Discover The Essence of St. Clair February and March 2023

Stock Car Racing Alabama

In the

St. Clair pioneers play key role in the start

Your Stay. Your Way.

If you could close your eyes and picture that ideal getaway, what does it look like? Is it relaxing under the stars in the dreamiest glamping tent? Maybe it’s sipping a glass of rosé on the porch of an adorable cottage watching the boats go by? Or embrace your inner cowboy, cozied up in a covered wagon? When you picture that perfect lakeside getaway, consider Angler’s Pointe your destination. Prepare to be entertained in The Yard, enjoy a little retail therapy at The Exchange, or get in on the action at the pickle ball court or the water obstacle course. Whether you’re looking to live large or take things slow, Angler’s Pointe is your little homeplace on the lake. Coming soon, now under construction.

From cottages to glamping to luxury covered wagons, experience a unique vacation experience that’s perfect for you.

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Now through June 2023, take advantage of 1.99% APR introductory rate. The promotional rate of 1.99% APR is valid on new HSCU VISA Platinum Rewards credit cards for all activity (purchases, balance transfers, and cash advances) completed during the promotional period and that rate will remain in effect on that promotional period activity through the final billing cycle of June 2023, at which point the balances on that promotional period activity will convert to the standard card rate of 9.90% APR – see credit union for details.

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Writers AND Photographers

Carol Pappas

Carol Pappas is editor and publisher of Discover St. Clair Magazine. A retired newspaper executive, she served as editor and publisher of several newspapers and magazines during her career. She won dozens of writing awards and was named Distinguished Alabama Community Journalist at Auburn University. She serves as president/CEO of Partners by Design, which publishes Discover and LakeLife 24/7 Magazine®.

Roxann Edsall

Roxann Edsall is a freelance writer and former managing editor of Convene Magazine, a convention industry publication. She has a degree in (broadcast) journalism from the University of Southern Mississippi, worked as a television news reporter in Biloxi and as a reporter and assignments editor in Birmingham.

Graham

Graham Hadley is the managing editor and designer for Discover The Essence of St. Clair Magazine and also manages the magazine website. Along with Carol Pappas, he left The Daily Home as managing editor to become vice president of the Creative Division of Partners by Design multimedia company.

Elaine Hobson Miller is a freelance writer with a B.A. in journalism from Samford University. She was the first female to cover Birmingham City Hall for the Birmingham Post-Herald, where she worked as reporter, food editor and features writer. She is a former editor of Birmingham Home & Garden magazine and staff writer for Birmingham magazine.

Scottie Vickery

David Smith aka BamaDave, is originally from Birmingham. He and his wife Renee made Logan Martin Lake their home 19 years ago. He is a freelance photographer, videographer and professional drone pilot. He has worked for ESPN’s College GameDay Show for the last 25 years as a cameraman and for the last 4 years as the drone pilot. He has won 12 Emmys with the show and was ESPN’s first drone pilot. David is also the owner of Spider Be Gone of Alabama.

Mackenzie

Mackenzie Free is an experienced and nationally published photographer with a bachelor of fine arts degree. She is a Birmingham native now cultivating life on a farm in Steele with her husband & 4 daughters.

Scottie Vickery is a writer with a degree in journalism from the University of Alabama and was a reporter for The Birmingham News Her first assignment was covering St. Clair and Blount counties. She has more than 30 years of writing and editing experience and her work has appeared in a variety of publications. She also has worked in the nonprofit industry.

Robert Debter was raised on his family’s Hereford farm in Blount County and previously served as vice president of the Blount County Historical Society. He has been the archive director of the Ashville Museum & Archives since May 2016 and traces three branches of his ancestry to St. Clair County in 1820.

Kelsey Bain

Meghan Frondorf is a professional photographer. She has been doing photography for 12 years locally & across the country. She enjoys doing nature/freelance and lifestyle photography.

As the owner of Kelsey Bain Photography, Kelsey is a regular contributor of photos and editorials for our publications. An Alabama native and graduate of Auburn University, Kelsey now resides on Logan Martin lake with her husband Adam and their daughter, Sawyer.

