THE ANNIVERSARY PROJECT: SECTION 4 A forward look at Anniston’s potential
A
MODEL FUTURE FOR THE
Sunday, August 17, 2008
1730 Quintard Ave., Anniston • 256-236-2642 • Hrs.: Mon.-Sat., 9AM-6PM 1119 Highway 78 East, Oxford •256-831-7868 • Hrs: Mon.-Sat., 10AM - 6PM 1015 Martin St. South, Pell City • 205-884-1224 • Hrs.: Mon. -Sat., 10AM-6PM
This is just one of our many displays at our Anniston location. Come in today to see our “Picture Perfect” Showroom.
THE PROJECT
JULY 27
1870s/1880s-1928, founding to year before Great Depression
BILL EDWARDS, FEATURES WRITER
BACK TO THE FUTURE
In 1930 Anniston’s leaders were still thinking about tomorrow. PAGE 23 Raised in Anniston, Bill Edwards has been a reporter or editor at The Star since 1985. He combs old issues of the paper and compiles the daily history happenings column.
PHILLIP TUTOR, COMMENTARY EDITOR
WHAT WOULD THE FOUNDERS THINK? From oaks to education, we ponder Anniston’s characteristics and wonder what Sam Noble and Daniel Tyler would think of their city today. PAGE 16 Phillip Tutor is The Star’s commentary editor and has been a reporter or editor at The Star since 1989. His masters history project examined Anniston’s original downtown. 2008 KNIGHT FELLOWS IN COMMUNITY JOURNALISM
Anne Anderson
Sandra Martinez
Cassandra Mickens
Jennifer Cox
Christina Smith
Jeremy Cox
Andrea Young
ANNISTON’S FUTURE
The Knight Fellows polled city leaders, residents and business owners to get an idea of the challenges Anniston will face in the next 25 years — and how those challenges might be met.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS EDITORS Bob Davis, Anthony Cook, Bill Edwards, Phillip Tutor and Laura Tutor DESIGNER Tosha Jupiter
AUG. 10
1971-present, New South and transition
TODAY The future ◆ MONDAY Then and Now — a photo album
A LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
CONTRIBUTORS
Emily Amick
AUG. 3
1929-1970, Depression through World War II, Cold War and Civil Rights era
COVER PHOTOGRAPHER Bill Wilson MULTIMEDIA Justin Thurman, Gary Lewis, Brandon Wynn, Andy Johns and Hannah Dame
Beating back Pottersville For the past three weeks, The Star has looked backward. We’ve marked the 125th anniversary of Anniston and this newspaper. Each section noted success and sadness, high points and low ones. Today, the fourth installment of the Anniversary Project hits the fast-forward Bob button. We enlisted Davis the help of students Editor from the University of Alabama’s Knight Community Journalism Masters Program here in Anniston. The question posed in the articles: What will Anniston look like 25 years from now? We fully acknowledge our predictions are merely best guesses. We relied on the informed wisdom of many sources to prognosticate a possible future, not the future. Earlier this year, when we were first planning the Anniversary Project, I sat down for coffee with David Christian, an Anniston architect and proud native of the Model City. I was looking for ideas about how our project could look backward and forward. In discussing the future, David talked in terms of best case and worst case. He suggested pondering what might happen if Anniston’s residents neglected its crying needs. It reminded me of It’s a Wonderful Life, Frank Capra’s 1947 movie. The film’s lead character, George Bailey, meets his guardian angel. With the angel’s help, George glimpses a vision of what would have happened if he’d never been born. Among the horrors is a completely different hometown from the one George and his family had helped create. The bad town had a different name, Pottersville instead of the customary Bedford Falls. Even worse, it was a gritty and depressing place. The wholesome businesses were gone, replaced by seedy dives. With George, a typical small American town. Without George, Sodom and Gomorrah. Such is Hollywood, a neat and tidy story of one man influencing his com-
munity, all wrapped up in a couple of hours. Anniston’s future will play out according to the efforts of many and in real time, slow-moving and full of twists and turns. Good and bad accompanies that fact. The good: The consequences, while serious, aren’t likely to be as severe as the ones in Capra’s fictional Pottersville. The bad: We don’t have a guardian angel who can snap his fingers and show us the worst case for Anniston. A city’s slow deterioration is easier to miss. Passers-by are lulled by the constant presence of empty storefronts. Warning signs pointing to a workforce that isn’t reaching its fullest potential can be set aside for later. It’s only natural. Proverbs warns the road to disaster can ease upon one with “a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep.” As City Hall candidates mentioned during last week’s forum, what’s taking root — fast-food restaurants, convenience stores and predatory lenders — is hardly a sign of a healthy and diverse local economy. The worry is whether the city has hit bottom, or if the worst is yet to come. No one can say for certain if Pottersville is just around the bend or miles away. Of course, city planners and residents don’t need a special section to pose the question. Almost every city government meeting is concerned, in one way or the other, with the “what’s next?” query. Yet, city leaders can’t carry this burden alone. An active and involved citizenry can put the wind in their sails. Anniston’s past is filled with instances of deep civic involvement. Residents took a chance, stepped out in the hopes of making their city. The boldest stroke is Noble and Tyler’s vision of a grand company town, more equitable and civicminded than others. Other examples include efforts at racial reconciliation in the civil rights era and rich community investment in education. Now, gentle readers, it is your turn. We invite you to contemplate Anniston’s future, and your role in it. Bob Davis is editor of The Anniston Star. Contact him at 256-235-3540 or bdavis@annistonstar.com.@ annistonstar.com.
Introducing the Newest I
nnova
Tyrone Prothro
tion in Sleep Technology.
will be at Oxford Martins 900 Quintard Drive (next to Books-A-Million)
The
Saturday, August 23rd 10am-12noon FREE Autograph with purchase of Alabama or Auburn Merchandise day of the event. Autographs $10 each without purchase.
Allura Bed by
"The Catch" unframed will be available for purchase
s& r u o h 6 1 , s y a d Only 12 . f f o k c i k l i t n u s d 37 secon g) n
(but who’s counti
Anniston 237-3882
50
%
Saks 237-5115 Gadsden 543-0802
Oxford 831-5357
Off
Men’s & Ladies'
Alabama or Auburn
Polos
Get a
Reg. $40-$44 Men’s in solid and fancy styles
With • LOW LONG-TERM FIXED RATE 1
• UP TO $500 BONUS for financing with us. 2
(256) 237-9494 (800) 637-0299 www.aodfcu.com Bynum Office 334 Victory Drive Bynum, AL 36253
Greenbrier Office 216 E. Greenbrier Dear Rd. Anniston, AL 36207
Depot Office Anniston Army Depot Building 141 Bynum, AL 36253
Lenlock Office 150 Bill Robison Pkwy. Anniston, AL 36206
1
Rate will be fixed for 15 years and adjustable thereafter. Offer available for a limited time and may be withdrawn without notice. Certain restrictions apply. 2 $500 bonus paid by credit to origination fee in the amount of 1/2 of 1% of the borrowing amount (up to a maximum of $500). This offer applies to Real Estate purchases and/or refinances. This offer excludes Land Loans, Home Equity Loans, and Lines of Credit. All loans subject to credit approval. Rates, terms, and conditions are subject to change without notice. Your savings is federally insured to at least $100,000 and backed by the full faith and credit of the United States Gomernment
Always Perfect...
Simply Better Pay 0% Interest With Martin’s Six Month Free Credit Option Charge (wac).
ANNISTON: WHAT’S NEXT?
History tells us of cities that have endured great hardships and sprung back better than before — Chicago and its fire, San Francisco and its earthquake. Anniston’s history, however, is littered with one hardship after another, dating back to its inception. Samuel Noble and Gen. Daniel Tyler founded their company town in 1872 amid the figurative and real ashes of the Civil War. (Union Gen. Lovell H. Rousseau’s troops burned down a furnace just outside presentday Anniston that helped supply Confederate forces with iron.) Over the next century and a quarter, change begat change. Textile mills came and went. An Army base sprouted on a hill on the north side of town and saw the city — and the country — through five wars before withering in the sudden warmth that followed the Cold War. Meanwhile, the city’s Industrial Age metamorphosed into a Service Age. From this progression emerged a quiet persistence. It’s in the money and energy going into Noble Street’s revival and in the commerce at the farmer’s market on Saturday mornings at Zinn Park. This persistence will help refurbish the city’s rusting core into a hub of new technological endeavors, anchored by a symbol of the town’s past, Fort McClellan.
While a city’s skeleton is formed by bricks, mortar and concrete, its heartbeat lies within its people. Residents — and their relationships with each other — will drive the direction this town takes.
Fighting back against violence
Classes are available to help parents learn how to deter their children from turning to drugs and violence. A community organization, called Stop the Violence, brings together business leaders, activists and city officials to develop alternatives to crime for kids. Truancy and delinquency are handled by well-trained social workers, not the criminal justice system. Anniston 2030? Nope. Try Anniston 2008. Many of the tools necessary to reduce youth crime are in their infancy in Anniston. But give them time to grow and mature and they will make a significant dent in the city’s problems with youth crime, community leaders say. Who will be committing crimes a decade or two from now? The answer depends on who gets to our children — even those who haven’t been born yet — first. Positive mentors are crucial to Anniston’s future. That’s why Calhoun County is launching a juvenile day camp this summer, so youths come into contact with a case worker at a social service agency instead of a case worker in the justice system. A court can order children into such programs, but it’s much more difficult to reach them sooner, before they get into trouble. Family Links has tried offering parents inducements to attend classes, such as taking $50 off families’ utility bills. Interest remains tepid. The parents who are most in need of help tend to be the poorest and, therefore, least able to spare a few hours a week getting parenting tips. They also are the hardest to reach with information about such programs. The good news, said Robin Mackey of Family Links, is that “there are pockets of people right now in Anniston who are working in the same direction.”
1
Community relations BY JEREMY COX ◆ Knight Community Journalism Fellow
A Southern town comes to grips with race At Calhoun County YMCA’s summer camp, teenage counselors instruct their charges not to identify each other by the color of their skin. Kids may not be as colorblind as adults think they are, but they learn fast, counselors say. For their part, local high school and college students say race isn’t as big of an issue with their generation as it was for previous ones. About half of today’s Annistonians were born after May 14, 1961 — when a white mob unleashed its fury against a bus of Freedom Riders on the outskirts of town. Two generations later, racial tensions have by no means evaporated, but the fuse
2
no longer burns on this former powder keg. And the third generation — children just reaching school age who will soon inherit this city — may make the memory of the burning bus ever more distant. If time heals all wounds, then the generation after the ones at the YMCA will surely be even more progressive in their attitudes toward race. As a result, the dividing line between east and west Anniston will blur. More black city council representatives will come from areas outside of west Anniston. Annistonians must begin at the ending by respecting the past. This is followed by a “neutral zone” where people shake off the old and begin to find a new way forward. Lastly, people enter a new beginning when they enact new ways of doing things.
The nonprofit bubble bursts lies during tough times. The result: There is one nonprofit for every 926 people in Calhoun County, The Star reported a couple of years ago. But privately, some local nonprofit executives complain that newcomers are siphoning away grants that are badly needed in Anniston and spending them elsewhere in the county and the region. As the nation spins toward recession, that source of nonprofit revenue will become less reliable. And when it does, expect to find a lot of disconnected numbers in the social services section of the phone book.
