie the history to the present; the Depot Museum will be open, as well as the Wills Valley Model Railroad exhibit, the Fort Payne Opera House and the Hosiery Museum. Several musicians will perform through the weekend, including Sister Hazel on Friday and Pam Tillis as well as The Frontmen on Saturday. Boomdays.com or call 256-845-1524.
21
Hartselle Hartselle Depot Days, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Free. Family fun and entertainment fills the historic depot and downtown area. Event is a tribute to the railroad industry and its contribution to the area. Activities include a car, truck and motorcycle show, music performances, food and craft vendors, and art show, tractor and engine show and games for children. Search for the event’s page on Facebook.
27-29 Springville Homestead Hollow arts and crafts festival, 1161 Murphrees Valley Road. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. More than 180 booths of handmade and hand-decorated arts and crafts, kids’ activities, live entertainment, pioneer demonstrations and delicious food. Tickets are $10 for adults; 12 and under free. Free parking, no pets allowed. Homesteadhollow.com
27-Oct. 5 Fort Morgan Fall bird banding events, Fort Morgan Historic Site. Visitors interact with federally licensed banders as they measure, band and display migrating birds before release. Photos and questions are welcome during an up-close and family-friendly experience in a wooded area. Entry fee charged by the fort, but the bird banding event is free. Sponsored by the Banding Coalition of the Americas, a non-profit based in Foley. BandingCoalition.org
28
Titus 23rd annual Bluegrass Festival, Titus Community Center, 5945 Titus Road, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Enjoy bluegrass music featuring Blue Heart, Iron Horse Bluegrass and Ancient Tones. Admission $10, children under 12 free. Bring your lawn chairs to enjoy a day of music, concessions and arts and crafts. Email owenvw1@gmail.com
28
Red Bay annual Founder’s Fest, Bay Tree Park. A one-day tribute to the town’s heritage, this day of free family fun features contests, sidewalk sales and live music. Event begins at 8:30 a.m. with the Queen’s Train Ride; live music begins at 9 a.m. There will be a variety of contests, including best fried pie, quilt contest, coloring and photography. Arts and crafts as well as an antique car, truck, motorcycle and tractor show. Merchants will offer sidewalk sales. 256-356-4473 ext. 3.
OCTOBER
11
Troy Pioneer Days at the Pioneer Museum of Alabama, 248 U.S. Highway 231 N. The event features two days of living history with demonstrations of traditional folk arts and crafts. Skilled artisans and craftsmen in period clothing demonstrate blacksmithing, spinning, weaving, woodworking, rope making, candle dipping, and more with the historic structures of the Pioneer Museum of Alabama as a backdrop. Living history activities will continue from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission $12 with children 5 and under and members free. 334-566-3597; find the event’s page on Facebook, or visit pioneer-museum.org
12
Troy Southeastern Mvskoke Nation Creek Friends Festival, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., 242 County Road 2254. Admission $5; children under 12 free. Featuring stomp dancing, native dancers, axe throwing, nature trail walk with arrowhead dig, storytelling, food vendors, artisans and more. SoutheasternMvskokeNation.org
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
The Deviant Smoke Competition Cooking Team from Decatur will return to compete for prize money at the Bernard Blues and BBQ cookoff Sept. 7-8.
PHOTO COURTESY BERNARD BLUES AND BBQ
Honoring the history of Alabama through its music
Sandra Burroughs, executive director of the Alabama Music Hall of Fame since 2018, brings to her job years of experience in the tourism industry but also a passion for all things musical in Alabama. A lifelong resident of Lexington, a small Lauderdale County town (pop. 727) close to the Tennessee border, she earned a degree from in marketing and management from the University of North Alabama. In 2016, she was elected mayor of Lexington. Two years later, she became director of the Hall of Fame, which annually attracts thousands of tourists, school groups and music fans to its Tuscumbia location. She has one son and daughter-in-law, Hunter and Abby Killen. She took time out to answer a few questions for our readers. – Lenore Vickrey
How did you find yourself at the Alabama Music Hall of Fame?
When the executive director position opened up, I was encouraged to apply for the position by some dear friends in the tourism and music industry. I was hired more for my experience in tourism but I also have a strong background in music history. At that time, I was working with Alabama Moun tain Lakes Tourist Association and was very happy and comfortable. However, I felt the desire to step into this position and try to bring more excitement and recognition to this incredible museum. After the first interview, I was so pumped up thinking about the endless possibilities that could make the Hall of Fame relevant and increase tourism numbers in the Shoals area.
Did you grow up a fan of Alabama musicians and composers?
My very first concert ever was to see the group ALABAMA at the University of North Alabama and my sister took me to that con cert. It was the most exciting and thrilling thing I had ever witnessed in person. I remember when our school bus finally got a tape player and we played ALABAMA all the way to school and all the way home every day. When I got on the bus, that tape deck was always on “Old Flame.” Every time I hear that song now, it takes me back to the school bus days.
Who were your favorites?
I love all genres of music. I was raised in church with traditional gospel music and exposed to plenty of bluegrass and country music growing up. The songs on my playlists are such a wide range from Vestal Goodman and the Goodman Family singing “Looking for a City,” to Hank Williams Jr. singing “Family Tradition,” and anything in between.
How has the Hall of Fame grown since its founding in 1990? In 2025, we will celebrate our 35th birthday at the AMHOF. To say there have been a lot of changes would be correct, but one thing that has not changed: our mission and purpose.
The Alabama Music Hall of Fame exists to recognize and honor musicians, primarily natives of Alabama, whose artistry has earned acclaim throughout the United States, all while representing the great State of Alabama.
Museum exhibits reflect our great music heritage. We are constantly searching for new and upcoming stars who may find their place in the Hall of Fame.
The State of Alabama has a strong commitment to education and Alabama’s heritage is music. The AMHOF wants to educate students from local, state and surrounding states about the music heritage showcased in the museum. Alabamians can trace the history of the state, its settlement, its struggles and its progress through music.
Why should every Alabamian visit the Hall of Fame Museum?
Every single day we have visitors who come in and say, “ I had no idea ( insert any name in the museum) was from Alabama.” That’s the exact reason everyone needs to visit. There are so many stories that are told as you navigate through the museum, as well as so many stories that have never been told, yet. We try to present relevant music history as the dominant attraction in the museum but also introduce the next legends who will be joining the inductees in the future. Plus, we have a dynamite Gift Shop with so many options to choose from. If you want to try your hand at recording your own song, we have a recording booth here on site where you can sing a song of your choice and we will record for you right then and there. This could be your chance for fame!
We should honor the heroes of animal rescue
Over the years, getting to know different clients and friends involved with animal rescue has revealed how this world operates. Their stories highlight the impact on individuals, the community, and beyond. I was amazed by the various animal rescue roles and the dedicated people involved. In this article I will introduce you to a few key participants.
Rescued animals are those taken from the streets, from shelters that euthanize, or from unhealthy situations and are successfully rehomed. When picked up by city or county organizations, they go to the local government run shelters. Due to overcrowding and limited resources, many are euthanized after a short time — around 359,000 dogs and 330,000 cats in 2023. However, that year, about 4.8 million cats and dogs were adopted from these shelters, and that’s not including the thousands re-homed by rescuers and non-profit shelters!