David Smith

Free

Hadley

Elaine Hobson Miller

Robert Debter

Meghan Frondorf

From the Editor

St. Clair growth, charm around every corner

It’s hard to look around St. Clair County lately and not see signs of growth in just about every corner you look. Pell City and Moody lead the way, but others are quickly grabbing a piece of the coattail and riding its upward path.

Industry expansions, a massive retail development going up, rooftops rapidly multiplying in nearly every area, buildings under construction and ribbon cuttings crowding the calendar – they all point to the same conclusion. St. Clair County is on the grow … again.

It is no small wonder that the county continues to make the top 10 list for fastest growing counties in Alabama every year, and some of its municipalities are making their mark, too. No doubt would-be residents and businesses alike have deduced what we’ve known all along – the county is an ideal place to live, work, stay and play.

Our business section this edition is chocked full of updates and announcements that underscore the notion that St. Clair’s future looks bright in the weeks, months and years that lie ahead. Just take a look at the mega-shopping center rising above I-20 in Pell City or the hundreds of homes being built throughout the region.

Check out the expansion news in Pell City’s industrial community or the commerce park development in Moody. There’s even a Starbucks going up there. A bustling city is evolving from its ‘crossroads’ past, now only a distant memory.

Even as the county leaps forward in terms of big city progress, it manages to hold on to its small-town charm, neighbors helping neighbors and quality of life amenities abounding.

Take Chef T’s, for instance. The Ragland café occupies a

nondescript building on the town’s Main Street. What it may lack in curb appeal, it more than makes up for inside, where – like Cheers, everybody knows your name, and they serve up some of the best food around.

Over at the new Steele Library, you’ll see what we mean about quality of life. From the perch of its new home, the library has become a gathering place for youngsters and adults alike, serving them with new programs and activities designed to expand their horizons.

At Pell City’s Love Pantry, serving others is the main order of the day year-round, helping feed their neighbors in need.

If it’s history you like, learn about historic Ashville, which just celebrated its bicentennial – 200 years of history.

Or, step back in time to the early days of stock car racing and how St. Clair Countians helped drive the pioneering sport into what is now NASCAR.

No matter the interest, St. Clair County seems to have it all. Turn the page and discover it all with us.

Carol Pappas Editor and Publisher

Serving up the perfect sandwich

CHEF T’s

A hometown secret of the best kind

Story by Roxann Edsall

Photos by Mackenzie Free

Family truly is the foundation for the success of Chef T’s Restaurant in Ragland. Chef Anthony Soles’s mother loved cooking, and that passion inspired him to work his way up through the food industry and spend more than a decade as an executive chef at a major hotel chain.

Their family kitchen stories and experiences influenced Chef Anthony’s son, Cordelro, to attend culinary school and become a chef. Several other family members work in the food business as well.

Chef T’s, named for Anthony (Tony), is a family affair – kin or not. His business partner, Carl Byers, also grew up cooking for his family and friends, and his son and daughter help out in the business as needed.

Restaurant and catering manager Melissa Burnette credits her passion for food and home fries for her dedication to the southern cooking offerings at Chef T’s. One of Melissa’s favorite menu items is the Philly cheesesteak sandwich. She recommends pairing that with the home fries or onion rings.

This restaurant is the quintessential, unassuming “hole-in-the-wall,” in a building that was originally built as a convenience store.

It’s a hometown secret of the best kind. Their mainstay is the barbeque pork, and they offer a smallchopped pork sandwich for the budget-friendly price of just $1.25. The barbecue sauce is homemade

Anthony Soles and Melissa Burnette

CHEF T’s

and is described by Carl as a “sneaky heat, but not overpowering.” The signature Chef T’s burger is remarkable and is served with a steak knife holding it all together.

“The home fries got me,” says Melissa. “As a customer, I just kept coming in and loving them and one day Chef (Anthony) said I should come to work for him.” So, she started out as a server at their Alexandria location before moving up to her current role in Ragland. She’s one of a staff of 10 who consider themselves a family.

