Then and Now: A photo essay

THE ANNIVERSARY PROJECT: SECTION 5 A ‘THEN AND NOW’ LOOK AT ANNISTON

IMAGES OF

MODEL CITY

THE

◆ Monday, August 18, 2008

THEN Public Library of Anniston and Calhoun County

FAIRMONT AVENUE The canopy of trees isn’t quite as thick along Fairmont Avenue these days as we look south toward Keith Avenue. Anniston’s founders made trees, nature and the city’s aesthetics a priority in their planning, and this quiet scene from days past reflects that vision.

Wide streets, hemmed by neatly clipped hedges, were common sights along east Anniston’s residential streets.

NOW Stephen Gross/The Anniston Star

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THE 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 ◆ TODAY Then and Now — a photo album

A LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

On and on and online

I hear voices. I see pictures.

Longtime Annistonian Betty Carr talks about her mother and father as long ago snapshots of the happy couple flash across the screen.

“She made a home for us,” Bob Betty Carr says Davis of her mother, Editor the daughter of an Anniston foundryman. “We had a wonderful neighborhood; all of the doors were open to the children.”

Leola “Tex” Bright speaks of her involvement with the Girl Scouts, a relationship that began in 1947.

Black and white images of Girl Scouts taken over the decades flash across the computer screen.

“My favorite thing,” Bright says, “I had 28 girls in 1976 [and] we sold the most cookies in the whole county, 1,507 boxes.”

Virginia Matheny describes her great-great uncle, Mike W. Woodruff, who was Calhoun County’s sheriff in 1888. There’s a photo of the lawman posing with his wife Josephine in front of their Noble Street home.

Anniston native Ruth Mitchell reads a poem published in 2007.

Her take on the city’s sad environ-

mental legacy, “The Powers That Tried” reads, in part, “They forget we were neighbors before we were victims.”

Sam Stewart holds an ancient poster advertising hooch at a bar on Anniston’s 10th Street. “What makes 10th Street so unusual is they had a lot of saloons,” Stewart says. “As [workers] got paid in cash, the idea was to locate your saloon on West 10th between your place of employment and where you would spend it on Noble Street.”

A 1970 recording of town founder Samuel Noble’s granddaughter Elizabeth Roberts is heard. In it, she describes her famous grandfather and offers the proper pronunciation of Quintard.

There is a map and a timeline, both with short video recordings that offer context and history of Anniston.

Yes, I hear voices and I see pictures.

So can you.

You are invited to go online and visit www.annistonstar.com/celebrate125. There you will find electronic versions of the Anniversary Project sections produced over the past four weekends. But wait, as the TV pitchman says, there is much, much more.

In the site’s multimedia section are 28 short videos made by Commentary Editor Phillip Tutor and Andy Johns, who recently left The

MULTIMEDIA: www.annistonstar.com/celebrate125

ANNISTON’S ATTIC Residents share memories about the town we call home.

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.

Star. Five Anniston residents narrated their scrapbooks with Managing Editor Anthony Cook. We’ve compiled it into a feature we called Anniston’s Attic.

Don’t miss the video with Presentation Editor Tosha Jupiter describing how she created a scaled model of The Model City in the late 1800s.

A mention of the Anniversary Project’s multimedia bonuses would be incomplete with a tip of the hat to the Web Division staffers, including Multimedia Director Justin Thurman, Online Manager Gary W. Lewis, Online News Editor Brandon Wynn and Web Producer Erik Lyda.

All these staffers and many more have worked hard on this

project. We are proud of what we created. We believe there are lessons for tomorrow contained within these detours through history.

Today’s edition, published on the 125th anniversary of this newspaper, features before-and-after images of Anniston. We’re confident readers will be interested by how the Model City has changed over 125 years.

We invite you to swing by www. annistonstar.com/celebrate125 to hear the voices and see the images representing our history. You’ll like what you see and hear.

Bob Davis is editor of The Anniston Star. Contact him at 256-2353540 or bdavis@annistonstar.com

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS EDITORS Bob Davis, Anthony Cook, Bill Edwards, Phillip Tutor and Laura Tutor

DESIGNER Tosha Jupiter

MULTIMEDIA Justin Thurman, Gary Lewis, Brandon Wynn, Andy Johns and Hannah Dame

PHOTOGRAPHERS Stephen Gross, Kevin Qualls, Bill Wilson and Josh D. Weiss

SPECIAL THANKS TO ...

Terea Kiser and the Public Library of Anniston and Calhoun County

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THEN

WEST 11TH STREET BETWEEN NOBLE AND GURNEE/OLD ANNISTON STAR BUILDING Before it made its home at McClellan, as one of the first businesses to move to the former Army base, The Anniston Star was anchored downtown. Its first home was on West 11th Street on the block between Noble Street and Gurnee Avenue.

Car promotions, haven’t changed that much, as this one for King Motor Co. shows.