The animal rescue participants include unintended rescuers, trappers, exonerators, media advocates, transporters, fosters, and volunteers. You won’t find these jobs posted on Indeed; these positions involve blood (I’m not kidding — getting bitten is no fun), sweat, tears and lots of compassion fatigue. At the same time, it pays off in satisfaction and a sense of relief that at least one more innocent animal has a full belly and a safe place to lay her head. Let’s look at these rescuers:
The unintentional rescuer. We all know them; you may be one of them. This is the rescuer who unselfishly took in a stray cat or dog in crisis. In fact, most of our clients and people we know have 3-7 unexpected pets. I call these generous people the unintentional rescuers because they didn’t set out to be a rescuer but became one because of their heart to help.
rescued animals are evaluated with some needing socialization while awaiting new homes. Media advocates — sometimes the same previously mentioned individuals — may spend hours putting together the perfect photo and personality write-up for pet adoption websites.
Transporters and exonerators. Once that internet love connection has been made, a transporter may drive for days across the country to other network shelters to deliver these previously unwanted pets to their new families who will cherish and nurture them with the healing love they deserve. When space is available, many of these shelters and associated volunteers will pay (from donations and personal couch change) to adopt dogs and cats from the city/county shelters when they are due to be put to sleep (permanently). I call these lifesavers the exonerators.
Fosters and volunteers. Last, but certainly not least, it’s the fosters and volunteers who make everything run, and I mean everything! They are the backbone of shelter operations, stepping in when shelters are overloaded. Fosters take care of rescued animals until they are adopted, with shelters covering food and vet bills. Volunteers handle numerous tasks, including running shelters, managing thrift stores, trapping and transporting animals, organizing adoption events, and more. Their involvement is crucial! The Huntsville thrift store that supported the low cost ($5) spay/neuter assistance program (SNAP) sadly closed its doors due to a lack of volunteers.
Trappers and media advocates. Despite the negative connotations associated with their name, trappers are actually good. They respond to sightings of hurt or uncatchable animals, often pregnant or with babies. They spend hours or days gaining their trust or using safe traps while calling every shelter hoping and praying there’s room and a local vet can help.
After receiving immediate medical care, the behaviors of these
Whatever your skills, from nurturing to photography, from social media to calling in a needed rescue, your help is crucial to save our animal friends. More ways to help and support can be found at Walmart’s Spark Good program to round up and donate your spare change to local shelters while shopping. Every little bit adds up!
The most important thing an animal rescuer can do is to support local legislation and laws that enforce spay/neutering and regulate backyard breeding. Animal shelters and rescues are not an effective solution to the issues of stray overpopulation and neglected animals. It’s like bailing out a sinking boat with a cup.
What really needs to happen is policy change at local and state levels — creating and enforcing laws that address the problem ethically. If you would like more information about getting involved in any aspect of this process, reach out to your local non-profit shelter or rescue group.
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
ADOBE STOCK
Lakes along the Alabama River
The flowing heart of the Cotton State
Millers Ferry Lake and Lake Claiborne can produce some big bass. Here an Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division biologist shows off two good largemouth bass caught while sampling the lakes.
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ALABAMA WILDLIFE AND FRESHWATER FISHERIES DIVISION
Below, a picnic area at Roland Cooper State Park, along the 22,000 acre Dannelly Reservoir, better known as Millers Ferry Lake. The park features vacation cottages, a modern campground and more for visitors to the area.
PHOTO COURTESY OUTDOOR ALABAMA
By John N. Felsher
In a state so blessed with abundant water sources, Alabamians enjoy unlimited recreational opportunities in one of the most biologically diverse states. The lakes and streams create habitat for more species of aquatic and semi-aquatic species than any other state, providing outstanding chances for fishing, wildlife watching and other activities.
“The lakes on the Alabama River system have excellent fishing for bass, crappie and catfish,” says Tommy Purcell, an Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division biologist in Spanish Fort. “Millers Ferry Lake is definitely a hidden gem. Claiborne Lake is smaller with a lot less pressure, but it also has good fishing.”
A river, but also a chain of lakes, the Alabama system flows through the heart of the Cotton State. The Tallapoosa and Coosa Rivers merge near Wetumpka to create the Alabama River. Dams divide the system into three main pools.
The Robert F. Henry Lock and Dam creates the R.E. “Bob” Woodruff Lake, better known as Jones Bluff Reservoir, southeast of Selma. It runs 80 miles between the Bouldin Dam on the Coosa River and the Millers Ferry Lock and Dam near Camden. That dam forms the William “Bill” Dannelly Reservoir, better known as Millers Ferry Lake.
Millers Ferry runs 105 miles to the Claiborne Lock and Dam near Monroeville and spreads across 17,200 acres. The Claiborne Dam impounds the 5,930-acre Claiborne Lake.
“The Millers Ferry fishery is phenomenal,” says Joe Dunn with Dunn’s Sports in Thomasville, who owns a camp on Millers Ferry Lake. “It has always produced bigger crappie than anywhere else around this part of Alabama. It also has good fishing for bass, catfish and bream.”
Activities besides fishing
Many small creeks and tributaries flow into the main river, providing great opportunities for canoeing, kayaking, boating, water skiing and other aquatic pastimes. Many people like to kayak the Cahaba River, the longest free-flowing river in Alabama. One of the most scenic and biologically diverse streams, the Cahaba River begins near Birmingham and runs 194 miles into the Alabama about 10 miles below Selma.
“Millers Ferry Lake has many backwaters,” says Gerald Overstreet, a fishing guide. “The Cahaba River is a good place to go paddling. It has some small launches where people can put in their boats. Some people carry their boats around the dams and kayak all the way down to Mobile.”
The rare Cahaba lily grows along the eponymous river. The Cahaba River National Wildlife Refuge preserves 3,690 acres of Bibb County five miles east of West Blocton to protect the largest known strand of the lily. The refuge offers excellent opportunities for hunting, fishing, paddling, wildlife watching and photography.
“Millers Ferry is a very popular destination for water skiing and
bird watching,” says William Malone, former president of the Wilcox Area Chamber of Commerce and a lifelong Camden resident. “We have numerous bald eagles on the lake. The Stokes alligator is on display at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Millers Ferry office by the dam.”
In 2014, Mandy Stokes from Thomaston killed the biggest Alabama alligator in modern times. It measured 15 feet, 9 inches long and weighed 1,011.5 pounds. She hunted with her husband John, brother-in-law Kevin Jenkins and his children Savannah and Parker. The crew caught the giant reptile in Mill Creek, which flows into Millers Ferry Lake.
While in the Camden area, take advantage of the shopping and dining prospects in the revitalized downtown area. The town also hosts several annual events.
“The Wilcox Historical Society, the largest historical society in Alabama, has a Tour of Homes every March with historic homes,” Malone says. “The Chamber sponsors a barbecue cook off every April. Cooking teams compete around the Courthouse Square. We have many vendors, live music, arts and crafts.”