There’s a lot of teasing and bantering among the crew, as there is in many family kitchens.

Byers and Soles opened the Ragland restaurant in 2010, building on the success of their original Alexandria location. They purchased the building on Ragland’s Main Street that had, most recently, been a Mexican restaurant and completely reinvented it as a Southern home-style eatery with a simple hometown atmosphere. Its following has grown so much that they are waiting for the opportunity to expand into adjacent space.

They made it through the early COVID pandemic days by converting to curbside pickup only, then adding outdoor seating in the parking lot. Now they’re even talking about opening a restaurant in a third location.

Long-time customer, Kay Carroll, is a huge fan. After she orders a blackened pork chop with home fries and a chicken salad to go, she chats with the wait staff and the manager like old friends. “You can do no wrong coming here,” she says. “You won’t find a friendlier place.”

Her husband comes in at least once a week. Even though they live 15 minutes away in Ashville, it’s “definitely worth the drive,” she says.

“When people finally discover us, they always tell us they’ll be back,” says Carl. “It’s just like Ragland, though,” he says. “It’s a hidden gem. You don’t go through it. You go to it.”

Carl, a longtime city councilman, is a strong supporter of his hometown. They are firmly committed to giving back to the community that has supported them. They frequently feed the football team for intown games, as well as help to sponsor little league teams.

Unassuming exterior hides a great restaruant inside

Hand-battered cube steak

Hamburger steak

CHEF T’s

Since they opened 10 years ago, they’ve fed emergency workers several times when tornadoes came through nearby towns. Chef Anthony and Carl also make it a point to work with local churches to help feed “shutins,” or those who aren’t able to drive to get their own food.

“They’re good neighbors,” says Ragland Mayor Richard Bunt. “As a small-town restaurant, they always jump in and help when they can. They work with the town in situations where we have to feed workers.”

“Greet ‘em, seat ‘em and feed the people” is their unofficial rally cry. In this town of 2,000 people, they’re one of only two places to eat (the other one is a convenience store deli). They take that charge seriously, opening seven days a week to prove it. From the moment a customer enters the door, the staff makes it their mission to be friendly and accommodating.

The menu variety ensures that just about anyone can find something they’re happy to eat at Chef T’s. The mayor’s favorite, he says, varies with the daily special. “They’re known for the barbecue, but I love the hamburger steak meal,” he says. “They also make great burgers.”

Catering is another aspect of their business and is supported by two food trucks. They cater for many of the large corporations and businesses in the surrounding areas.

They’ve even sent a small contingent to cater a gathering in Alaska. Obviously, that’s not the usual delivery area. l

Making the magic happen in the kitchen

Traveling the BACKROADS

Ashville, Alabama

A time to celebrate 200 years of history

Vendors at the bicentennial

Story by Robert Debter

Photos by Becky Staples

Submitted Photos

It is 1822 in Alabama: statehood is still a recent memory – achieved in 1819 following two years under a territorial government after separating from the State of Mississippi. There are 32 counties, the state capital is located in Cahaba, near Selma, Israel Pickens is the newly elected governor, and the population is over 125,000.

These were the days when great men and leaders, such as Thomas Jefferson, still walked and wrote, and those who would become great leaders and better men, like John C. Calhoun, learned from them.

In St. Clair County, established in 1818, many of the distinguished and proud names, their descendants still living here, have created new lives and started families in this virgin land, hewn from the wilderness by the hands of heroes.

The Alabama Fever Land Rush and the War of 1812 had brought them here. From Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia they came: Ash, Battles, Beason, Chandler, Cobb, Cox, Cunningham, Green, Hodges, Jones, Looney, Newton, Phillips, Thomason, Yarbrough and more.

These families and others settled in and around the center of the young county, which was known then as “St. Clairsville.”

On Nov. 28, 1822, this thriving town was incorporated, and on Dec. 12, it was made the county seat. Shortly after these events, the name was changed to “Ashville” in honor of John Ash, a pioneer, early settler, and leader who became St. Clair County’s first elected judge and would later serve in the state legislature.