3
In any market, supply and demand must be at least somewhat in agreement, or else you’ll end up with what economists blandly call a “correction.” A quick explanation: With the closing of Fort McClellan, the death spiral of the textile industry and the decay of west Anniston, business has been good for Anniston’s nonprofit sector. In the bad-means-good world of social services, depressed incomes and bleak economic conditions mean one thing: grant money. And that money has poured into Anniston in recent years to help agencies that help fami-
Oddly, this will be the best thing that could have happened to Anniston. The remaining charities will go into survival mode. Finally, they will realize that they can’t afford to be proud. Officials will work together, not because they want to but because they have to. Charities will consolidate and become more nimble, more able to assist their clients. The lives of the community’s poorest will improve in this new world order. No longer confronted by a confusing mélange of social service providers, they simply will turn to one-size-fits all organizations that will help them at any stage of their lives with however much need they have.
The Quality You Deserve at the Price You want!!! OUR STANDARD SPECS:
TRINITY CUSTOM HOMES www.trinitycustom.com
FRONTIER 1242 sf under roof 3BR/2BA
• Solid 2x6 Ext. Wall Framing • All Wood Construction No Foam Board • Efficient R-19 Wall/Floor Insulation; R-38 Ceiling • Sturdy 5/8” Roof Decking
• Custom Kitchen Cabinets Oak/Maple • Granite Kitchen Counter tops • Double Hung Low “E” Windows • Smooth top range/stove, dishwasher, range hood • Much More!!!
OAKRIDGE 1512 sf under roof 3BR/2BA
CHALET 1684 sf under roof 3BR/2BA
GEORGIANNA 1758 sf under roof 3BR/2BA
LIBERTY 2025 sf under roof 3BR/2BA
SUNRISE 1522 sf under roof 3BR/2BA
FRONTIER + basement 2394 sf under roof 3BR/2BA
BRIARWOOD + garage 2613 sf under roof 3BR/2.5BA
MAGNOLIA+ garage 2589 sf under roof 3BR/2BA
CHEYENNE + garage 2474 sf under roof 3BR/2BA
MOUNTAINEER 3087 sf under roof 4BR/2.5BA
DAWSON CREEK + garage 2746 sf under roof 3BR/2BA
SAVAHHAH + garage 3148 sf under roof 3BR/2BA
COLUMBUS 2274 sf under roof 3BR/2BA
3692 sf under roof 4BR/2.5BA
New Homes under $110,000 CREEKSIDE 1822 sf under roof 3BR/2.5BA turn key
RIVERSTONE MANOR + garage 2724 sf under roof 4BR/2BA Homes starting @ $48 per sf under roof
SOUTHERN PLANTATION+garage
MOUNTANSIDE 1816 sf under roof 3BR/2.5BA
LAKE BLUE RIDGE 2018 sf under roof 3BR/2.5BA
GRAND SIERRA 2211 sf under roof 4BR/2BA
New Homes under $200,000 turn key
HARTWELL+ garage 3459 sf under roof 4BR/2.5BA
CARTECAY+ garage 3613 sf under roof 4BR/2.5BA
VICTORIAN+ garage 4103 sf under roof 4BR/2.5BA
Call Today for FREE Brochure
Toll Free: 866-802-7380 • 660 W. Bankhead Hwy. Ste. F • Villa Rica, Ga 30180 Hours of operation: M-F 9am-6pm, Sat. 10am-4pm *Price does not include land improvements. Homes shown may include options not included in base price”
7 LOCATIONS TO SERVE YOU:
Villa Rica, GA • Dawsonville, GA • Cartersville, GA • Forsyth, GA • Ellijay, GA • Madison, GA • Lavonia, GA
DIRECTIONS HWY 61
AUGUSTA + bonus room 3020 sf under roof 3BR/2.5BA
New Homes under $160,000 turn key
New Homes under $130,000 turn key
Over 64 plans to choose from!
PIGGLY WIGGLY MCDONALDS
I-20 EAST
ANNISTON: WHAT’S NEXT? Anniston’s schools spent the last decade of the 1900s in an enrollment free-fall. The challenge to the city — not just its elected leaders — is to see where an educated, engaged citizenry will come from in the next generation.
A literate and prosperous community won’t be intimidated by the marriage of education and technology — two words that extend well beyond the classroom and into the workplace. Fiber optics, laptop computers and classroom Internet access are on the wish lists of any school administrator, but students have to be ready to learn, ready to use that technology. ACCESS, Alabama Connecting Classrooms Educators and Students Statewide, ushered in an era of innovative learning in high schools, and other initiatives are sure to follow. But it’s up to Annistonians to find a healthy balance between the advancements of technology and traditional teaching. It’s a tug of war that has plagued many in the education field. But a literate and prosperous community won’t be realized without community involvement.
Erasing illiteracy one council at a time Though he grew up far from Anniston, Swiss-born art critic W. Fusselman has a local following because of six words — today a reader, tomorrow a leader. For 25 percent of Alabamians, those six words are lost on them. They are illiterate. The Literacy Council of Birmingham has launched an initiative to establish 10 literacy councils statewide, and Anniston is on the list of prospective candidates. The initiative begins in Tuscaloosa, where the West Alabama Literacy Council is in its infancy. Subsequent councils will look to Tuscaloosa for guidance. Steered by the business community, the council will be designed to support existing literacy programs in their respective regions. The council will provide marketing support, technical support and grant-writing assistance to programs struggling to stay afloat. In Tuscaloosa, the West Alabama Literacy Council has purchased airtime to raise literacy awareness. Aggressive planning and campaigning is vital to the council’s success. Community input is necessary. The council has struck a nerve with West Alabamians who have vowed to end the cycle of illiteracy by becoming volunteer tutors. Will Anniston residents follow suit? The support network is here. Gadsden State Community College, the United Way of East Central Alabama and the Anniston Community Education Foundation advocate the council’s mission and philosophy — literacy cures unemployment, and employment cures crime. The ability to read, write and comprehend words is the first step toward an educated, socially sound community. The council has faith all Alabamians will be able to read a street sign or the label on a medicine bottle. In time, all Alabamians will be readers and leaders of their own lives. Just as Mr. Fusselman predicted.
1
Education
BY CASSANDRA MICKENS ◆ Knight Community Journalism Fellow Technology trumps the teacher? It’s an average day at school. Advanced biology is set to begin. Students take their seats, crack open their laptops and with the flip of a switch or the push of a button, the teacher appears on the screen. The age of the two-dimensional teacher is upon us. Terrifying or terrific? The 2D invasion began when Alabama high schools were formally introduced to ACCESS, Alabama Connecting Classrooms Educators and Students Statewide. The innovative distance learning initiative provides access to classes unavailable to Alabama students. Thanks to ACCESS, a teacher in Mobile can teach U.S. government to Anniston students via a projector screen. There have been 2D sightings through-
2
out Calhoun County — Anniston High, Jacksonville High, Weaver High and Wellborn High have been exposed. ACCESS is now only available in high schools, but it’s probable the program will reach elementary and middle schools. Soon the invasion will be complete. And who’s to say the 2Ds won’t invite special guests to class? Perhaps an archeologist in Peru will talk to Anniston students via satellite about unearthing a 4,000-yearold temple. Or maybe students will probe the author of a book they read in American lit. Or maybe students will engage in a casual Q&A with the inventor of the world’s first flying car. The possibilities are endless and exciting. But is it possible that technology will trump the flesh-and-blood teacher? Never. Now we can all breathe a sigh of relief.
Community-Supported Education makes a comeback along the way, the squad lost its pep. And we all know a cheerleader sans pep is no good. How do we reclaim and retain that spirit? Vote. The victors of the 2008 race for the Anniston Board of Education may present an opportunity for a fresh start. We must hold board members accountable, but never forget our responsibilities to public education. We must show up at board meetings and parent-teacher conferences — not just football games. Constantly badmouthing a system
3
Mention Anniston City Schools in 2008, expect an aggravated grunt and a roll of the eyes. Mention Anniston City Schools in 2028, expect a shriek of excitement and a glimmer in the eyes. Anniston won’t tap into its true potential — the promise of prosperity — until the community nourishes its schools. Our hearts must change. Our minds must change. Once upon a time, Anniston schools had a cheerleading squad — myriad teachers, administrators, parents, alumni and civic leaders who vowed to be the best of the best. But somewhere
that has produced a bevy of exceptional students not only deflates community morale, but also spoils the hopes of a wildly optimistic child. We must calm our inner cynic to move forward. Once we rediscover our sense of pride and make an unyielding commitment to future generations, Anniston High School will be the school everyone wants to attend. Parent involvement will be on the rise, students will be eager to learn, teachers will be eager to teach and alumni will be eager to give back. A reputation of academic excellence will be restored. And a community will prosper.
Need Cash? We Buy Gold at Premium Prices Sell it Now While Gold is Near It’s Historically Highest Price
Since 1941 - 3 Generations
We buy any gold item Broken chains, whatever you don’t want anymore.
Expert Jewelry Repair Most any repair done in house You can trust Couch’s to fix and protect your precious jewelry Non Ong 23 years at Couch’s
JEWELERS WWW.COUCHS.COM
Anniston 237-4628 • 15 E. 10th St Oxford 831-4628 • Oxford Exchange
ANNISTON: WHAT’S NEXT? Aging baby boomers, a shortage of family doctors and rising healthcare costs affect every corner of the United States. Anniston’s medical community says the area’s healthcare industry is shifting to meet the growing demand on its services.
Who’s gonna be my doctor? There is a shortage of primary care physicians — in pediatrics, internal medicine and family practice. This is becoming an increasing concern for Anniston officials. Roughly 50 of the area’s nearly 180 doctors are family and internal medicine physicians — of which about six will retire at some point this year. Officials at Stringfellow Memorial Hospital and Regional Medical Center are kicking it into high gear to recruit and retain family physicians. Hilary Folsom, manager of physician services at RMC, said the lack of family physicians could be due to lifestyle desires. She said many new medical school graduates do not want to be on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The specialty practices give them flexibility and, typically, higher salaries. The biggest risk associated with not having enough family physicians, officials said, will be the reduction of continuous follow-up care. Local doctors have long waiting lists and often turn away patients — a trend predicted to continue. Emergency rooms are often packed. Corey Ewing, chief operating officer of Stringfellow Memorial Hospital, said the hospital is making a concerted effort right now to prevent a potential extreme shortage in local family physicians. By year-end, he said, Ewing hopes to hire at least nine new doctors. “We are going to have to add doctors,” he said. One future option is to hire hospitalists, who monitor patients in intensive care units, and internalists, who are considered critical care specialists. They are contracted employees of the hospital and are considered primary caregivers within the halls of the hospital. They do not follow up with patients once they leave. Neither hospital has adopted the idea, yet. But the idea, if more family physicians decide to bypass Anniston, could become reality.
1
More healthcare options are available today in Anniston than any time in its history. That’s a rarity in an age when medical facilities are consolidating in large metropolises and moving away from smaller, regional hospitals. In this instance, Anniston is bucking a national trend, and officials believe services and options will continue to grow and improve so patients do not have to travel out of town or out of state for the best care. A shared understanding exists — today’s actions or lack thereof will have an impact on the future of health care in Anniston, especially because of the predicted strain by the baby boomers. One local official said if the right
actions and steps are not made to ensure quality health care, the entire area will suffer, especially the aging residents. “The ‘boomers’ are going to face a situation where most of the need for care giving will fall on themselves and their family members,” Randall Frost, director of Senior Services for the East Alabama Regional Planning and Development Commission, says. All aspects of the health care system in this community, including the area’s two largest hospitals, private doctors and government officials, must start brainstorming about ways to attract physicians and health care business owners and companies to Anniston to meet future health care needs. It could be too late 20 years from now when the first baby boomer will be 82, and have a potential need for more medical care and a new type of housing.