Many area visitors stay at Roland Cooper State Park, a featured stop on the Alabama Black Belt Birding Trail. Some people camp or bring their recreational vehicles, but the park also offers various accommodations. People can launch boats at the park. Wildlife watchers might spot eagles, hawks, ospreys, waterfowl, various songbirds, herons, deer, turkey and other species.
While near Camden, check out the Gee’s Bend quilters in Boykin. The ladies in this small community create masterpieces in cloth, carrying on an old tradition. Alabama Public Television featured them in an Emmy-winning program.
Along Claiborne Lake
With mostly forested shorelines and little human habitation, Claiborne Lake offers many diverse recreational activities. People can launch their boats at Silver Creek or Isaac Creek Campground. The main channel and some feeder creeks provide excellent fishing, boating, paddling and wildlife watching opportunities. Many people staying at Isaac Creek Campground hunt the Red Hills Wildlife Management Area for deer, squirrels or other game. It covers 13,930 acres north of Monroeville.
“When the river is at normal stage, people do primitive camping on a big sandbar across the river from the landing at the Claiborne Lock and Dam,” says Mike Colquett, executive director of the Monroe County Economic Development Authority in Monroeville. “That’s the area beach. That’s also a good place to go jet skiing, picnicking and swimming.”
Harper Lee, who penned the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, lived in Monroeville. Today, visitors find many reminders of Lee, her novel and the movie it inspired. Every April, Monroeville puts on a play based on the novel. The town also remodeled many buildings and turned some into loft apartments overlooking the town square. The builders named some apartments Scout, Atticus and Harper from the novel.
“Around the downtown square, business is booming,” Colquett says. “People can shop in clothing boutiques, gift shops, antiques shops, garden shops, a gun shop and a coffee and ice cream shop. We have a Storybook Trail with pages from children’s books on display around the square.”
From the Claiborne Dam, the Alabama River flows southward another 72 miles until it merges with the Tombigbee River to form the Mobile River near Mount Vernon. The Mobile River and its associated streams create the 250,000-acre Mobile-Tensaw Delta north of Mobile Bay. Here, the mighty stream ends its long journey after providing unlimited recreational opportunities along the way.
The Old Courthouse Museum in Monroeville was the model for author Harper Lee’s fictional courtroom settings in To Kill a Mockingbird. It’s one of many attractions not far from the lakes on the Alabama River system.
For more information
Cahaba River National Wildlife Refuge 256-848-6833 fws.gov/refuge/cahaba-river
Dunn’s Sports 334-636-0850 Facebook
Isaac Creek Campground 5030 Lock and Dam Road Franklin, AL 36444 (251) 282-4254 recreation.gov
Gee’s Bend Quilting Collective 14570 County Road 29 Boykin, AL 36723 334-573-2323
Monroeville Area Chamber of Commerce 86 N. Alabama Ave. Monroeville, AL 36460 251-743-2879 monroecountyal.com
Monroe County Economic Development Authority 60 Hines St., Suite 200 Monroeville, AL 36460 251-743-1332 Facebook
Overstreet’s Guide Service Gerald Overstreet 251-589-3225 Facebook
Roland Cooper State Park 285 Deer Run Drive Camden, AL 36726 334-682-4838
alapark.com/parks/roland-cooper-state-park
Wilcox Area Chamber of Commerce 1001 Earl Hilliard Road Camden, Al 36726 334-682-4929
wilcoxareachamber.com
Wetumpka Wildlife Arts Festival: Celebrating Alabama’s flora and fauna in a big way
By Jenny Sue Stubbs
After its inaugural event in 2022, the Wetumpka Wildlife Arts Festival (WEWA) has become a highly anticipated event. This year’s festival is set for Saturday, Oct. 19 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the Coosa River in downtown. Organizers expect thousands of visitors to attend, drawn by the beauty and bounty inspiring the wildlife art celebrated at the annual festival.
Created by The Kelly Fitzpatrick Center for the Arts—known as The Kelly to locals— the one-day festival partners with the Smoot Harris Family and Regions Bank to encourage sporting and outdoor enthusiasts to appreciate the natural beauty of the state, often captured through the talented hands of Southern artists. But the nuanced offerings at this event go far beyond art.
Although The Kelly will host its “Art Gone Wild” exhibition from Oct. 1 to Nov. 22, the award-winning gallery also partners with the Alabama Wildlife Federation and LIV Development to host a juried fine art competition to coincide with the exhibition.
Supporting Alabama’s wildlife conservation efforts, the competition brings together some of the most talented artists from across the Southeast. The “Best of Show” Purchase Prize recipient receives $10,000, while the “Award of Excellence” Purchase Prize winner receives $5,000. Three merit award winners will also walk away with $750.
in Birmingham will be showing off his craft. Other chefs also new to the lineup are Ricky Albright of Iron Fire Cooking, who will be showcasing with Bryson “Cheese Curd” McGlynn, winner of the most recent “Master Chef Junior.”
Winners of the annual Alabama Wildlife Federation Wild Game Cook-off will be on site to demonstrate the delicious dishes that won them the coveted title as well.
Trace Barnett, host of Alabama Public Television’s “Garden Party,” will partner with editor and award-winning food, travel and lifestyle writer Christiana Roussel for entertaining mixology sessions.
Quail Forever members will attend a luncheon at downtown staple Coaches Corner while hearing from Quail Forever CEO Marilyn Vetter, as well as Tall Timbers’ Bill Palmer.
Sponsors and guests will be serenaded while taking in sweeping views of the Coosa at The Kelly’s Premiere Party Friday night.
Along with juried artists on display and a cornucopia of food offerings, makers will be selling their inspired wares and art along the quaint streets of historic downtown Wetumpka, known for being featured on the debut season of HGTV’s “Home Town Takeover.”
The 2023 Alabama Wildlife Arts Competition winner Jared Knox, whose “Bobcat and Bobwhite” painting took top prize, will also be demonstrating at this year’s event.
With 2024 being proclaimed The Year of Alabama Food by the state Department of Tourism, it’s only appropriate this year’s festival is amping up its culinary game with special Alabama-based food and drink gurus, all with a wildlife twist, of course.
Chef Jeffery Compton of the Armour House
But The Kelly also strives to educate as it inspires, and plenty of presentations, a lineup of classes, musical acts, children’s activities and other expert demonstrations by Alabama School of Fly Fishing, Covey Flush Kennels, Raptor Ridge and Bennett’s Archery, will also be offered.
A special addition this year is a floral workshop, hosted by Flower magazine’s Margot Shaw and Birmingham-based floral artist Sybil Sylvester.
For more information, visit thekelly.org or follow the gallery’s social media.
Ricky Albright of Iron Fire Cooking will be on hand along with Bryson “Cheese Curd” McGlynn, winner of the most recent “Master Chef Junior.”
The event will include floral artist Sybil Sylvester, top, and demonstrations by Covey Flush Kennels.
Jared Knox, who won the 2023 Best of Show at last year’s festival with his “Bobcat and Bobwhite” painting, will return this year.
Creating welcoming spaces for migrating birds
From now through mid-November, billions of North American birds will wing their way across Alabama on their way south for the winter, a biannual event that we can enjoy and assist from our own backyards.