Public Library of Anniston and Calhoun County

SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE Gene’s ready for the new school year

Donoho The

D I F F E R E N C E

Gene’s ready to lead Anniston in a new direction

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.

ROBINSON MAYOR ‘08

For more information, please contact Director of Admissions Sue Canter at (256) 236-4459, or visit our website at www.donohoschool.com.

www.electGeneRobinson.com Paid political adv. by Gene Robinson 1000 Noble Street • Anniston, Alabama 36201

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.

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WEST 11TH STREET BETWEEN NOBLE AND GURNEE

START A Love Affair WITH YOUR HOME!

Bill Wilson/The Anniston Star

Burgess CHIROPRACTIC

CongratulatesAnniston on it’s125thAnniversary

Then Originally at 2301 Noble Street…

HARDWOOD

CARPET

TILE

LAMINATE

WITH A NEW FLOOR FROM ABBEY CARPET & FLOOR

ON SALE NOW! Now

Now serving patients at 3001 McClellan Blvd.

237-9251

1008 Highway 431 North Anniston

Mon. - Fri. 8:30AM - 5PM Sat. 8:30AM - 4PM

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NOW

THEN Public Library of Anniston and Calhoun County

WWI VETERANS MEMORIAL/ QUINTARD AVENUE MEDIAN The memorial for World War I veterans was unveiled on Armistice Day 1921, but its trademark eagle wasn’t added until 1925’s Armistice Day services. The north side of the memorial lists the 41 service members from Calhoun County who died in the war.

In the background Lily Ice Cream Co., at 127 10th St., was the only business on Quintard originally. It’s now the site of Wachovia Bank.

Kevin Qualls/The Anniston Star

QUINTARD AVENUE AND 19TH STREET

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THEN

Public Library of Anniston and Calhoun County

Kevin Qualls/The Anniston Star

COTTAGE HOMES OFF OF 5TH STREET

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THEN Public Library of Anniston and Calhoun County

Josh D. Weiss/The Anniston Star

OLD ANNISTON HIGH SCHOOL, LEIGHTON AVENUE

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THEN

Public Library of Anniston and Calhoun County

Josh D. Weiss/The Anniston Star

The Anniston Star

The Anniston Star

August 18, 2008

August 18, 2008

Celebrating Anniston's 125th year

Celebrating Anniston's 125th year

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8TH STREET LOOKING WEST

GO WEST, CITY Looking west across Quintard Avenue down Eighth Street brings back memories of Quintard’s original role as a residential street. Businesses were scant, but the area’s weather bureau (left) was a fixture for many years.

Public Library of Anniston and Calhoun County

Kevin Qualls/The Anniston Star

LEE BROS., WALNUT AND 17TH

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Public Library of Anniston and Calhoun County

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Bill Wilson/The Anniston Star

HOUSE ON WILMER AND 19TH STREET

THEN

NOW

Public Library of Anniston and Calhoun County

Kevin Qualls/The Anniston Star

SACRED HEART CATHOLIC CHURCH BECOMES TRINITY LUTHERAN CHURCH

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THEN Public Library of Anniston and Calhoun County

Kevin Qualls/The Anniston Star

CALHOUN COUNTY COURTHOUSE

NOW

THEN

(Before 1931 fire)

Public Library of Anniston and Calhoun County

Bill Wilson/The Anniston Star

12 9TH AND NOBLE

THEN

Public Library of Anniston and Calhoun County

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Bill Wilson/The Anniston Star

501 Davis Loop • Oxford

(256) 831-3995 258 W. Ft. Williams • Sylacauga

(256) 249-8412

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I Will Represent A Special Interest Group

YOU

!

ELEct Gene robinson th August 26 www.electgenerobinson.com Paid political advertisement by Gene Robinson 1000 Noble Street, Anniston AL, 36201

RITZ THEATRE ON NOBLE STREET

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Public Library of Anniston and Calhoun County

Bill Wilson/The Anniston Star

QUINTARD AVENUE AND 17TH STREET: THERE WAS A HOUSE ... THEN A HARDEES ... NOW?

THEN

NOW Public Library of Anniston and Calhoun County

Kevin Qualls/The Anniston Star

ROOMING HOUSE, WEST 13TH STREET

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Public Library of Anniston and Calhoun County

NOW

Bill Wilson/The Anniston Star

THEN

Public Library of Anniston and Calhoun County

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OLD ANNISTON STAR AND CAR WORKS LOCATION, WEST 10TH STREET Once upon a time, Anniston’s industrial heart ran along the rail lines just west of Noble Street. The area near 10th Street and Moore Avenue was once in the middle of that district, but time brought change. In 1958-59, The Anniston Star moved from West 11th Street and built a new building on West 10th Street. That red brick building was the paper’s home until it moved to McClellan six years ago.

Bill Wilson/The Anniston Star

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Toyota Presidents Award

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