Healthcare
BY CHRISTINA SMITH ◆ Knight Community Journalism Fellow The baby boomer Anniston officials need to consider how to meet the needs of an aging population, starting now. According to the East Alabama Regional Planning and Development Commission Area Agency on Aging, in 2005, Calhoun County had just over 16,266 residents over the age of 65. By 2025, that number will increase to just over 22,520. If nothing changes, there will not be enough hospital beds, adult day cares, nursing home facilities, assisted and independent living units and in-home health care help for those in need. Mike Cassidy, owner of the private Autumn Cove assisted living facility in Anniston, said baby boomers would most likely be looking for alternative living
2
arrangements. He said to prevent the lack of appropriate housing, developers will have to start building — and soon — to meet future needs. Local officials need to partner to recruit and provide incentives to new health care businesses. To help alleviate some potential strain on the future of the area’s health care system, local officials also need to continue to emphasize preventative and alternative care methods. Frost said if more focus was placed on preventative care and training for friends and family members of the elderly now, future problems could be reduced or eliminated. “The reality is there is not going to be enough paid people who can be caregivers,” he said. “We have to provide information to teach people to own your own healthy future.”
Where’s the growth? will have to add services — and medical beds — to stay competitive and meet the ever-growing needs from patients. Because more patients who are underinsured or uninsured are making more trips to the emergency room, hospitals will have to expand. Officials said even today the emergency rooms are constantly filled. They believe, however, that the future will see more patients, especially those with minor problems, using this option. Stringfellow is considering adding a new patient tower, another operating
3
One concern about the future health care industry in Anniston is the projected rise in the need for more acute in-patient care, which, if not planned for strategically, will stretch the city’s medical facilities to their capacity, warned Dr. Igor Bidikov, a geriatrics specialist. “As the system stands right now, there will not be enough medical beds because of the foreseen future increase in acute in-patient care the public will seek,” he said. “There is going to be a need to expand the capacities.” Hospital officials agreed that they
room and expanding the emergency room. Dates and specifics have yet to be determined. “Who knows what is going to happen,” said Corey Ewing, Stringfellow’s chief operating officer. “At one point, something is going to have to change.” Allen Fletcher, former head of RMC, agreed. “Facilities will have to adapt,” he said. Currently, RMC has no preliminary plans for expansion. The idea, however, is not out of the question. “All facilities will see expansion,” Fletcher said.
MULTIMEDIA: www.annistonstar.com/celebrate125
ANNISTON’S ATTIC Residents share memories about the town we call home.
START A Love Affair WITH YOUR HOME!
Leola Bright remembers Girl Scouts ◆◆◆ Community leader Betty Carr ◆◆◆ Virginia Matheny remembers her great-great-uncle ◆◆◆ The powers that tried by Ruth Mitchell ◆◆◆ Sam Stewart remembers
LANDMARK LORE Phillip Tutor and Andy Johns dodge traffic, trek through vacant lots and hang from buildings, all in the name of showing the history, quirks and warts associated with Anniston’s landmarks and inconspicuous-but-important spots. Click on the interactive map to watch video history lessons.
Happy Birthday Anniston We look forward to caring for you for the next 125 years.
HARDWOOD
CARPET
TILE
LAMINATE
WITH A NEW FLOOR FROM ABBEY CARPET & FLOOR
ON SALE NOW! 1008 Highway 431 North Anniston
Mon. - Fri. 8:30AM - 5PM Sat. 8:30AM - 4PM
www.rmccares.org
t BOOJTUPO BCCFZDBSQFU DPN
ANNISTON: WHAT’S NEXT?
A city is only as sound as its bones. Anniston’s leaders say they’re prepared to be innovative to build its communications and transportation infrastructure into a 21st-century model.
Going green and looking familiar? Anniston will look surprisingly familiar in 20 to 30 years. City and Calhoun County officials recently embarked on a campaign to “go green,” which will involve recycling and energy and fuel efficiency. The only change may be that residents don’t detect any change at all. City officials were recently among the first in the country to make their courthouse more energy efficient by adhering to improved heating, cooling and lighting regulations. They will apply these standards to each city building in the coming years. The courthouse “looks just like it did years ago,” said Calhoun County Commissioner Robert Downing. “We still have a ways to go, but we’re off to a good start.” Additionally, new businesses are springing up to help Anniston along with its quest to become environmentally friendly. Dick Anderson at Huron Valley Steel said his business breaks down Army tanks and vehicles and recycles the scrap metal for other products to be used locally. Recycling saves approximately 75 percent to 95 percent more energy than mining, Anderson said. “We have a growing business in Anniston,” he said. “The business climate here is good, and we have a good, viable workforce, so I think you’ll see a lot more businesses like mine cropping up.” County officials are also contracting with Anniston businesses to recycle kitchen waste into biofuel for the county’s diesel vehicles. With gas prices tending to rise, and forecasters predicting no relief in sight, city officials are also looking to trade their gas guzzling vehicles for new fleets of energy-efficient cars and electronic carts.
1
The city’s circulatory and nerve systems will get an upgrade in the next 20 to 30 years — and the framework of that upgrade is already heading toward the future. What is probable for the city are new, locally grown ways to communicate, travel and live. Each concept will make Anniston competitive in the world market. As gas prices rise, innovations in technology will make the videoconferene a viable alternative to getting behind the wheel. When officials do hit the road, they’ll do so in energy-efficient vehicles on the Eastern Parkway, which will cut rush hour drive time from Interstate 20 to McClellan from 30 minutes to around seven. State Sen. Del Marsh, R-Anniston,
called fiber optics, the Eastern Parkway and “going green” initiatives essential to the future of Anniston. Everything needs to fall into place at once to make Anniston’s future a bright one. With the closing of Fort McClellan in 1999, the start up of a controversial chemical weapons incinerator and a struggle against industrial pollution, the perception of Anniston’s health and vitality took some hits. Businesses looked elsewhere, often to Oxford, sometimes to Jacksonville, or closed forever. That I-20 corridor led to a retail and dining boom in Oxford, which pumped millions into its infrastructure in an open-for-business march along the interstate. Anniston officials say it’s their town’s turn to work on the arteries and skeletal structure that makes a city grow in a healthy, sustainable way.
Infrastructure BY JENNIFER COX ◆ Knight Community Journalism Fellow
Highway to the future Construction is well under way on the Eastern Parkway, which will offer travelers a direct route from Birmingham and Atlanta to north Anniston and McClellan. If the project — scheduled for Phase 1 completion in 2010 — is a success, it will mean the revitalization of a struggling city. “In 20 years, I see subdivisions, communities, schools, retailers, parks, you name it,” said Kevin Miller, whose childhood home sits at the intersection of the parkway’s connector in Golden Springs. “It could really be a home run for Anniston.” While rejuvenation seems plausible,
2
even likely, some Anniston residents worry the final lick for the wounded city may be just one slip up away. The city has received enough funding to complete the parkway’s connection to McClellan — up to Lake Yahou Road. But officials have not identified funding for the remainder of the project — tens of millions of dollars. “It’ll be the most expensive cul-de-sac in the world. A road to nowhere,” said Bill Gann, who owns an empty lot on the parkway. Anniston leaders spend their days in meetings brainstorming ideas for funding, including the implementation of local taxes, state funding or direct contributions. For many residents one thing is certain: The parkway will either put Anniston back on the map or wipe it off for good.
Connecting to the world
3
Imagine a virtual laboratory where Anniston school children dissect frogs online under the close supervision of Nobel prize-winning scientists. Picture elementary students speaking Japanese with Pacific pen pals in preparation for managerial positions at the Honda plant. And, if you can, envision technology that will allow teachers to substitute for one another via Webcam, so students don’t miss a day of work. The future of communication in Anniston will begin with its youth. But it won’t end there.
David Land, director of technology for Anniston City Schools, is already at work upgrading the system’s slow-speed Internet connection to a faster fiber optics line. “If you use a regular provider, like you have a network with the diameter of about a toothpick,” Land said. “With fiber optics, you’re talking about the diameter of a water hose. “One day, we’ll have a connection the size of a trashcan lid.” Anniston attorney Donald Stewart contributed much of the $1.4 million needed to get fiber optics connections into school
computer labs. During the next decade, Anniston officials will make fiber optics available to all city employees, linking hospital workers, planners and surveyors to their intellectual counterparts across the globe. “Fiber optics is the future,” Stewart said. “It will connect Anniston with the outside world.” City leaders are dreaming of high-speed uploads, video conferencing and other innovations that will push Anniston onto the world stage. Anniston may be landlocked, but its future in communications will spread far beyond any body of water.
The Donoho D I F F E R E N C E
Academics The class of 2008 received more than $2.6 million in college scholarship offers and were offered acceptance to more than thirty-five colleges and universities.
Arts The fine arts play an important role in the life of The Donoho School. Self expression and experiences in both the visual and performing arts are placed among the top priorities at the school.
Athletics Students enjoy participating in a variety of sports offered at The Donoho School: football, basketball, volleyball, golf, soccer, tennis, track, cross-country, baseball, and cheerleading. The Donoho School was selected by The Birmingham News to receive the 2007 AHSAA IA All Sports Championship Award.
The Donoho School is located in Anniston, AL at 2501 Henry Road. For more information, please contact Director of Admissions Sue Canter at (256) 236-4459, or visit our website at www.donohoschool.com.
the difference is...
The Donoho School is dually accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) and the Southern Association of Independent Schools (SAIS). It is an active member of the National Association of Independent Schools and the Alabama Association of Independent Schools.
Come Worship With Us! W. Mack Amis, Jr., D.Min. Pastor
Sundays Morning Worship 8:30 AM Sunday School 9:30 AM Morning Worship 10:45 AM Discipleship Groups 5:00 PM Evening Worship 6:00 PM
Wednesdays Children’s Awana Adult Bible Study Youth “Buzz”
5:30 PM 6:00 PM 6:00 PM
Harris-McKay Realty
Seeking to provide a place where... the Love of God is shared. the Word of God is taught. the Power of God is revealed. the Plan of God is fulfilled.
Touching Our Community with the
Love of Jesus and a
Message of Hope
Intercessory Prayer Ministry 24-hour Prayer Line 256-236-1515 Sunday Telecasts Cable 2: Sunday School Cable 2: Live Broadcast Cable 9: Week Delay
10:15 AM 10:50 AM 11:00 AM
Harris-McKay Realty 123 So. Quintard Avenue • Anniston, AL 36201 (256) 236-0377 • (256) 237-8100
ANNISTON: WHAT’S NEXT?
Going global is more than a catchphrase. It means workplaces will no longer be tied to geographic regions; someone in India could telecommute and manage an office in Anniston. Maintaining economic stability in the new economy will require active decision-making by the city government.
A new old downtown Noble Street in 50 years will not resemble what it is today. After the city government invests in a professional landscape design, there will be a phased implementation of eye-friendly features. Trees will shade the sidewalks, and pedestrians will hear the sound of a fountain along with the humming traffic. The building facades will move back in time, rather than forward. The Alabama Historical Commission will again offer investors free architectural design services to help accurately restore the buildings to their former glory. Restorations of the historic structures might also be coordinated by a nonprofit revolving loan fund organization that will purchase, stabilize and sell the buildings to new owners who will use a variety of tax incentives to restore the buildings properly. A business recruitment and retention program headed by The Spirit of Anniston will offer amenities for small business owners such as specialized consultants and city-enacted tax abatements. The new black chamber of commerce will help black-owned businesses get off the ground. These small businesses will cull their clientele from a new set of residents. A University of Wisconsin–Madison study shows that over the next 20 years, Atlanta suburbs will expand past the Georgia line. These people will choose Anniston because of its smalltown atmosphere and will expect an assortment of restaurants and boutiques. In addition to more locally owned stores, there will be new cultural amenities: a civil rights museum, local arts center and a vintage bicycle museum. Noble Street and the rest of the downtown business district will be a vibrant commercial district of niche businesses, offering many opportunities for local entrepreneurs.