Bird migration is one of nature’s most wonderous events, but also one of the most dangerous times in the lives of birds. While most North American bird species migrate to some degree, more than 350 species head to the tropics (Central and South America) in the fall to overwinter and return north to their summer breeding grounds in the spring.
One-way trips can take several weeks to several months
and vary in length from a few hundred miles to 10,000 depending on the where the birds start and end their travels. The journeys, most of which are flown under the cover of night, are physically demanding, which means most birds need access “stopover” sites, places with food, shelter and water where they can rest and refuel before continuing their flight.
They also face many dangers along the way including increasingly severe storms, unexpected humanmade obstacles and an array of predators. But there’s much we can do to make their trips easier including the following.
• Preserve existing stopover habitat in our communities and create new stopover sites in our own yards and neighborhoods. This not only helps the birds but also provides us with more opportunities to bird watch at or near our homes.
When migrating birds, like this Wormeating Warbler, are injured or stunned by a window strike, the best response is to take them to a licensed rehabber, such as the Alabama Wildlife Center at Oak Mountain State Park. If that’s not an option where you live, carefully put the bird in a box lined with paper towel and place the box in a dark, quiet place. Once the bird begins moving around, it can be released outside.
• Protect birds from predators, including free-roaming domestic cats, which kill billions of birds each year. Keeping cats contained indoors or in fenced areas, especially during times of peak migration, makes the word safer for birds and cats.
• Extinguish indoor and outdoor lights at night, especially during migration seasons. This artificial lighting can confuse or misdirect night-migrating birds taking them off
Katie Jackson is a freelance writer and editor based in Opelika, Alabama. Contact her at katielamarjackson@gmail.com.
PHOTO BY DAVID McMATH
Window collisions are one of the greatest threats to migrating and resident birds who, fooled by reflections of foliage and sky in the glass, fly into an invisible and deadly wall. But this problem can be easily solved with a few simple modifications to the outside surfaces of the panes. One fun option that can be easily done by children and adults alike, is to paint or draw patterns on the glass.
PHOTO BY KATIE JACKSON
course and often causing them to collide with buildings and windows.
Window collisions are the second leading cause of bird deaths, killing nearly 2 billion birds each year in the U.S. alone, said Lianne Koczur, director of Science and Conservation with Alabama Audubon.
“Birds don’t see glass,” she explained. “They see the reflection of sky or trees (in the glass) and think it’s a safe place to fly to.” Most strikes occur during the early morning hours or at night and more than half occur on residential windows while the rest typically happen in cities against large glass-covered and brightly lit buildings.
Luckily, the problem can be easily remedied by breaking up the reflection on the outer surface of windows. Decals, paints and window chalk, and even vertical strands of nylon rope can be used, though Koczur said they should be spaced no more than 4 inches apart—the minimum space a bird can fly through—to be effective.
To better understand how window collision deaths and injuries occur and can be prevented, Alabama Audubon insti-
tuted a new monitoring program in 2023 called Project Safe Flight. During each migration season, volunteers are canvasing the grounds around preselected buildings in Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, Auburn, Huntsville, Mobile and Athens looking for dead or injured birds.
“Last year, our volunteers found approximately 400 dead birds, many of which were concentrated at specific buildings,” Koczur said. “Some of the most common birds we found were Ovenbirds, Common Yellowthroats, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, Cedar Waxwings, Tennessee Warblers and Indigo Buntings, all of which are migratory birds.”
Koczur and her team are working with building owners to help remedy the problem and, thanks to a grant from EBSCO Industries, they have already retrofitted windows on six buildings in downtown Birmingham, with more coming.
More information on Project Safe Flight, including how to become a volunteer canvasser, as well as additional hints and links to help make yards and homes bird-safe is available at alaudubon.org/ project-safe-flight.
There’s so much more to learn about birds and bird migration here in Alabama
and beyond, so explore Alabama Audubon’s entire site (alaudubon.org) to find out more about the organization’s research and conservation projects, educational programs and events. The National Audubon Society (audubon.org) and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology (birds.cornell. edu) websites are also filled with information on all things birds, and the BirdCast website (birdcast.info) offers real-time tracking information on the number of birds migrating this fall, including those flying through Alabama. And take some time this fall, and all year long, to watch birds, whether at home, around the neighborhood or on an Alabama Birding Trail (alabamabirdingtrails.com).
SEPTEMBER TIPS
Clean dead and diseased plant material from vegetable and flower garden beds.
Plant cool-season vegetables and flowers.
Divide and transplant hostas, irises, daylilies and other perennials.
Plant garlic, onions and shallots.
Clean and fill bird feeders and baths.
Remove invasive plants from the landscape.
Take us along!
Denise and Joe Spafford of Gulf Shores visited the site of Edoras, capital city of Rohan, Middle Earth, from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The movie set and equipment was removed and it was returned to its natural state. The actual location is Mount Sunday, Mount Potts Station, New Zealand. Mount Sunday got its name as a meeting place for boundary riders from nearby high country stations. “It was the best excursion we went on while in New Zealand,” they wrote. They are members of Baldwin EMC.
Elizabeth Casteel of Orange Beach, member of Baldwin EMC, took her copy to visit her daughter, Rachel, in New York City.
Mike and Sundra Keck of Decatur, members of Joe Wheeler EMC, went on a bucket list cruise on the Nile River. This photo was taken at the Aswan high dam.
During a visit to Dublin, Ireland, Joe & Ellen Marinaccio, members of Baldwin EMC, visited the Old Library Long Room at Trinity College. The main chamber of the library is the Long Room; at nearly 215 feet in length, it is filled with 200,000 of the library’s oldest books and is one of the most impressive libraries in the world.
Elise Hicks of Montgomery, a member of Dixie EC, traveled to the holy city of Jerusalem, Israel, with her magazine in early 2023.
Doves can generate hunting excitement
The small creek barely trickling with water nourished thick brush and cane growing on both sides of the little stream.
I slowly moved along a path through the pine savanna, listening and watching. The narrow path led to a break in the green vegetative wall at the creek. As I approached the break, the creek bed erupted with the distinctive whistling clatter made by long, elegant elliptical wings of a magnificent game bird. Any bird hunter would instantly recognize that sound as mourning doves scattered in all directions.
Most dove hunters stand in a tree line, at the edge of a field or sit in a chair surrounded by high weeds watching for doves to fly into range. Rather than wait for the swift and majestic birds to visit me, I like to go to their lair and roust them.
Almost like quail hunting, but without dogs alerting sportsmen to coveys, hunters walk where birds might hide. Stay alert when approaching good cover. At any second, flushing birds could generate adrenaline-pumping excitement, sometimes almost under the feet of hunters.
To jump doves, sportsmen must first find them. Doves like open fields or semi-open grassy savannas punctuated by scattered trees, brush or fencerows. Sportsmen can walk slowly along forest edges, powerlines, fire breaks, food plots and other openings or through scattered timber.
Doves require four main ingredients to survive – food, cover, water and grit. Locate those things to find where the birds want to stay. The small birds usually pick seeds off bare dirt but want leafy canopy cover above them so they can hide from hawks and other predators.