Celebrating 200 years

These stories of struggle and sacrifice, journeys and new life, muskets and covered wagons, and the triumphs of resting one’s boots

Hometown parade a big draw for event

Traveling the BACKROADS

Guest of honor and grand marshal James Spann

Julie Doty at Historic Ashville Masonic Lodge

and putting down roots in a fresh, new God-given land, were celebrated by citizens of Ashville, descendants and friends from near and far on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022, in an impressive bicentennial event.

Great care in preparation was evident. Ashville Mayor Derrick Mostella took charge and established a bicentennial committee, co-chaired by Ashville City Councilwoman and Mayor Pro Tempore Sue Price and Becky Staples.

Working with Ashville City Clerk Chrystal St. John, they made sure the day of celebration would be nothing short of the honor deserved by those who paved this path 200 years ago. Joining them were members of the Bicentennial Committee: Robin Bowlin, Rena Brown, Jeanna Gossett, Susan Kell, Billy Price, Janice Price, Nancy Sansing, Ricky Saruse, Chad and Esther Smith, Rick and Liz Sorrell, Dr. Jay Stewart, Renna Turner, Denise Williams and Nick Wilson.

Other events became part of the celebration. In the weeks leading up to the day, a 5-K run was held, and Ashville High School seniors Joe Stevens and Rachel St. John earned the titles of “Mr. and Miss Ashville Bicentennial,” awarded to them by the Bicentennial Committee for winning the high school essay contest.

The events of the city’s celebration began at ten o’clock on the steps of the oldest working courthouse in the state of Alabama. Mostella welcomed the crowd by thanking everyone for coming out to the “greatest city in the greatest county in the greatest state.” William “Bill” Watkins, a naval veteran who served during the Korean War and is commander of St. Clair SCV Camp 308, who led the Pledge of Allegiance.

Newly elected St. Clair County Commission Chairman Stan Batemon offered prayer, followed by commencement speech by director of the Ashville Museum & Archives, who began by asking all veterans from all branches of the U.S. Military to be recognized.

A concise history of the founding and naming of Ashville followed with a recognition of several other historic and noteworthy family names: Ashcraft, Bothwell, Box, Byers, Cason, Crow, Hood, Inzer, Montgomery,

Traveling the BACKROADS

Nunnally, Partlow, Robinson, Sheffield, Teague and dozens more.

“Ashville is the type of town that Americans treasure,” he quoted from author, historian and leader Mattie Lou (Teague) Crow. “Our old homes are beautifully kept. The courthouse, built in 1844 to replace the original log building, serves well the people of St. Clair County. The natural beauty of the location of our churches and other old buildings that here for a century give the town the looks of a safe place to live, a place where people share in meaningful work and play.”

Others joined the celebration with performances by saxophonist Kevin Moore playing the Star Spangled Banner, and Chris Cash singing America the Beautiful.

Bunting adorned buildings and streets throughout the city. Patrons toured its three museums: the Ashville Museum & Archives, the John W. Inzer Museum and the Historic Ashville Masonic Lodge and Mattie Lou Teague (Crow) Museum. Reenactors gathered between the Inzer Museum and the Historic Masonic Lodge, joined by a historic fife and drum band from Rome, Georgia.

The county seat’s historic courthouse square was alive with activity, from hand forged knives display to face painting for the children to special offerings by the St. Clair Historical Society, Springville VFW Post 3229, Ashville Masonic Lodge 186, Ashville High School and Pine Forest Baptist Church.

Carriage rides and a petting zoo highlighted the day’s events as did live music performed by the Martini Shakers, and Berritt Hayne, a native of St. Clair County who contended as a finalist on The Voice

Guest of honor and grand marshal for a grand parade had historic ties himself. James Spann, the noted broadcast meteorologist, is a grandson of former St. Clair County political leader and businessman, Judge Curtis Adkins. His uncle, Joe Adkins, followed his father into the banking world and also served as mayor of Ashville. l

Historic county courthouse square was center of the festivities

Union State Bank flying the Stars and Stripes

The official name is Jane Battles Brown Memorial Library

STEELE PUBLIC LIBRARY

Roster, programs growing – even a llama carries a card

When the Steele Public Library held its grand reopening celebration, it gained an unexpected patron. Her name is Chenille Borg, and she gives the library the rare distinction of having a llama as a member.