1
Internet technologies will become the foundations of a vast global workplace, and there will be many benefits for Anniston residents. Job flexibility will allow more family time, and highly technical jobs will demand higher paychecks. Groups such as Calhoun County’s Economic Development Council will need to actively pursue companies and provide incentive packages for them to relocate to Anniston. Local developers and officials say this will require more than tax abatements and readied land. With all of the available placement options for a company,
Anniston will have to prove that it is the best option. This means making Anniston a place where people want to live and raise their children. Anniston has the opportunity to capitalize on its proximity to Atlanta and Birmingham. Inciting positive economic development requires fixing the schools, increasing parks and recreation and boosting the cultural attractions in town. What differentiates Anniston from other cities is the combination of urban amenities with the feel of smalltown life. As towns and cities in America and abroad begin to look more alike, amenities such as locally owned restaurants and shops will enhance a city’s appeal with potential residents.
Jobs and commerce
BY EMILY AMICK ◆ Knight Community Journalism Fellow Technological advances at the Depot As the area’s largest employer, Anniston Army Depot is an important part of this town’s economic puzzle. The technological innovations of the future will drastically change the type of product the depot employees will be working on. Lightweight titanium materials will encase tanks powered by fuel cell batteries. Already, the Army and private industry are working on the development of these future combat systems. As the plant expands and Depot employees become more highly specialized, the Army will start granting the Depot more contracts for production of tanks rather than just refurbishment. There will also be
2
an increase in auxiliary businesses that create the necessary parts for the tank. This expansion into tank production will go hand-in-hand with an increase in jobs for research and development. These individuals will help the Depot become a leader in the field of military vehicle production. All of these jobs require a smart, knowledgeable workforce. Gadsden State Community College’s class offerings will develop with the job market — offering advanced electrical and engineering training. Moreover, they will expand their cooperative education agreement with the Depot to improve the work viability of their graduates. This educated workforce will entice employers like BAE Systems to move to Anniston, creating a community of military vehicle production industries.
Medical center at McClellan service spa. The company building the facility, Intellimed, expects to have between 130,000 and 180,000 square feet of space that will employ physicians, nurses and a variety of support staff. The complex will create jobs for people at a coffee shop, food court, florist and even a woman’s clothing store, all in the goal of creating a positive medical experience for the patient and her family. The McClellan medical complex represents a new phase in medical care, where the mode and means of
3
There’s no way to look at the economic future of Anniston without considering one of its major assets, the former Fort McClellan. Today a few properties operate there, such as Lowe’s, the golf course and The Anniston Star, but in 50 years, there will be hundreds of jobs on the property. One major employer on the base will be a large private medical complex that’s in its beginning stages now. When complete, the building will house everything from an outpatient surgery center to a full-
care are directed by the patients’ needs, not a bureaucracy. Because the center will be a private business, it will be able to evolve quickly with changing medical technologies. In five years, a large part of the center will be dedicated to a cancer treatment clinic. In 50 years, the managers hope and expect that clinic to change to a cancer curing clinic. Though the complex will only be a part of McClellan’s future economic force, people will always need medical care, and this complex will employ local workers for years to come.
ANNISTON: WHAT’S NEXT?
McClellan’s thousands of acres represent a challenge and an opportunity. The city’s future is tied to the former Army base — but unlocking its potential will take teamwork and commitment.
Genesis of a community From an infant, population zero in 1999, McClellan soon grew to about 1,000 people. Fast-forward to 2033. Houses built in the 1920s on McClellan’s western edge flow into Anniston’s eastern side, thanks to a spur off the Eastern Parkway. And there’s a touch of magic about McClellan. Maybe it’s the Alabama Symphony that used to just visit, but now stays for the summer. Maybe it’s the Tour de Alabama bicycle race with its headquarters at the Historic Buckner Center. Maybe it’s the low-equity housing cooperative started by developers looking at a long-distance bottom line. Whatever it is, it’s good. Very good. Magical, even.
Farmer’s n w o Downt Market
14th St. & Gurnee (Zinn Park) 8am to NOON
JUST TWO MORE SATURDAYS AT ZINN! AUG. 23RD (ICE CREAM SOCIAL) AUG. 3OTH (MUSIC, MUSIC, MUSIC)
LATE SEASON MARKET AT PICKETTE’S ON HWY 21 BEGINNING SEPT. 6TH In the meantime, enjoy lots of locally grown produce, local crafts, and the relaxing atmosphere of trees, dappled sunshine, friends and neighbors.
Door Prizes & Starbucks Coffee “Market photos at www.spiritofanniston.org” (Information: 236-0996)
In 1995, the Department of Defense announced it was pulling out from the land they’d been using since 1917. Land they’d bought for less than Anniston had paid for it, leaving Anniston in debt for almost 20 years. Upon pulling out, the DoD gave the city three choices: 1. We’ll clean up the land in our time, on our dime. Then we’ll turn it over to the General Services Administration, which will sell it to the highest bidder. Because your archaic state Constitution stymies county efforts to create zoning laws and building codes, the property could get a slaughterhouse. Could get a wood pulp plant. 2. We won’t clean up the land. We’ll “mothball” the buildings, put a fence around the perimeter and let it sit. Maybe someday we’ll reactivate it. Someday. 3. You clean up the land. We’ll pay. Then you can sell it at fair market value or whatever. It won’t be easy. There are 10 landfills and 38 buried fuel storage tanks and thousands of acres of unexploded mortars, rockets and shells. Someone has to take over the water and sewer systems, the roads, the police and fire protection. The buildings don’t meet your building codes, so they’ll have to be renovated. Experts have said it takes at least a generation to see a former military base returned to a healthy, vibrant civilian use. McClellan’s rebirth is just now a decade in the making. Who runs McClellan — and redevelops it — has become an issue in this month’s municipal elections as residents assess what’s best for that huge chunk of land on the north side of town.
McClellan
BY ANNE ANDERSON ◆ Knight Community Journalism Fellow
ROBINSON MAYOR ‘08 www.electGeneRobinson.com A VOTE FOR ROBINSON MEANS:
Future and Progress will be the same for all to share Paid political adv. by Gene Robinson 1000 Noble Street • Anniston, Alabama 36201
234038
ANNISTON: WHAT’S NEXT?
The city’s Parks and Recreation Department was once a draw for families. As northeast Alabama tries to position itself as an ecotourism destination, what can the city do to revive the recreational spirit and facilities that call this place home year round?
Anniston will become the new Chattanooga … well, sort of Ecotourism is the way to go. So said a consulting firm to the Calhoun County Chamber of Commerce a few years back. And since ecotourism annually brings in approximately $32 million to the county, the chamber will continue primarily to focus its advertising dollars on what brings the most people and money to the area, said Mike Galloway, director of tourism for the chamber. The latest ecotourism sensation is what The Los Angeles Times calls “glamping”—glamorous camping. An alternative to “roughing it” has become a vacationing option for tourists who don’t mind shelling out $700 a night to sleep in fully furnished tents draped in expensive linens and serviced by personal maids and butlers. Towns in Montana and California already have capitalized on this trend, even offering scaleddown versions for as low as $80 a night. Anniston has yet to get on board, but it has the resources. And, Galloway said, “glamping” definitely is the future of ecotourism. Aggressively marketing Anniston’s potential and current natural recreational experiences, such as Rails to Trails and the Noble Street Festival, will help transform the image of a city plagued by environmental racism to one of limitless environmentally friendly opportunities. Chattanooga did it. Forty years ago it was considered an environmental failure, voted the U.S. city with the worst air pollution. Today its name is synonymous with the Tennessee Aquarium and a multitude of outdoor amenities, thanks to Outdoor Chattanooga, an organization developed from a communitywide effort to revamp the city’s image.
1
When many people think of this area’s natural attributes, they picture camping, hiking and biking trails. But current local recreational opportunities only scratch the surface of what could become a cash cow for Anniston and an opportunity for the Model City to redefine itself. But these outdoor activities don’t extend just to tourists. This city’s parks have long been a source of pride for residents — and frequently a source of debate for the city council. Want to get folks stirred up in Anniston? Talk about closing one of their parks or community centers. While the public sports arena has historically focused on football, basketball and baseball, several less-physical activities will be given emphasis in the coming years. Who would’ve thought a Frisbee could become an integral part of public recreational sports? That’s just the beginning, if you flip your calendar to about 25 years from today.
Ecotourism/ Recreation
BY ANDREA YOUNG ◆ Knight Community Journalism Fellow Coldwater Mountain to become Anniston’s jackpot endeavor Four thousand acres near the center of downtown Anniston sit undeveloped and virtually unused. Coldwater Mountain has the potential to breathe life into the city’s dwindling revenue base by attracting hiking and biking enthusiasts who have deep pockets and even deeper desires to escape the concrete jungles of big-city America—if only for a weekend. Parts of the mountain were purchased from the Kimberly-Clark Corp.
2
in 1998 by Alabama State Parks under the Forever Wild Land Trust. Public access to the mountain has been slow in arriving. Greg Lein, assistant division director for Forever Wild, said the state parks system will “go forward” with its efforts to develop a recreational trail system on the mountain. And the Northeast Alabama Bicycle Club has commissioned Atlanta-based Mike Riter to design a 40-mile biking trail. These are promising starting points, considering Coldwater Mountain has taken a back seat to other issues city council has deemed more pressing.
Youth sports won’t look like it used to reward incentives for student performance. John Baker, the commissioner of Anniston Baseball for Youth, said he has seen a significant difference in PARD’s dedication to children in recent years. He said city leaders are recognizing the importance PARD plays in the everyday lives of residents, and as long as such an open-minded leadership continues, the city can expect nothing but great things for its children’s recreational development. Baker and other volunteer coaches are working on another aspect of
3
Coaches in Anniston’s Parks and Recreation Department don’t have a problem finding youngsters who want to play football, basketball, baseball and soccer. But what about the children who just aren’t cut out for physical sports? PARD employees have begun diversifying their offerings so there’s an activity available for every child—and adult— regardless of their abilities. The department is working to “exhaust children with choices”—such as archery, golf, kickball and ultimate Frisbee—and offer
accessibility to the city’s recreational program— the opportunity to afford to participate. They plan to bring in more events, such as the Dixie Youth Baseball Majors State Tournament that was here this summer, so proceeds can be used to supplement PARD sports registration fees for underprivileged youth. In addition, the city and several coaches transport athletes to practices and games. By leveling the accessibility playing field, PARD will “breathe new life” into youth sports, Baker said, and help divert some of the negative influences to which today’s youth are exposed.