“A dove’s diet consists of about 99 percent seeds,” says Seth Maddox,
assistant chief of the Wildlife Section for the Alabama Division of Wildlife & Freshwater Fisheries. “They will eat any type of cultivated grain such as corn, millet, sorghum, also called milo, even peanuts. They also go for native vegetation, such as grass seeds, herbs and weed seeds. Occasionally, doves eat berries or maybe even something like snails for calcium. They also need a good amount of water every day.”
Doves normally feed at first light. To digest rough seeds, doves need water and grit. They swallow small pieces of gravel or sand to break up the seeds. Sportsmen frequently find them “dusting” or picking up bits of rock around grit piles or sandy patches.
For water, the diminutive birds don’t require Lake Guntersville. Just a puddle in a tire rut on a gravel or dirt trail could suffice. Doves commonly stay around
streams, creek beds or ponds. A gravelly sandbar with scrubby brush growing along a stream or pond shoreline near croplands could provide an excellent place to jump doves. After filling their bellies, doves look for a place to rest and digest. While “nooning,” they usually perch in tall trees, electrical wires, or other places that give them a good vantage point for spotting danger. They might stay in their nooning area for a while unless something disturbs them. In the afternoon, doves get hungry again and return to their feeding fields. They might also hit the grit piles and waterholes. When jumping doves, sportsmen could spot some lookouts perched in high places looking for predators. While these birds watch for danger, several others could already forage on the ground. Find some good cover to stalk them. Often, hunters can work in teams. On powerlines, one person could walk on one side while another walks along the other side. At fencerows or tree lines, sportsmen can walk on both sides to catch birds flushing from any direction. Pay attention to where other hunters stand and watch the shots.
Walking up on doves could put birds in the bag with considerable excitement. Swift and erratic fliers, mourning doves can exceed 55 miles per hour with twisting flight patterns that make them extremely challenging aerial targets. I recommend high-power 7 1/2 shot with an improved cylinder choke to bring them down.
In the North Zone, the Alabama dove season opens at noon on Sept. 7 and runs through Oct. 20. The South Zone opens at noon Sept. 14 and continues through Oct. 27. The second split in both zones lasts from Nov. 23 through Dec. 1. The late split runs from Dec. 14 to Jan. 19, 2025. Sportsmen may bag up to 15 birds per day in any combination of mourning and whitewinged doves.
For more information on hunting doves, see outdooralabama.com/hunting/seasons-and-bag-limits
Doves like open fields or grassy areas with scattered trees, brush or fencerows to hide. Dove season opens in Alabama Sept. 7.
Sarah Baxter of Tuscaloosa, a member of Baldwin EMC, visited the Kitchen and Bath Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada, where she stayed at The Flamingo.
Chris and Nancy Mason of Mentone traveled to the horse racing track at Saratoga Springs, New York. They are members of Sand Mountain EC.
DOUG HANNON’S FISH & GAME FORECAST
Barbara Warnes of Arab EC in Marshall County traveled to Philadelphia, Pa., where she visited Constitution Hall with her magazine. Take us along!
Su 2 7 8:30 - 10:30 8:54 - 10:54 2:57 - 4:27 3:21 - 4:51 Mo
The Moon Clock and resulting Moon Times were developed 40 years ago by Doug Hannon, one of America’s most trusted wildlife experts and a tireless inventor. The Moon Clock is produced by DataSport, Inc. of Atlanta, GA, a company specializing in wildlife activity time prediction. To order the 2023 Moon Clock, go to www.moontimes.com.
Tom & Lynn Ellis of Baldwin EMC visited the famous troll, Isak Hearthstone on the Trollstigen Trail in Breckenridge, Colo. Created by renowned Danish artist Thomas Dambo, this enormous troll is made of all recycled materials.
Feelin' Corn-y
COOK OF THE MONTH
Marsha Gardner, Wiregrass EC
Marsha Gardner’s grandmother used to make her corn pudding many years ago, and “we always thought it was dessert,” the Florala resident recalled. But Gardner prefers to serve it as a side dish. “It’s something unusual that you don’t see every day,” she says. The New York native, who was a caterer for 40 years before retiring, said she’d make it for church fellowship gatherings where it was quite popular. “They would scrape the brown parts around the side,” she says. She speculates that her grandmother probably had to make her own creamed corn from scratch, while today’s cooks can easily use the canned or frozen version. Even though she’s never made it for Thanksgiving dinner, the corn pudding would make a tasty accompaniment to turkey, with the sprinkling of cinnamon and nutmeg on top giving it a sweet but spicy flair. -- Lenore Vickrey
Cream-Style Corn Pudding
2 cans cream-style corn
4 eggs, beaten 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted 1/2 cup sugar
2 heaping tablespoons flour
Dash cinnamon
Dash nutmeg, freshly grated
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together except cinnamon and nutmeg. Pour into buttered casserole, top with cinnamon and nutmeg. Bake for about an hour until puffed up and golden brown. Serves 6.
Photos and styling by Brooke Echols
Summer is still here, and if you are like me and find yourself with an overabundance of vegetables, you may be looking for creative ways to use them. Corn is one of those vegetables that is great as is, but can also be a great ingredient in something totally different. We love to take our favorite vegetables and let them star in an unexpected recipe. This zucchini cornbread is all you would expect in a southern cornbread but is also a tasty way to incorporate vegetables. Corn keeps this cornbread tender and delicious, so taste and see for yourself! For more recipes like this, be sure to visit us at thebutteredhome.com.
Zucchini Cornbread
3 cups shredded zucchini, drained and squeezed
½ cup diced onion
2 eggs lightly beaten
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons minced garlic
½ teaspoon salt
1 box of Jiffy corn bread mix
½ teaspoon pepper
1 cup of whole kernel corn, rinsed and drained
1½ cups shredded cheddar cheese
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Use a grater and grate zucchini. Drain and allow to sit a bit. Squeeze in a tea towel or cheesecloth to remove any excess water.
Mix zucchini, onion, corn and eggs in a large bowl. Season with salt, pepper, oregano and garlic. Add in Jiffy cornbread mix and mix well. Fold in 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese. Pour into a lightly greased 8 x 11 casserole pan. Top with remaining cheddar cheese.
Bake 30 to 45 min until cheese is melted and bread is slightly browned.
Brooke Burks
Photo by The Buttered Home
Corny Squash Casserole
1 box Stove Top cornbread dressing
1 can corn
½ stick butter
1½ cups boiling water
2 cups yellow squash or zucchini, peeled and sliced thinly
¼ cup olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 eggs
Mix cornbread dressing mix, corn, butter and water. Spread in a 9x13-inch casserole dish. Mix together remaining ingredients and add to the casserole. Beat 2 eggs and stir into all the ingredients. Bake for 55 minutes at 350 degrees. Slice in square to serve. Optional: mix in a can of black beans and top with creamy alfredo sauce.
Joan Fobbs
Coosa Valley EC
Easy Creamy Corn
1 roll frozen McKenzie’s white corn
1 roll frozen McKenzie’s golden corn
3 tablespoons self-rising flour
½ stick butter, melted
1 cup heavy whipping cream
Salt and pepper, sprinkle to taste
Thaw corn and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 2-quart casserole dish with non-stick spray. Mix all ingredients together and pour in dish. Bake uncovered until beginning to turn golden on top and thickened.