If you don’t believe she’s a bonafide, cardcarrying member, see her picture accompanying this article. Her owner, Steele Town Councilwoman Nancy Miller-Borg, is standing beside her, card in hand.

Her membership is all in fun, and Miller-Borg, the library board, librarian Kaitlyn Siewert and town officials hope it will help bring attention to the newly-remodeled facility and all it has to offer.

“The library was closed for a month in the spring while we underwent some remodeling, including new floors in the main room and a new interior paint job,” said Siewert. The reopening celebration had to wait a few months, though, for a few finishing touches inside and outside the building, and for some new shelving to be

Story by Elaine Hobson Miller

Photos by Meghan Frondorf

Llama Chenille Borg and Councilwoman Nancy Miller-Borg

Librarian Kaitlyn Siewert

STEELE PUBLIC LIBRARY

installed. Kaitlyn herself is fairly new, too, having come on board July 18, 2022.

“We’re hoping that the new environment will be inviting and will bring in more patrons,” says Miller-Borg, a library patron and promoter. The library also is known as the Jane Battles Brown Memorial Library, after its founder. “That’s its official name, but we’re using Steele Public Library so town folks will get to know it better,” says Karen Bowen, vice chair of the library board. She knew Brown, who was affectionately called, “Janie.”

“She worked tirelessly to start the library, much of it without pay,” Bowen says of the library’s founder. “She has been dead about 48 years, and we’ve had several paid librarians since then. Right before Kaitlyn, it was Lynda Fann.”

Brown opened Steele’s first library in a small storage building next door to a gas station at the corner of US 11 and Steele Station Road, according to Bowen. “Next, it was in the gas station building itself,” she says.

Some folks believe the opening was in the early 1960s, others think it was the late 1960s. Ironically, town records are stored in the very building that housed the first library, and no one has gone through them to validate the precise date. The library moved to its current

Steele Public Library exterior

location after the town purchased the house it’s in at 78 Hillview Street, which is right up the hill from its original building, in April 2003. Library board members, in addition to Bowen, include Hannah Parris, chair; Brandy Dunn, RoseMary Hyatt and Esther Dunn.

When Siewert became librarian, she began the laborious task of culling the library cards to remove those that hadn’t been active in five years or more. With the help of Paula Ballard at Ashville’s McCain Memorial Public Library, the cards went from about 8,000 to 685 adults and 254 children, for a grand total of 939. By the end of the grand reopening day, when 26 more signed up (not counting Chenille), that total had reached 965. As of mid-December, it was at 975 and climbing.

Siewert has several new programs in the works, including a free project-supply closet (posters, markers, tape, etc.), a summer reading program for children, and a crochet group. The latter is a “coming together” of crocheters, rather than teaching sessions, but experienced crocheters will be on hand to help beginners. They began in January meeting every Tuesday from 9:30 a.m. - 11

a.m. Then on Feb. 4, the library will host a “Bring Your Child to the Library Day” from 8:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. There will be face painting, sidewalk chalk drawing, refreshments and other activities.

Siewert, whom Karen Bowen calls “Janie 2.0” because of the tremendous work she is putting into her job, was in the medical field for 10 years before heading up the Steele Public Library. “I wanted something outside that field, something I could grow into and be helpful,” she says. “So far, this job has been beyond my expectations. It’s the job I never knew I needed. It doesn’t even feel like a job.”