The Anniston Star
The Anniston Star
16
17
ANNISTON 2.0
August 17, 2008
Celebrating Anniston's 125th year
What would those utopian industrialists Noble and Tyler do with their city today? Probably what they did 125 years ago: align bedrock community anchors such as education, sound morals and the arts with a diversified industrial base. BY PHILLIP TUTOR
I
SAMUEL NOBLE, ANNISTON FOUNDER Public Library of Anniston and Calhoun County
magine Anniston today, 125 years after its creation, as the physical embodiment of Samuel Noble’s and Daniel Tyler’s civic dreams. Imagine if the wishes of the city’s founders had not fallen prey to economic perils, to racial strife, to a lack of industrial diversification, to environmental pollution, and to a century’s dependence on the military. Imagine if their plan — the building of a model city — had worked. Imagine those possibilities. Anniston would sit in 2008 as the quintessential leader among Alabama’s enlightened and opulent cities — not to mention one of the state’s undeniable industrial and economic leaders. Noble, the Englishman bubbling with ideas, and Tyler, the aristocratic and feisty Union general, would have had it no other way. Their goals and plans were more grandiose than simply building a profitable factory town. The city’s first decade of the 1880s saw the Noble and Tyler families construct visual components of both the lifestyle and attitude they wished this new city to hold. They modeled The Opera House at 10th and Noble streets after the famous Winter Garden in New York. They wanted Quintard Avenue, with its wide lanes and picturesque, tree-lined medians, to represent European-style fine living in the American South. They built the doomed Anniston Inn not as a mere hotel, but as a showplace for the constant stream of visitors lured by the experiment conducted along the Choccolocco Mountains. Along with blast furnaces and railroads, they imported 19th-century culture and a taste of Victorian style. If the Noble-Tyler plan had worked, Anniston today would be one of the destinations for Alabama sophistication and refinement, a true cosmopolitan place. The Interstate 65 megacities — Birmingham, Montgomery, Mobile and Huntsville — would have a rival to the east. Those similar to us — Dothan and Gadsden, Florence and Decatur — would no longer be as
such. The Shakespeare Festival, a child of Anniston, would reside here. Perhaps the Alabama Symphony would have a permanent Anniston location. Whether arts or music, entertainment or intellectual complexity, the current-day model of Noble’s and Tyler’s Anniston would rest at the heart of Alabama’s artistic soul. But take that thought a step further. For the civic experiment of Noble and Tyler to have succeeded, Anniston’s history would need a revision. Anniston’s population ballooned by more than 25 percent in the city’s first decade; today, in our imaginative model, Anniston’s populace would compete with the state’s largest towns. The Noble-Tyler blueprint welcomed new residents and recruited European immigrants with talents. There always were plans for a bigger, better, bursting-at-the-seams Anniston. The schools that Noble created would have flourished, creating an educational atmosphere in Anniston that transcended the South’s traditional schoolhouse deficiencies; to honor Noble’s wishes, Anniston’s schools would have remained among Alabama’s best. The railroads that Tyler’s nationwide influence brought to Anniston would have transformed the city into a transportation hub for the whole South. And industry? That could have been Anniston’s future. Noble and Tyler, businessmen both, never stopped diversifying Anniston’s industrial base — and, in turn, the opportunities for workers who called the city home. That’s why they explored cotton and textiles. That’s why they built additional furnaces, changed manufacturing processes and welcomed businessmen from other fields into their new venture. They were early subscribers to the New South credo, to the need for Southern cities to mimic the industrial and financial successes of their Northern brethren. They never stopped planning for Anniston’s future. Had they lived longer — had their grandiose plans worked — Anniston today
would be much different: larger, more varied, more high-tech, more of a leader in all things Alabama. What happened?
Of oaks and growth Each day, the granite version of Samuel Noble stares north from his Quintard Avenue post. His expression hasn’t changed in more than a hundred years. Fitting, some would say. But if we were to invite Sam Noble and Daniel Tyler back to the city of their creation, imagine the parades and pageantry along Quintard. Founders riding in the open air, as did Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower when he visited the former Fort McClellan in 1947, children lining the streets, confetti and good will tossed in the air. Noble and Tyler would welcome the reunion. And their thoughts? What would they think of their creation? “I’m sure that they would be pleased with the city of Anniston, especially to see that Quintard (Avenue) had been preserved more or less as they had envisioned it, that all the trees had been left there,” says Lowndes Butler, the great-grandson of Sam Noble. “They’d probably look at all of the fastfood places and wonder, what in the world have we come to? They’d be amazed at that.” As it always does, time has erased our connection with figures of the past. Noble and Tyler, each gone for more than a century, each buried in Hillside Cemetery, are not immune to that reality. Left are written accounts and personal letters and handed-down knowledge of the men, and of their thoughts, but nothing more. Even relatives such as Butler — people proud of their connection with the city’s history — can only guess at the reaction of their immortalized forbearers if they returned to Anniston today. Nevertheless, it’s an exercise worth conducting, if for no other reason than the reverence that the two men still receive. Butler, a graying retiree, tries to put that in perspective while sitting on his Golden Springs couch. “(Annistonians) loved Noble and Tyler because they weren’t just interested in themselves making money. They wanted the people of Anniston to have all the benefits and have a nice place to live. They saw Sam Noble and Tyler as the people who started it all.”
August 17, 2008
Celebrating Anniston's 125th year
The front windows of George Deyo’s insurance office face south, toward the hill where the home of his grandfather — Alfred Tyler Jr. — once stood. Deyo is Daniel Tyler’s great-great-grandson, a direct descendant of the general, a link difficult to find. He has vivid memories of his grandfather, of his family’s intriguing history, and of that house, the house of his birth. But Deyo, like Butler, can only wonder what his relative would think of Anniston today. Query either man and you hear assumptions that Noble and Tyler would be pleased with the retention of what Deyo calls the “cathedral of trees” around Quintard, Leighton and Christine avenues. “I think that’s one of our main assets,” he says. Deyo and Butler each mention the city’s cultural past and the continuance of the founders’ design of the downtown streets. Butler also makes a special case for Noble and Tyler feeling a sense of pride about Anniston’s original churches, several of which hold strong ties to the founders. “I’m sure they would be really interested to see the churches they were responsible for building were still in existence,” Butler says. Nevertheless, Noble and Tyler are not empty slates. They are not unknowns. Because Anniston historians can connect with the founders’ recorded beliefs — a value of education, hard work, industrial and financial success, and opportunities for all classes and races — we can envision what Noble and Tyler would say after their guided tour of the modern-day Model City. They’d be pleased that their venture had weathered the many and unique challenges that had often brought the city to its knees for more than a century. How would you explain chemical-weapons stockpiles, the civil rights movement, and environmental pollution to men who lived in an era devoid of such realities? You couldn’t. To 19th-century men, those would be unfathomable concepts. But it’s likely that Noble and Tyler, partners in the Anniston experiment, would ooze with disappointment over the city’s realities, not all of which are the city’s fault alone. Both men died in the 1880s — Tyler in ’82, Noble in ’88 — a decade in which the toddler city experienced meteoric growth in population, reaching nearly 10,000 by 1890. But the founders likely could not have envisioned the myriad issues that Please see PAGE 18
GEN. DANIEL TYLER, ANNISTON FOUNDER Public Library of Anniston and Calhoun County
Continued from page 17
stunted Anniston’s growth almost from the instant of their deaths. There’s no greater example than the 1890s, a bleak time of national depression that birthed the Panic of ’93 and sent the town of Noble and Tyler into an economic tailspin. “Anniston,” historian Grace Gates wrote in The Model City of the New South, “never quite caught up again.” Tyler, the proud West Point graduate, likely would have cheered the U.S. Army’s melding with Anniston. Not seven years after Tyler died, the Army established its first outpost, Camp Shipp, in Anniston, and the next two decades saw Anniston’s leadership aggressively recruit the military. There’s little doubt that the general would have beamed with pride over the city’s patriotism and welcoming of what became Fort McClellan. He would have had no argument with the military’s wide-ranging and deep influence on Anniston’s 20th-century existence. Two issues, however, would have raised the ire of the general and his partner: industry and education, the building blocks of their Anniston plans. Noble and Tyler first arrived in Calhoun County, riding the hills and valleys north of Oxford, because of industrial opportunity. Once established, they never stopped planning for the city’s economic well-being. It was at the heart of their plans. That Anniston fell prey to the military’s departure and the quintessential Southern malaise of boom-and-bust agriculture and the decline of foundries and textiles — and didn’t seem to have a progressive, thought-out plan of recovery — would have disappointed them greatly. And education? Most of Tyler’s family was schooled in the Ivy League tradition. Meanwhile, Noble’s views on the value of education for Anniston residents is widely known; that he started two Episcopalian-based schools, one for boys, one for girls, displays his commitment to the education ideal. He knew Anniston could not reach its potential without an educated populace. It’s not unfair to envision Noble’s and Tyler’s disappointment over the strife and struggles that have surrounded the Anniston City Schools the last two decades. As men of the 1800s, they wouldn’t have been able to understand the widespread changes that integration brought to America’s schools.
SAMUEL NOBLE MONUMENT, QUINTARD AVENUE Public Library of Anniston and Calhoun County
Though Tyler was staunchly antislavery, and Noble was a strong proponent of education, it’s unlikely that either man could fully comprehend the historical significance of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. Nevertheless, Tyler and Noble expected learning to be a bedrock of Anniston. That was their plan. That Anniston’s public school system has suffered through a difficult, trying time would displease them to no end. “It’s not something they would have dreamed of,” says Deyo, the Tyler descendant. On that, their tour of the city they built would not be enjoyable. But as they were wont to do, they’d forge ahead, searching for solutions.