Mary Martin
Central Alabama EC
Kathleen’s Vegetable Medley Salad
1 can French style green beans, drained
1 can white shoe peg corn, drained
1 can English peas, drained
1 medium onion, diced
1 cup celery, chopped
1 small jar pimentos, diced
¾ cup vinegar
1 cup sugar
½ cup canola, vegetable or olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
Place all vegetables in a large bowl. Mix vinegar, sugar, canola oil and bring to a boil while stirring. Pour dressing mixture over vegetables. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper, as desired. Chill in refrigerator. Better if made a day ahead of serving. Keeps well in refrigerator.
Nancy Sites Sizemore
Baldwin EMC
Easy Tasty Corn Casserole
1 pack age saffron rice, prepared as directed on package
1 small onion, chopped
1 15- ounce can whole kernel corn
8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 tablespoon jalapeno pepper, chopped
Mix all ingredients and bake in casserole dish at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, until hot all through.
Dolores Childree
Baldwin EMC
Mexican Cornbread Casserole
1 cup self-rising cornmeal
1 cup buttermilk
1 can cream-style yellow corn
1 cup cheese, grated (your preference)
½ cup Wesson oil
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper, coarse grind
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
3 tablespoons jalapenos (from a jar), minced, or 3 fresh jalapenos, chopped
Mix well and pour into greased 7.5x10.5inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes.
Myra Johnson Central Alabama EC
Parmesan Corn on the Cob
6 ears fresh yellow corn, husked and silked
8 ounces parmesan cheese, grated Salt Cayenne pepper
8 ounces butter, melted
Fill a large pot 2/3 full of water; bring to a boil. Add corn with tongs or carefully by hand. When water returns to boil, cook 5 minutes. It’s difficult to cook more than 6 full ears at a time. Drain in a colander. Place on a platter, individually brush corn with butter, sprinkle on additives, as desired. Barely bump the cayenne pepper to add only a little heat.
Barbara Frasier
Sand Mountain EC
Corny Squash Casserole
Federal tax credits, incentives and rebates for efficiency upgrades
A:Q:How do I use federal tax credits and rebates to upgrade my home?
Tax credits and rebates can help bridge the affordability gap to higher efficiency equipment for your home, allowing you to complete energy efficiency upgrades that can lower your energy use and save you money in years to come.
First, knowing the difference between a tax credit and rebate is important. A rebate is a payment for purchasing or installing a qualified product or home improvement. Depending on how the rebate program is set up, it may be provided at the time of purchase or applied for and received after installation. Check with your electric cooperative to see if they offer rebates. Typically, the rebate is applied as a credit on your electric bill. In some cases, the rebate is provided as a cash payment to those who complete eligible projects.
A tax credit is a dollar-for-dollar amount that taxpayers can report on their tax documents to reduce the amount of taxes owed. You apply for a tax credit when you file your tax documents, so it typically takes longer to reap the benefits than it does with a rebate.
According to ENERGY STAR®, homeowners can qualify for up to $3,200 annually in federal tax credits for energy efficiency upgrades. Federal tax credits are available for heating and cooling system upgrades, including heat pumps, furnaces, central air conditioners, boilers and geothermal heat pumps. Tax credits for ENERGY STAR®-rated heat pump water heaters cover 30% of the project cost, up to $2,000. You can also improve your home’s envelope—the portion of the home that separates the inside from the outside—with tax credits for insulation, windows and skylights.
If an energy efficiency upgrade requires improving the electrical panel in your home, there’s a tax credit for that, too. You can receive 30% of the cost of the panel upgrade, up to $600.
These federal tax credits are available through 2032. You must own the home you’re upgrading, and it must be your primary residence. Federal tax credits only apply to existing homes in the United States, not new construction.
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 expanded available funding for many home upgrades. The act allocated $8.8 million for home rebate programs to be implemented at the state level, and this funding is offered in two different programs. The HOMES program allows up to $8,000 per home for standard-income households. Higher rebates are available for low- to moderate-income households. The HEAR program offers rebates of up to $14,000 per home for qualified, efficient electric equipment for low- to moderate-income households. These programs are designed to bolster existing programs
You can improve your home’s envelope with tax credits for insulation.
and should be available in late 2024 or early 2025. Check with your electric cooperative or state office to find out if they are being offered in your state.
Additional energy efficiency rebates might also be available. More than half of U.S. states require energy efficiency programs for residents, according to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. These programs can help people save money on their electric bills and help states meet climate goals, reduce system costs and improve the electric grid.
I have had the privilege of working in energy efficiency rebate programs for many years and have seen the benefits of these programs firsthand. Tax credit and rebate programs can make upgrades more affordable—helping people save money and improve the overall comfort of their homes.
Miranda Boutelle is the chief operating officer at Efficiency Services Group in Oregon, a cooperatively owned energy efficiency company.
PHOTO COURTESY MARK GILLILAND, PIONEER UTILITY RESOURCES
ade with tender,
loving care
Pamela Portman learned to sew and knit in her high school home economics class, not knowing these skills would one day position her to champion a heartfelt cause in her community. Today, she is the latest Silent Heroes of the Wiregrass recipient, recognized for starting the Southeast Alabama chapter of Project Linus, a nonprofit providing homemade blankets to children in need.
Project Linus’s mission is to provide love, a sense of security, warmth and comfort to children who are seriously ill, traumatized or otherwise in need through the gift of new handmade blankets and afghans, lovingly created by volunteer “blanketeers.”
Portman began her journey with Project Linus while living in Florida, where she donated her handmade blankets to local chapters. When she moved to Alabama, she saw an opportunity to extend the organization’s impact to the Wiregrass region by coordinating the Southeast Alabama chapter.
“I just want to give these kids something that makes them feel secure, something that lets them know someone cares about them,” Portman says. “I can’t
bring them all home, but I can give them a blanket to hold onto.”
Inside her blanket-making station — a large shed behind her home — Portman is surrounded by the hundreds of blankets that have been woven, stitched and sewn for children in the community. All of the blankets are donated by her troupe of 20-plus blanketeers who make blankets in various fabrics and sizes. They make specific ones for different needs, such as NICU-friendly designs that avoid snags on medical equipment.
After collecting, sorting and branding each blanket with a Project Linus tag that reads “Made with tender, loving care,” Portman distributes them to hospitals and social service agencies, like the Child Advocacy Center.
“One of our volunteers, who was a foster child, told me she left the courthouse with nothing but a plastic bag and a toothbrush,” Portman says. “She said, ‘I want these kids to have something of their own, something that lasts.’ That really touched my heart.”
In addition to regular donations, Pamela and her team organize special projects, such as providing blankets for
preschool children in Geneva and Enterprise. These blankets will ensure every child has a cozy, personal item for nap time, which they can carry with them as they grow.
Portman encourages others to get involved, whether by making blankets, donating materials or contributing funds.
As part of the Silent Heroes of the Wiregrass partnership between WTVY and Wiregrass Electric Cooperative’s Operation Round Up Foundation, Portman received a $1,000 grant to help further the group’s impact.
“On behalf of Wiregrass Electric Cooperative and our Operation Round Up Foundation, we are proud to honor Pamela Portman as a Silent Hero,” says Jennifer Ward, WEC’s manager of communications and public relations. “We thank her for her compassion and service in making the Wiregrass a great
BELOW: From right, Jennifer Ward, WEC’s manager of communications and public relations, presents Pamela Portman with a $1,000 check, courtesy of the Operation Round Up Foundation.
ABOVE: Pamela Portman, the Southeast Alabama chapter coordinator for Project Linus, sews tags that read “Made with loving, tender care” into each homemade blanket that will be distributed to children in the community.
Contest Rules:
• Art contest is open to all students living in the Wiregrass area.
• Student must be enrolled in kindergarten through fifth grade to participate.
• Artwork must be approximately 8.5-by-11 inches. Do not fold artwork. Vertical drawings are preferred.
• Artwork should be of a Christmas theme and include “Wiregrass Electric Cooperative.”
• Artwork must be the child’s original creation.
• Artwork should be in color (markers, crayons, paint, etc.).
• This entry form or a reasonable facsimile signed by a parent or guardian must be enclosed with artwork.
• Deadline to turn in the artwork is Oct. 7.
ONLY ONE ENTRY PER CHILD.
Entry Form:
Christmas CARD CONTEST
DO YOUR KIDS HAVE CREATIVITY AND CHRISTMAS SPIRIT? Encourage
them to share!
Wiregrass Electric Cooperative invites young artists to participate in our annual Christmas Card Art Contest. Children from kindergarten through fifth grade are welcome to enter for a chance to win fantastic prizes — including having their artwork featured on the December cover of Alabama Living magazine.
The grand prize winner will receive 30 printed cards showcasing their artwork, perfect for sharing with family and friends. Additionally, the winner will receive a $50 gift certificate to Michaels craft supply store to further inspire their creativity. The winning design will be displayed on the 2024 WEC Christmas card and the cover of the December issue of Alabama Living, with full credit to the young artist.
Second- and third-place winners will each receive a $25 Michaels gift card. Furthermore, one winner from each school will receive a $10 gift card. Every student who enters the contest will receive a gift from WEC. Make sure to read the contest rules before getting started on your design!
To enter, please complete the attached form and submit it along with the artwork to:
WEC Christmas Card Contest 509 N. State Highway 167 Hartford, AL 36344
Alternatively, you may drop off entries at any WEC office. Please ensure the artwork is not folded.The deadline for entries is Monday, Oct. 7. Winners will be announced by Friday, Nov. 8.
For questions, contact Jennifer Ward at WEC. Call 800-239-4602, or email jward@wiregrass.coop.
More climate nonsense
Two months ago, I wrote an article on climate nonsense. I focused on silly solutions to climate change concerns like how we shouldn’t use hot water, on how climate change needs to be curbed to protect outdoor concerts, and on starvation protests meant to coerce governments to act on an individual’s personal beliefs.
Climate change and its reactions are serious issues that demand serious responses. This month, I discuss more of the emotional nonsense that is dumped daily on the public to try to influence an immediate stoppage of fossil fuels.
A May 13 article in The New York Times, “As Insurers Around the U.S. Bleed Cash from Climate Shocks, Homeowners Lose,” states, “insurers are losing money, even in states with low hurricane and wildfire danger, [because] climate change produces more severe weather… The insurance turmoil caused by climate change – which had been concentrated in Florida, California and Louisiana – is fast becoming a contagion, spreading to states like Iowa, Arkansas, Ohio, Utah and Washington.” As a result, the article states, insurance companies are raising premiums by as much as 50% or more, cutting back on coverage or leaving entire states altogether.
Dave Jones, former California Insurance Commissioner and now director of the Climate Risk Initiative at the University of California Berkeley Law School, is quoted: “I believe we’re marching toward an uninsurable future [in many places].” As evidence, the article states Secura Insurance, a company that once sold homeowners coverage in Iowa and nine other states – and, on Feb. 1, began dropping all its homeowners outside its home state of Wisconsin – is planning next year to drop customers in Wisconsin, too.
So why would insurance costs rise because of alleged climatechange-caused issues like floods, wildfires, hurricanes, and rising sea levels in Iowa and Wisconsin, when those states have very few of those events? It is more likely insurance companies haven’t been able to increase their rates quickly enough to cover home repair costs and construction labor rates driven higher by inflation.
The article admits as much with a statement answering its own questions: “Several factors are helping to drive the losses in homeowners insurance, including the rising cost of labor and materials to rebuild homes, outdated building codes, and the fact that Americans keep moving to areas that are at high risk of flooding or wildfire.” (Also, climate change must be raising boat insurance costs – my premiums increased by more than 50% yesterday).
In more nonsense, Inside Climate News published an article on July 30, “Supercharged by Climate Change, Western Megafires Explode Simultaneously.” The title makes it sound like climate change is causing spontaneous combustion across the West. However, the article reveals the Park Fire, which burned more than
380,000 acres in Northern California, was started by an arsonist, not climate change.
Similar wildfires are burning in Oregon and Canada. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), these conditions are more common because climate change is fueling longer and more active fire seasons. But the Inside Climate News article closes with a very obvious conclusion, “Experts are advocating for more prescribed burns – smaller fires that could help clear out some of the dry brush the fuels the flames.” That practice – historically rejected in California and the far West – has been used in the South for years to suppress wildfires. What a novel idea.
Another Inside Climate News article on July 16 reported that climate change is fueling longer and more severe heat waves, resulting in second- and third-degree burns to people walking barefoot on the roads. Dr. Clifford Sheckter stated, “People that are dying from these types of burns are not people who just end up blistering on their feet. Your body just literally sits there and cooks. When somebody finds you, you’re already in multisystem organ failure.”
It has been hot in the South for a long time. I remember asphalt melting and running on the roads. When I was a kid, we would put sticks in it and smear it around. However, we were smart enough not to walk in it barefoot. We walked on the grass. If people are going into organ failure and dying from walking on hot roads, climate change is probably not the main problem.
Finally, on July 19, Inside Climate News reported that a solution to climate change – offshore windmills - is causing other problems. Many Nantucket, Mass., business owners and tourists were up in arms as debris from a broken offshore wind turbine blade washed ashore on one of the island’s popular beaches. The owner of the offshore wind project, Vineyard Wind, had workers gathering debris from the 300-foot blade and other structures that had broken loose from the main structure. Other debris was still in the water, and commercial fishermen and boaters were complaining about the dangers of underwater obstacles. Solutions have consequences, too.
A complete pivot of the world’s fossil fuel -driven energy infrastructure will be extremely difficult and very expensive. The hardest hit will be the poor and the elderly – as they always are. A complete shift in global energy strategy is serious business, and the consideration of the best path to follow – or to do anything different – is not helped by the media’s relentless ideological rhetoric blaming anything and everything bad on fossil fuels. We can much more easily, efficiently, and economically use our resources to mitigate fossil fuel usage and any damage it may cause than pay the price of much more expensive replacement fuels.