What would Sam and Daniel do? Let’s plant Sam Noble and Daniel Tyler in Anniston’s modern-day
political picture. Let’s also give them a break; the men have never ridden in a car, flown in a plane or sent an e-mail. Lay off their historical ignorance, and imagine their expertise and intelligence at work on Anniston’s problems of today. They’d plan. But to plan, you must envision; the future doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Anniston would greatly benefit from having leaders such as Noble and Tyler who not only could fix the problems of today, but could also head off problems by visualizing them beforehand. That basic tenet of leadership, valued in the 1880s, still holds today. They’d use their power and influence. They wielded clout, and they weren’t afraid to use it. When the Nobles needed the Alabama Legislature to act, they called on Tyler to send a letter to Goat Hill. The Legislature acted. Noble, his vision stretching across all parts of Anniston — government, industry,
religion — was an uncrowned king of a Southern town, his authority almost royal in nature. So, think of it in modern terms. Daniel Tyler would get the Eastern Parkway completed. He’d wheel and deal in Washington. He’d twist arms in Montgomery. He knew presidents and world leaders, bankers in Manhattan and engineers from the Northeast. He’d use the expertise he had in building canals in New York and railroads throughout the South. He would refuse mediocre attempts and worn-out excuses. He’d find a way, and the money. Samuel Noble would get the former Fort McClellan developed — methodically, consistently and competently. He built a town, courted investors, brought in labor from across the Atlantic, and housed grandiose plans for how Anniston should look, how it should operate and how it should develop. Who would be better for McClellan? Those are but two examples. But perhaps the best is that Noble and Tyler would repair Anniston’s deteriorating self-image. For myriad reasons, Anniston today hears often of its negatives, of what once was, of crime rates and job losses and leadership woes. That gloomy attitude, of some residents’ belief that the city can’t rebound, would not be part of the founders’ plan. Noble especially wanted Annistonians to be proud of the city and the uniqueness it offered. He never stopped cheering the city’s successes and planning for the years to come. He would be appalled, if not enraged, that civic pride had slipped. “This was supposed to be the model city, a place where people would love to live, a beautiful city,” says Butler, the Noble descendent. “They would be disappointed that we more or less have let some things deteriorate. We’ve had people leaving Anniston. (They) couldn’t imagine people moving out of Anniston. They could only imagine people moving in to Anniston.” Different times, different generations, make such discussions both whimsical and painful. Samuel Noble and Daniel Tyler aren’t coming back. They exist as entombed figures, resting eternally on the city’s eastern hills. But their civic dreams — utopian, egalitarian, puritan and often grandiose — remain the possibilities for Anniston’s next generation. ◆
Have you
ever been ny town started, they needed a way to walking exactly describe the city’s boundaries. along the west side of Noble Street So, says city historian Dr. Grace in Anniston, looked down and asked Gates, they did what their friends in yourself, ‘’Hey, what’s this round, flat, the nearby cities of Oxford and Piedmetallic button, a couple of inches in mont had done before: they found a diameter, doing here embedded in the point and drew a circle. That was the concrete near the easiest way. southwest corner Everything from of the intersecthat point, a mile tion with 17th and a half out, was Street?’’ Anniston. A fine quesWhy’d they draw tion it would be, it from there? were you to ask it. Another fine That button question — one is the center of which Gates has Anniston, of done a fair amount course. of speculation on At least it’s this summer while where the cendoing research that ter used to be, should eventuin 1873 when ally get downtown Anniston was first Anniston entered BY BILL EDWARDS incorporated. on the National Originally printed in The Anniston Register of Historic Today it’s in a Star September 23, 1990. concrete apron Places. next to an auto Anniston was repair shop. founded in a valley. Back when A flat area between the founders several mountains. of Anniston, Sam Noble and Daniel And since the founders wanted as Tyler, were getting their little compamuch of that flat area as possible with-
Anniston’s center is a little off-center
in their circle of a mile and a half radius, they couldn’t just start drawing lines. They had to find the point where the circle’s circumference would avoid the mountains (but still include a few handy iron ore deposits). The metal button near 17th Street marks that spot. OK, so that was the geographic center of Anniston. What’s it doing way up there, instead of around 10th or 11th street, which arguably have the most important intersections with Noble Street? Yet another great question. Its answer has two parts — namely, why Noble Street is where it is, and why 10th Street became important. Noble Street was the main street because at one time its path was the road between Piedmont and Oxford. Assuming they could avoid the mountains when they drew the circle, Anniston’s founders were merely doing the logical thing when they picked a point along Noble Street to be the circle’s center. The reason the old road followed the path it did was that it was along, or very close to, a section line. A section line is the name surveyors give to an imaginary line used to map land. The land Anniston was founded
on would have been surveyed long before a town was put on it, and it was customary, says Gates, for a county road to run along a section line so as to not cross very much of a person’s property. That’s why Noble Street is where it is.(In fact, on the button is a small line indicating the division between section 6 and section 5. The ‘’one-fourth’’ fraction means that the button also marks the division of a quarter-section, or, halfway up that section line.) The reason 10th Street became important was that it used to have a train depot at the western end of it, a few blocks west of Noble Street. And patterns of commerce being as they were, it was natural that the route between the existing main artery and the new depot would become important. The reason the depot was built there was that further north, the path of the railroad sort of veered away from Noble Street. Also in the same neighborhood as the depot were a textile mill and an iron furnace, which contributed even more to the area’s importance. A few blocks west of 17th Street, on the other hand, was a hill. (They couldn’t miss them all.) ◆
“Future of Chiropractic” by David E. Wade
We will do ALL we can to help you . . .
Feel Better Fast
. . . and ENJOY life again!
• Auto Accident & Injury Care • Back & Neck Pain • Carpal Tunnel • Headaches • Spinal Decompression
Associated Chiropractic - “We’ve Got Your Back” Drs. Pete McManus DC & Dr. Keith Cornelius DC {Individual Results May Vary} (Photos are not actual patients)
217 East 7th St • Anniston (behind Long John Silver’s)
80 Spring Branch Dr • Alexandria (behind Subway – beside Fred’s)
237-9423 847-8477
Since purchasing my practice from Dr. Lett a little over 24 years ago, my practice has really grown through the efforts of the people that have worked here in this office. I am very appreciative of their support. Many employees have gone on to different areas of health care, nursing, massage, physical therapy, medical management; and we have connections with chiropractic clinics now established in New Jersey, Tuscaloosa, Florence, Gadsden, Birmingham, Atlanta, Montgomery and here in this area. Currently, chiropractic doctors Cornelius and McManus work in Alexandria and Anniston seeing patients, and we are planning on opening in Oxford and Jacksonville in the near future. Our goal is to provide convenient, complete, comprehensive chiropractic care. I am still excited about chiropractic, about helping people, about opening doors for others. As we look forward to chiropractic in this century, I am excited about the growth potential as more people are exposed to the positive, non drug benefits of chiropractic health. Perhaps you should open the door to chiropractic for your better health.
PARKWAY TO THE FUTURE The Eastern Parkway project cuts a swath from Golden Springs north toward McClellan. The project, controversial from the beginning for its footprint through that neighborhood, is considered key to the county’s economic future.
Kevin Qualls/The Anniston Star
501 Davis Loop • Oxford
(256) 831-3995 258 W. Ft. Williams • Sylacauga
(256) 249-8412
ANNISTON: WHAT’S NEXT?
Anniston’s founding as The Model City was grounded in a progressive mindset that cobbled together ideas from many sources. City leaders will have to be equally innovative and visionary to set its course toward environmental responsibility.
Anniston’s future will have a rippling effect. For the past century, the city’s average yearly rainfall has increased. Average annual rainfall rose by more than three inches by more than three inches in the past 110 years. Anniston’s main water supply, Coldwater Spring — covering nearly two acres — will continue to benefit from the heavenly liquid. Coldwater Spring has an average flow of 32 million gallons per day, so if Anniston’s population doubled, the city would still have plenty of water, authorities believe. Repairs are needed on approximately 700 miles of deteriorating water pipes. Expect Anniston Water Works and Sewer Board customers to foot most of that repair bill.
1
Environment BY SANDRA MARTINEZ ◆ Knight Community Journalism Fellow
Shade, and lots of it, from native trees Shade, and lots of it, from native trees Approximately 373 trees provide shade and beauty for Quintard Avenue between 5th and 18th streets. But to keep the city’s rich tree history alive, planners, city officials and arborists need to learn from history. Certain species of trees are simply not made to survive in this climate. As Anniston’s innumerous water oaks die off in the years to come, they should be replaced with White Oaks or Southern Red Oaks — trees that have longer life spans and welcome the city’s hot and humid climate. A 2003 Urban Forestry in Alabama survey found that three-fourths of the surveyed residents consider renting/buying a new home based on whether the property has trees; the same percentage said they place high value in a new community that has plenty of trees. Homeowners should consider planting trees that are native to Alabama, which also can attract
nature’s critters, such as squirrels, butterflies and deer. The Anniston Museum of Natural History has plenty of examples on how homeowners can adapt their gardens to be ecofriendly and pleasing to the eye at the same time. Anniston is a small town with big dreams. Witness the 1976 land-use plan’s year 2000 estimate of 44,365 residents. The reality is that Anniston has never reached those numbers. But there’s potential. The city is busily tearing down dilapidated buildings. Since 2006, almost 300 unsightly structures have been demolished. Calhoun County is working on a similar continuous project, with at least 110 homes identified for destruction. Officials believe that aesthetics for the city and surrounding areas will play a key role in attracting potential homeowners and future entrepreneurs, and will add to the safety of current residents.
2
Abundant water sources are vital
The birds will keep chirping, water will keep flowing and Anniston will keep growing. At least that’s the outlook many Anniston residents hope for. In a not-so-distant future, the city might come into bloom, into its own springtime. That’s what many city officials seek as they focus on revitalization efforts and demolishing dilapidated structures. Along the way, they take baby steps toward making Anniston a more environment-conscientious community. Before Anniston’s spring arrives, many small steps have to be taken by both officials and residents. Anniston’s environmental issues might be seen by some local skeptics as a grain of sand on a seashore of changes facing the global environment. The truth is that issues of the environment are everyone’s concern, locally and nationally. In the past century, Anniston’s average rainfall has steadily increased. In the coming decades Anniston will need to focus on water issues, such as restoring deteriorating pipelines. Another local concern that will contribute to the city’s environmental health is replacing dying trees with stronger, more suitable ones. Planning for growth involves more than landing the next business.
BACK TO
THE FUTURE In 1930, Anniston’s city leaders were still thinking about tomorrow. An Anniston Star series asked them to identify the area’s greatest need. The answers, which ranged from paved roads to a new hotel to teeth-brushing, are instructive.
Davis Clay Cooper, born May 21, 1866 BIO: President of First National Bank of Oxford, business owner and the mayor of Oxford since 1912. GREATEST NEED: Greater cooperation on the part of the citizens of the county. George Gass Britton, born Oct. 26, 1864 BIO: Tennessee native and local businessman. GREATEST NEED: Abiding faith on the part of its citizens in Anniston’s present and future.
EDITOR’S NOTE: In March and April 1930, the Anniston Star printed a 6-day-a-week series the editor called “Anniston Builders.” They were prose snapshots and literal pen-and-ink portraits of men who had made fundamental contributions to the city in their time here. More than forty men were chosen for the spotlight, and at the end of each entry, the subject was asked what he thought was Anniston’s greatest need at that time. Mayor Sidney Jackson Reaves, born Sept. 26, 1893 GREATEST NEED: For the city to become a Model City in fact as well as in name.
Ross Blackmon, born March 5, 1877 A native of Cedartown, Ga., who was a lawyer and owner of Alabama Hotel. GREATEST NEED: A more pronounced unity of action on the part of business and professional men of the city in the interest of the common good.
Charles Anglin Hamilton, born Jan. 28, 1876 BIO: Starting started as water boy for an ore operation, he became president and general manager of Alabama Foundry Co. and president of the Chamber of Commerce. GREATEST NEED: Larger faith on the part of the average citizen in his city and a willingness to back up his faith with his money and his efforts.
Cecil Hugh Young, born March 20, 1882 BIO: South Carolina native attended school in Anniston. He was lawyer and secretary of the board of education. GREATEST NEED: Demonstration of faith in Anniston by those who have made their money in this city.
William Henry Weatherly, born April 22, 1854. BIO: Business interests included wholesale groceries and banking. GREATEST NEED: More diversified industries to increase the payroll of this city, thereby aiding the retail business of Anniston and furnishing a better market for the farm produce of the county. Bennett Willbourne Pruet, born Nov. 21, 1876 BIO: Anniston resident since Jan. 11, 1921, he was a former mayor of Ashland and a banker. GREATEST NEED: An advertising campaign that will bring to this city a larger farm trade from surrounding counties. Charles Renfro Bell, born around 1881 BIO: Raised in Lincoln and educated at Oxford College, he helped organize Commercial National Bank. GREATEST NEED: A combination YMCA and YWCA for the young men and young women of the city. Luther Brooks Liles, born March 31, 1890 BIO: A native of Helena, Ala., he joined law firm of Knox, Acker, Dixon and Sterne in 1914. He’s also a former juvenile court judge. GREATEST NEED: Paving of the two trunk-line highways leading out of Anniston, a modern fireproof hotel and a superlative 18-hole golf course, which he believes will bring many tourists to the city.