I hope you ignore the nonsense and have a good month.
Gary Smith is President and CEO of PowerSouth Energy Cooperative.
How To Place an Ad in Marketplace
Closing Deadlines (in our office): November 2024 Issue by September 24
December 2024 Issue by October 24
January 2025 Issue by November 24
Ads are $1.75 per word with a 10 word minimum and are on a prepaid basis; Telephone numbers, email addresses and websites are considered 1 word each. Ads will not be taken over the phone. You may email your ad to hdutton@areapower.com; or call (800)410-2737 ask for Heather for pricing.; We accept checks, money orders and all major credit cards. Mail ad submission along with a check or money order made payable to ALABAMA LIVING, P.O. Box 244014, Montgomery, AL 36124 – Attn: Classifieds.
Miscellaneous
LOW COST FLOORING – 100,000 sqft In Stock - $1 sqft & Up – Great for Rental Properties – usacarpetandmattress.com – Prattville, AL –Call Terry (334)315-7117
FREE MATERIALS: SOON CHURCH / GOVERNMENT UNITING, suppressing “RELIGIOUS LIBERTY”, enforcing NATIONAL SUNDAY LAW, Be informed! Need mailing address only. POB 374, Ellijay, GA 30540 –tbsmads@yahoo.com, (888)211-1715
Vacation Rentals
PANAMA CITY BEACH CONDO – Owner rental – 2BR / 2BA, wireless internet, just remodeled inside and outside – (502)7777819, larrysusemichel@reagan.com, www. theroneycondo.com
Pet friendly – Save $$$ by booking directly from Verified Owners. ALAVHR.com
MILITARY / SERVICE DISCOUNTS on dozens of rentals. No Booking Fees. (251)333-6500, ALAVHR.com
OWNERS – Join the fastest growing regional site in Alabama. Low annual fee. Verified Owners, no booking fees or commissions. Alabama Vacation Home Rentals. Locally Owned and Operated. (251)333-6500, ALAVHR.com
GULF SHORES / ORANGE BEACH / FORT MORGAN – Choose from hundreds of beach houses and condos! Verified Owners. No Booking Fees. ALAVHR.com
AFFORDABLE BEACHFRONT & BEACHSIDE VACATION CONDOS – SUGAR BEACH CONDOS in ORANGE BEACH, AL. Rent Direct from Christian Family Owners. Lowest Prices on the Beach –www.gulfshorescondos.com, (251)752-2366.
MENTONE, AL LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN COTTAGE RENTALS – Best brow views, River Front –cottagesofmentone.com, Call or text (504)4818666
GROW MUSCADINES AND BLACKBERRIES , half dollar size – We offer over 200 varieties of Fruit and Nut Trees plus Vines and Berry Plants . Free color catalog. 1-800-733-0324. Ison’s Nursery, P.O. Box 190, Brooks, GA 30205 Since 1934 www.isons.com
Recipient’s Name:___________________________ Street: City: Zip: Phone: E-mail: RETURN WITH $12 CHECK PAYABLE TO ALABAMA LIVING MAIL TO: Alabama Living 340 TechnaCenter Drive Montgomery, AL 36117 ONLINE: www.alabamaliving.coop
Answers to puzzle on Page 28
God and the Rolling Stones
“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.’” — Jeremiah 29:11
It’s not often that I put a plan together that works. Normally, anything I come up with will almost certainly go awry, and that’s certainly how one of my latest schemes began. Amazingly, shortly after this idea of mine began to unravel, it turned 180 degrees and became one of the best things I’ve ever done. So, as a believer, I feel like that the Almighty had His hand in this - even if it was a Rolling Stones concert.
I still maintain that it was a good idea. The minute Stones concert tickets went on sale last year, I bought two pairs for the Atlanta show – one for us and another couple. Then greed took over my soul and I decided to speculate and buy four more tickets to sell at a ridiculous profit. If I played my cards right, I might have made enough money to buy a Maserati, or even a shopping basket full of groceries.
The long and the short of it is, it didn’t work. Unbelievably, I never found a buyer. So with time winding down, I did what I should’ve done all along. I offered the tickets to my boys.
To my surprise, all of them said yes. My youngest son even offered to drive. And that is how a family went to Atlanta to see the Rolling Stones. A friend snapped a photograph that proved it truly happened, but it was the next day when the significance of it hit me. The picture looked like a happy family, each face showing genuine joy, and dare I say it, peace? I never dreamed I would see a photo like this. In fact, I never dreamed that some of my boys would even speak to one another because of events in our past.
My oldest son has struggled with addiction and the problems associated with it. For 15 years, he was sucked into a drug-induced vortex that took a terrible toll on our entire family. Fights, anger, lying, stealing, finger-pointing, blaming, and of course, denial. Eventually, he was shot at point-blank range and survived the wound, only to end up serving seven years in a maximum level federal prison. These kind of things usually leave deep scars that can last a lifetime.
parents, we had differing opinions on how to handle the situation. Seeing this, our son expertly played one side against the other. This created bitter arguments that caused anger and a lack of forgiveness, deep fissures from which many families never emerge.
But by the grace of a loving God and a church family, we crawled out of the abyss, albeit bloody and scarred.
The seven years my son spent in prison were probably good for everyone. While he was incarcerated, he grew up and decided this is not the way he wanted to live his life. His brothers not only saw the changes in him, but the price he paid when they visited him at the penitentiary. As parents, we managed to work through the entire situation as best we could, sleepless nights and all.
Fast forward to the present day. Everyone in the family has made strides. All three of my boys have good jobs. My wife and I began participating in Celebrate Recovery, a Christ-centered 12-step program. While there are still struggles and scars, we’re doing OK, especially when you consider where we came from.
That leads us to a car full of family and friends, all music fans, driving to Atlanta to see the World’s Greatest Rock and Roll Band. I couldn’t help but notice how pleasant the whole experience was. Everyone was laughing and telling stories. Two of my boys had never seen the Stones, so there was an undercurrent of excitement that filled the car. My prodigal son is a serious connoisseur of classic rock and roll, making this concert a pilgrimage for him.
After a relatively smooth parking and stadium entrance, we made it inside. Nothing to do but wait, or do what the boys did, which is shop for gloriously overpriced T-shirts.
After a solid opening act, the stadium became electric as anticipation built. Finally, at long last, a voice boomed through the sound system, “Ladies and gentlemen, The Rolling Stones!”
And they did. His brothers resented him because he got all the attention and resources poured into fixing him, which didn’t work. They tired of him receiving countless last chances. As
Keith Richards hit the first notes of “Start Me Up” as Mick Jagger, the 80-year old wonder, literally skipped on stage. I got goosebumps. At that point I yelled to my wife, “Worth every penny!” And it was.
After the concert, my youngest son presented me with a Stones T-shirt he bought for me earlier. It was his way of thanking us for the ticket. I was surprised and touched by the gesture.
I couldn’t have planned this evening any better. And that’s because I really didn’t plan it. Looking at the photo the next day, I knew the Ultimate Trip Planner was in charge.
Don’t forget, God can show up anywhere, even at a Rolling Stones concert.