Niel Paul Sterne, above, born Dec. 25, 1883 BIO: A Georgia native who had at the time lived in Anniston for four decades, he worked as a lawyer. GREATEST NEED: More widespread participation on the part of our citizens in the task of town-building. Thomas Wilkes Coleman, born Dec. 19, 1868 BIO: A judge, who received a law degree at age 19. GREATEST NEED: Building up of the agricultural interests in the surrounding territory and the encouragement of closer cooperation between the city and county. Robert Bryan Carr, born Dec. 1, 1884 BIO: A judge who at the time had lived in Anniston for 12 years. GREATEST NEED: Larger appreciation by the citizens of today of the services rendered this city by its founders and an emulation of their example by those living here now.
Col. Henry Franklin Williamson, born Feb. 14, 1867 BIO: The Massachusetts native had worked at Blue Mountain’s American Net and Twine since 1897; he was at the time its manager and a director. GREATEST NEED: Closer cooperation on the part of all citizens, each taking a more optimistic view, with a firm determination to promote the welfare of each individual and industry. Selfinterest should be subversive to the interest of the whole. John Dandridge Bibb, born in February 1892 BIO: Lawyer who moved to Anniston in 1892. GREATEST NEED: For citizens to have more faith and optimism in their city, which they might manifest by organizing new textile plants with local capital. Robert Perry Warnock, born in 1891 BIO: From a long line of merchants, his first business was a furniture store on West 10th Street in 1917. GREATEST NEED: A radio broadcasting station, as many paved roads as possible leading into the city, a better hotel, a first class YMCA and a greater appreciation for the business generated by the Federal Phosphorus Co. Please see PAGE 24
Continued from page 23
Charles Lee Buchanan, born Sept. 23, 1900 BIO: A Texan who moved to Anniston in 1924; he managed the J.C. Penney store, which had the highest revenue of any Penney’s in Alabama. GREATEST NEED: A YMCA, a city auditorium and a children’s playground with a wading pool and supervisor.
Samuel Edgar Hodges BIO: Born in Charlotte, N.C., he had pastored Anniston’s First Presbyterian Church since 1910. GREATEST NEED: Growing consciousness of the real and potential value and an expression of that consciousness in terms of loyalty to Anniston and her institutions. Hugh Davis Merrill, born Dec. 20, 1877 BIO: Came to Anniston in 1902 as a lawyer. He was a former state legislator and former Anniston city attorney. GREATEST NEED: An absolutely free public school system equal to the best of any city its size in the United States and free text books for students in elementary grades. Julius Pinckney Hagerty, born Dec. 13, 1898 BIO: Moved to Anniston in 1923;
He was district manager of Alabama Power. GREATEST NEED: An up-to-date YMCA. John Floyd Williams, born Feb. 1, 1876 BIO: Born on a Weaver farm, he became a bookkeeper for Joseph Saks. Later he served as multi-term Anniston city councilman and Calhoun County tax collector. GREATEST NEED: Stronger spirit of home loyalty, to be expressed in the patronizing of home merchants and manufacturers instead of going out of town to secure those things which can be purchased locally. James Fitzgerald King, born in 1894 BIO: Owned several area Ford dealerships with his brother, E.D. King. GREATEST NEED: YMCA and a modern hotel. Spurgeon Earl Alverson, born May 22, 1892 BIO: Native of Georgia, was Anniston City School superintendent. GREATEST NEED: Execution of a 10-year school expansion program, a YMCA for the older boys and public recreation grounds for students in the city schools.
Walter Benjamin Merrill, born April 5, 1873 BIO: Graduate of Calhoun County’s Oxford College, was a lawyer, state senator and Anniston resident since 1927. GREATEST NEED: Larger recognition of the part that the layman can play in maintaining law and order and of the influence that is exerted by the churches in this matter. Josiah Phillip Whiteside, born Oct. 14, 1895 BIO: Alabama Presbyterian College graduate, worked as a lawyer in partnership with H.D. Merrill and R.E. Jones. GREATEST NEED: Continued activity on the part of all our citizens for the further promotion of the city’s growth along the same lines on which it has been developed heretofore. Earnest Clayton Lloyd, born April 7, 1894 BIO Came to Anniston in March 1919 from Cedartown, Ga. Bought the bakery of the late Charles Nonnenmacher on West 11th St. GREATEST NEED: Modern, fireproof hotel to be built where the Alabama Hotel now stands. DeWitt McCargo, born Oct. 29, 1891 BIO: Trained as a lawyer, he was
experienced as a circuit court clerk, bank teller and part-owner of Chevrolet dealership at 12th and Gurnee. GREATEST NEED: Cooperation between the people of the city and the farmers of Calhoun County in the growing of more livestock, including cattle, hogs, sheep and chickens. Walker Reynolds, born Sept. 12, 1888 BIO: Born on the Talladega County estate Rendalia, he was brought to Anniston by his parents two years later. Was plant manager of Union Foundry and vice-president of Alabama Pipe and former Anniston city councilman. GREATEST NEED: YMCA. Jesse Lane Wikle, born in 1855 BIO: After coming to Anniston in 1880 as a physician, he became one of the city’s first mayors. He built one of first brick buildings on Noble Street. GREATEST NEED: Larger realization on the part of the younger men of the city of the greater opportunities for success that they enjoy over their elders, who had to build here a city where, when they began their work, there were only forests, farming tracts and ore mines.
Please see PAGE 25
ATTENTION GRILL LOVERS
©
World’s Best Smoker!
Before you buy any other grill check out the Big Green Egg and authentic charcoal cooking.
Anniston Fireplace abbybass@cableone.net 3815 Leatherwood Plaza, Hwy. 431 Mon.-Fri. 8-5; Sat. 9-12 236-1114
Continued from page 24
George Houston Leyden, born June 27, 1884 BIO: Millport native was a dentist. GREATEST NEED: More and better schools and a paid dentist to look after the teeth of the school children of the city who cannot afford to pay for it. Neal Edwards Sellers, born Jan. 17, 1881 BIO: Moved to Anniston in 1916 to buy the hospital that relatives had begun here in 1907. GREATEST NEED: Full realization on the part of each citizen of the part he must play in the building up of this community. Walter Wade Robinson, born March 19, 1898 BIO: Anniston native was Georgia Tech graduate. Was developer of the Sunset subdivision just east of the city limits. GREATEST NEED: Legislation that will enable the city to foster airport development. Jerre Watson, born Oct. 9, 1885 BIO: Moved to Anniston in June, 1916 to work as doctor and surgeon. GREATEST NEED: Extension of the sanitary system and development of the hospital, the latter of which will bring health, comfort and financial
independence to a class of citizens who have heretofore not enjoyed such blessings. Lloyd Ernest Morton, born June 14, 1886 BIO: Duluth, Ga., native moved to Anniston in 1918. A physician, in private practice and for the Swann Corp, was promotied tennis as a recreation and athletics for Annistonians. GREATEST NEED: YMCA. Edward Stanley Bobbitt, born Feb. 20, 1894 BIO: Nebraskan had lived in Anniston early 1920s for Alabama Pipe Corp. GREATEST NEED: First-class 18hole golf course and a modern hotel to attract rich tourists. Crawford Haralson Cleveland, born Aug. 1, 1888 BIO: Physician, major in the medical reserve. GREATEST NEED: Encourage newcomers, especially those locating an industry in the city. Above all, we should see to it that our young people have the best of educational advantages along with recreation and entertainment. Henry Hutcheson Booth, born June 26, 1887 BIO: Moved to Anniston sometime after graduating from college in
Auburn. He was businessman and city councilman. GREATEST NEED: New city hall with an auditorium suitable for the entertainment of conventions. Frederick Bert Caudle, born April 15, 1880 BIO: Indiana native moved to Anniston in 1922. Organizer of Dixie Stage Lines, the largest bus company in Alabama. GREATEST NEED: Paved roads radiating in all directions and an unlimited supply of water for factories. William Murray Field, born Dec. 12, 1897 BIO: Anniston native (one of only three men chosen for this series to have been born in Anniston) who was a lawyer and city councilman. GREATEST NEED: Thorough appreciation among its citizens for the opportunities available in and for the city, and the fostering of small, sound industries with the idea of their ultimate expansion. Thomas Lyde Smith, born Sept. 15, 1880 BIO: Arkansan moved to Anniston in 1904, to serve as a dentist. GREATEST NEED: Daily toothbrushing drills in all public schools to protect children’s health and a YMCA .
Carter Durwood Poland, born Dec. 6, 1888 BIO: Texan came to Anniston in 1920s. Founded Poland Soap Works. GREATEST NEED: More odors and more smoke, which indicate industrial activity and the prosperity it brings. Eugene Constantine Cooper, born June 11, 1901 BIO: Oxford native was president of Nu-Grape Bottling Co. and connected with the family business , Cooper and Sons Motor Co.. GREATEST NEED: Paved main trunk line highways and a new hotel. Virgil Cornelius Adams, born Aug. 5, 1896 BIO: Came to Anniston in 1927, to organize Adams-McCargo Chevrolet. GREATEST NEED: Cooperation between the people of Anniston and those of the countryside; a good supply store would develop that trade. Clarence Martin Jesperson, born in 1889 BIO: Minnesota native moved to Anniston in 1916. He was treasurer of the Swann Corp. GREATEST NEED: A modern hotel. Researched and compiled by Bill Edwards
CONGRATULATIONS
to the City of Anniston for 125 years of growth from Stringfellow Memorial Hospital Where Everyone Comes 1st or the past 70 years, Stringfellow Memorial Hospital has Fof Anniston. been a vital part of the progress and growth of the city Beginning as a small tuberculosis hospital in 1938, we have grown into a fully accredited general acute care facility, compassionately serving the healthcare needs of our community. We are still building and growing to better serve you. We are proud of the part Stringfellow Memorial Hospital plays in serving the residents of our community and join with the citizens of Anniston in the celebration of 125 years.
301 East 18th Street • Anniston, AL (256) 235-8900 • www.SMHhealth.com
QUIZ
Anniston’s future: Test your knowledge
1. The geographic center of Anniston is marked with a disc at: (a) Fifth and Quintard (b) 17th and Noble. (c) 10th and Noble (d) Fifth and Leighton
4. Daniel Tyler and Sam Noble modeled Anniston’s Opera House after this classic performance hall:
2. What’s the name of the state’s distance learning program, which is designed to connect teachers and students across cyberspace? (a) ACCESS: Alabama Connecting Classrooms Educators and Students Statewide (b) READS: Reading Education and Development System (c) ACT: Alabama Cooperative Technology (d) SMART: Statewide Math and Reading Technology
3. Before the Woodstock 5K wound along the streets near Anniston High School, this footrace was inspired by the Shakespeare festival and followed much of the same route in the early 1980s: (a) Bill’s Morning Run (b) The Globe Trot (c) Mid-Summer Morn’s 5,000 (d) Run for the Arts
(a) New York’s Carnegie Hall (b) London’s Covent Garden (c) Memphis’s Orpheum Theatre (d) New York’s Winter Garden 5. Anniston’s population in 1890 was: (a) 10,000 (b) 5,000 (c) 20,000 (d) 1,500
8. Anniston hosted this youth sports championship this year: (a) Dixie Pee Wee Football Championship (b) Alabama Youth Soccer Association Championship (c) Sunbelt Indoor Tennis Federation Championship (d) Dixie Youth Baseball Majors State Tournament 9 The summer concert series at McClellan is headlined by: (a) The Jacksonville State University Marching Southerners (b) The Alabama Symphony Orchestra (c) The Gadsden City Symphony (d) The Montgomery Chamber Orchestra
6. By 2025, the number of Calhoun County residents over age 65 will be: (a) 22,520 (b) 15,000 (c) 4,500 (d) 30,000 7. This state-legislated entity made it possible to set aside part of Coldwater Mountain as a park: (a) Alabama Preservation Land Trust (b) Forever Wild Land Trust (c) Cahaba Wilderness Act (d) Alabama Department of Environmental Management
10 Phase I of the Eastern Parkway is scheduled to be completed in: (a) 2025 (b) 2015 (c) 2010 (d) Your guess is as good as ours
ANSWERS ON PAGE 28
1
Cha Ching! Buy One
Get Two Free
T
T
*
Moto W755
UM150 USB Modem 2GB Memory Card
I\kX`c Gi`Z\1 )*)%00 E\n :ljkfd\i ;`jZflek1 (/)%00 DX`c$`e I\YXk\1 ,'%'' )$P\Xi :fekiXZk Gi`Z\1 '%''
I\kX`c Gi`Z\1 +)+%00 E\n :ljkfd\i ;`jZflek1 *),%'' DX`c$`e I\YXk\1 ,'%'' ;XkX :Xi[ GliZ_Xj\ ;`jZflek1 +0%00 )$P\Xi :fekiXZk Gi`Z\1 '%''
F]]\i \oZclj`m\cp XmX`cXYc\ Xk1 8ee`jkfe C\ecfZb Xi\X ?np% )( XZifjj ]ifd NXc$DXik ),-$/)'$,0,, !Fli JliZ_Xi^\j `eZc% =\[% Le`m% JmZ% f] ((%* f] `ek\ijkXk\ `ekĂ&#x2039;c k\c\Zfd Z_Xi^\j mXi`\j hlXik\icp # .Â&#x2DC; I\^lcXkfip /,Â&#x2DC; 8[d`e`jkiXk`m\&c`e\&df%# fk_\ij Yp Xi\X Xi\ efk kXo\j [\kX`cj1 ($///$-/+$(/// 2 ^fmĂ&#x2039;k kXo\j fli jliZ_Xi^\j Zflc[ X[[ ('%) kf pfli Y`cc% 8Zk`mXk`fe ]\\&c`e\1 *, ), ]fi j\Zfe[Xip =Xd`cp J_Xi\GcXeÂ&#x17E; c`e\j n& )$pi 8^dkj % @DGFIK8EK :FEJLD<I @E=FID8K@FE1 JlYa\Zk kf :ljkfd\i 8^dk# :Xcc`e^ GcXe# i\YXk\ ]fid Zi\[`k XggifmXc% Lg kf (., \Xicp k\id`eXk`fe ]\\&c`e\ fk_\i Z_Xi^\j (%00&D9 `eZc% DfY`c\ N\Y X[j % F]]\ij Xe[ Zfm\iX^\# mXip`e^ Yp j\im`Z\# efk XmX`cXYc\ \m\ipn_\i\% I\YXk\j kXb\ lg kf - n\\bj% J_`gg`e^ Z_Xi^\j dXp Xggcp% ;\m`Z\ ZXgXY`c`k`\j1 8[[Ă&#x2039;c Z_Xi^\j Zfe[`k`fej Xggcp% E\knfib [\kX`cj Xe[ Zfm\iX^\ dXgj Xk m\i`qfen`i\c\jj%Zfd% Dfek_cp XZZ\jj [`jZflekj Xi\ efk XmX`cXYc\ fe Lec`d`k\[ 8epk`d\ D`elk\ gcXej% C`d`k\[ k`d\ f]]\i% N_`c\ jlggc`\j cXjk% 8mX`cXYc\ fecp Xk :\cclcXi :\ek\i cfZXk`fej% Gi`Z\j ]fi e\n XZk`mXk`fe gi`dXip c`e\ fecp% 8[[kĂ&#x2039;c )' lg^iX[\ ]\\ dXp Xggcp% F]]\ij Zfm\iX^\# mXip`e^ Yp j\im`Z\# efk XmX`cXYc\ \m\ipn_\i\% F]]\i \og`i\j Alcp *(# )''/% Â&#x; )''/ :\cclcXi :\ek\i
SEE THE FABULOUS LINE UP OF GAS SAVING HONDAS FEATURING
THE NEW 2008 HONDA ACCORD NEW 20O8 ACCORD LX 4DR , Automatic, CP2638EW ESTIMATED
CITY
*
21/HWY 31
NEW 20O8 FIT 4DR , Automatic, GD3848EW
NEW 20O8 CIVIC LX 4DR , Automatic, FA1658EW
ESTIMATED
ESTIMATED
CITY
*
27/HWY 34
CITY
*
25/HWY 36
SUNNY KING HONDA’S USED CARS 06 ODYSSEY EXL leather, Power doors, Full Power .............. SALE ............... $23,875 07 ACCORD SE 4dr, full power, alloy wheels ........................ SALE ............... $18,375 07 ACCORD LX 4dr, auto, AC, 4cyl, loaded ......................... SALE.............$17,875 05 ACCORD SE Coupe, 4cyl, auto, full power ....................... SALE........... $15,775 03 PILOT EXL V6, Leather, full power................................... SALE.............$13,750 07 AZERA LIMITED Moonroof, leather, 15k miles .............. SALE ............. $18,475 04 MALIBU MAXX LS Sunroof, loaded ............................ SALE...............$9,895 06 PILOT EXL Moonroof, Leather, Local trade ........................ SALE.............$20,750 03 TRIBUTE ES Moonroof, Leather, Full power ...................... SALE.............$10,995 04 PILOT EXL Leather, Fully Equipped .................................. SALE.............$17,475
05 GRAND CARAVAN SXT moonroof, leather, clean ...... SALE ...........$12,650 07 CIVIC S Coupe, Moonroof, Navigation, Sharp ............................................... $19,875 05 CAVALIER 4DR, Automatic, A/C, 46k miles ................................................... $8,750 99 DEVILLE 4dr, full power, leather, extra clean ................................................... $5,575 98 MONTE CARLO Z34, Black, full power ...................................................... $5,475 02 GRAND AM coupe, moonroof, 4cyl, sharp ................................................... $7,895 03 SIERRA SLT Ext cab, sportside, white, nice ................................................ $14,975 05 ELANTRA GT 4dr, 4cyl, moonroof, leather ................................................... $9,975 05 CAMRY LE 4cyl, auto, loaded, rear spoiler .................................................. $15,975
* Based on 2008 EPA mileage estimates, reflecting new EPA fuel economy methods beginning with 2008 models. Use for comparison purposes only. Do not compare to models before 2008. Your actual mileage will vary depending on how you drive and maintain your vehicle.
Sunny King Honda 2580 US Hwy 78 East • Anniston, AL (256) 835-1000 • 1-800-423-4074 • www.sunnykinghonda.com
QUIZ ANSWERS
So, how’d you do? 1. (b) 17th and Noble. 2. (a) ACCESS: Alabama Connecting Classrooms Educators and Students Statewide
6. (a) 22,520
IF THE HECTIC PACE OF LIFE HAS LEFT YOU OUT OF BREATH, ALLOW US TO HELP YOU CATCH IT.
7. (b) Forever Wild Land Trust 8. (d)Dixie Youth Baseball Majors State Tournament
3. (c) Mid-Summer Morn’s 5,000 4. (d) New York’s Winter Garden 5. (a) 10,000
9. (b) The Alabama Symphony Orchestra 10. (c) 2010
Have you missed a quiz? There has been a quiz in each Anniversary Project Section. If you haven’t tested your knowledge yet, give it a go. It’s fun. Need copies of the quizzes? Call The Star’s Circulation Department at
235-9253 or 1-866-814-9253
now two locations to serve you better:
OXFORD Y FOR NOW HWY 21 South Oxford • (256) 832-YMCA
YMCA OF CALHOUN COUNTY Downtown Anniston • (256) 238-YMCA
GET BOTH LOCATIONS FOR 1 LOW PRICE
Dawson Anniston Council Ward 4 A Native Annistonian...
David was born and raised in Anniston. He graduated from Wellborn High School and went on to pursue degrees from JSU and UAB. David and his wife, Carol, have two daughters; Taylor and Sarah. David is a member of Anniston Pathology.
Extensive Community Involvement... - Planning Commission, Chairman 24 years - Calhoun County Coronerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Office - Founding Member of the Berman Trust Foundation - South Trust/Wachovia Bank Board of Directors - Member of Parker Memorial Church
- Gamecock Athletic Club Board Member - Cerebral Palsy Chairman; VIP Fund Raising - Calhoun County Chamber of Commerce - JSU Alumni Association - UAB Alumni Association - Alpha Tau Omega - Fraternity
Positive Ideas...
- Respect for and use of proper political decorum among council persons, mayor and staff - Capitalize on the positives; work to minimize the negatives - Encourage trust among racial lines - Quarterly Citizen Ward meetings and listening sessions - Strengthen downtown business core while developing McClellan, the Eastern Parkway and South Quintard - Be aggressive with business tax abatements, and in-kind assistance from the City; Provide incentives when possible - Offer the same incentive packages to existing businesses with expansion ideas Include perks for job retention and development of city workforce and staff - Conduct open meeting with respect and proper decorum adhering to Roberts Rules of Order - Explore options for our current school system to ensure the students are receiving the best possible education and citizenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tax dollars are being used in the best possible manner - Explore recycling option with garbage contract - Remember and learn from our past successes and failures - Explore new ways to do things to better our city - Revitalize the Model City mantra as we move forward
Please vote David Dawson Anniston City Council Ward 4 on August 26th. www.mdaviddawson.com Paid for by Committee to Elect Dawson PO Box 1163 Anniston, AL 36202
CELEBRATING 125 YEARS: THE ANNIVERSARY PROJECT JULY 27 1870s/1880s-1928, founding to year before Great Depression
AUG. 3
AUG. 10
1929-1970, Depression through World War II, Cold War and Civil Rights era
1971-present, New South and transition
AUG. 17 The future â&#x2014;&#x2020; AUG. 18 Then and Now â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a photo album
Give yourself, or someone you love, an anniversary present. Special Offer
)#')& /).'( ,$". $+,$--'*) - ))'-.*
) - %*/
!
$-$% $"#+* !)
')% ) '% ) & $'& +#)',"#
The 125th Anniversary Package
!()!**
Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t miss the opportunity to receive all ďŹ ve sections packaged together in one commemorative bundle. Available Aug. 18 for $7. Mailed copies are $10.
To request copies of any of the anniversary sections, please contact The Starâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Circulation Department.
235-9253 or 1-866-814-9253
Helping Anniston Build Relationships
ABS Business Systems
Anniston Country Club
Noble Bank of Oxford
Anniston 1st Baptist Church
456 Jones Road â&#x20AC;˘ Anniston Phone: 256.835.0033 â&#x20AC;˘ Fax: 856.835.0043 www.forsythbuilding.com
“Proudly serving Calhoun County and its Cities and Towns.”
P.O. Box 1087 • 1330 Quintard Ave. • Anniston, AL 36201 www.calhounchamber.com 256.237.3536 • 1.800.489.1087
Toyota Presidents Award
presented to Sunny King Toyota for the 14th time in the past 16 years. Recognized by Toyota for achieving the highest level of Sales, Service and Customer Satisfaction. Only a few Toyota dealers in the southeastern United States can boast this level of success and Sunny King Toyota is consistently recognized for its outstanding professionalism and dedication to customer satisfaction.
SUNNY KING TOYOTA/SCION ON THE “NEW MOTOR MILE” IN OXFORD • WHERE THE CUSTOMER IS KING 2570 US Hwy 78 East • Oxford • 1-800-365-3001 Visit our web site: sunnykingtoyota.com or E-mail us: sales@sunnykingtoyota.com