Editor’s Note: The Steele Public/ Jane Battles Brown Memorial Library is open Monday through Thursday. Its winter hours are from 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m., while the rest of the year its hours are 9 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. l

Children’s reading area

All ages of the community turned out for the opening

Christian Love Pantry

TAKING CARE OF NEIGHBORS IN TIME OF NEED

St. Clair Association of Realtors ready to hand out food bags

Pell City Rotarians join volunteer ranks

Story by Scottie Vickery

Submitted photos

Sue Turton will never forget the young girl who came to the Christian Love Pantry with her father years ago. She couldn’t have been more than 6 or 7, but she’d already experienced the hard realities of life. Her father had lost his job, the family was hungry, and they turned to the ministry based in Pell City for help.

The little girl’s eyes got wide as she looked at the groceries the volunteers had prepared for the family, Turton remembered. “Oh Daddy, look, there’s peanut butter,” the child said. “We’re not poor anymore.”

For more than four decades, the Christian Love Pantry, has been providing much more than just food to St. Clair County families in crisis. Based on the belief of neighbors helping neighbors, they’ve offered hope, love, kindness and compassion by the grocery cartful.

“The Lord always provides enough,” said Bob Osborn, a volunteer who serves as director of the nonprofit. “This community is wonderful that way. If we need something, they step up.”

That was certainly obvious in December when the Christian Love Pantry gave away 22,500 pounds of food during its annual Christmas in the Park event held at Lakeside Park. Area churches and civic organizations provided volunteers, and the St. Clair County Airport Authority and members of the Pell City Seventh Day Adventist Church distributed toys and treats collected during a toy drive sponsored by the Airport Authority.

“You’re helping people, and that’s what people need,” one recipient said. “There’s a lot of people who are hungry.”

IN THE BEGINNING …

The Christian Love Pantry began in 1980 when three Pell City churches – St. Simon Peter Episcopal Church, First United Methodist Church and Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church – joined forces to meet the ongoing need for emergency food distribution.

After receiving a donation of $10,000 in 1982, the Pell City Ministerial Council officially established the ministry, which was incorporated as a nonprofit in 1991 and began receiving United Way of Central Alabama funding. Since then, many more churches have come on board, helping in a variety of ways.

“The original articles of incorporation said the purpose was to help the needy in the community and to also give members of different denominations to work together for the common good and understanding of each other,” said

Turton, who serves as secretary. So far, they’ve remained true to both goals. Seven churches – the original three, plus Cropwell Baptist, Harvest Center, Pell City Seventh Day Adventists and First Baptist – still have members on the Christian Love Pantry’s board of directors. Another nine or 10 congregations provide volunteers, financial support, or food donations. “We are all different denominations, but we are all Christians and believe in Jesus,” Osborn said. “The unity we get from hanging out with one another and volunteering together is special.”

PROVIDING DAILY BREAD

The organization, which serves thousands of people each year and is completely staffed by volunteers, is not a substitute for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), often referred to as food stamps. Instead, it is designed to help families during emergency situations. For some, that’s the loss of a job or a health diagnosis resulting in high medical bills. For others, it’s a broken car transmission, a heating unit in need of repairs, or grandparents who have taken in a grandchild and haven’t started receiving benefits.

“We give them enough food to get through

Keeping the shelves stocked with the necessities

Rewarding experience seen in smiles of volunteers

Christian Love Pantry

Everyone pitches in at Lakeside Park distribution

a crisis,” Turton said. Typically, the Christian Love Pantry offers two emergency services per family each year in addition to providing food during special giveaway events usually held in the spring or summer, at Thanksgiving, and before Christmas. Clients are referred by other agencies, churches, the 211 directory, or family, friends and neighbors.

All recipients must live in St. Clair County, meet federal poverty guidelines, or be facing a special circumstance. The average family served has 2.5 members and an income of about $1,200 a month, which is well below the federal guidelines, Turton said.

Twice a year, families can receive enough food to last a week, if not more. The bounty, based on the number of people in the household and the food available in the warehouse includes a variety of soups, stews, vegetables, peanut butter and jelly, beans, pasta, rice, crackers, powdered milk, flour, corn meal, and more. In addition, recipients get fresh produce such as apples, oranges, carrots and potatoes, as well as meat and chicken. Publix donates bread and pastries daily, and the pantry also provides items such as diapers and pet food when available.

“Some families come every six months, and some you may see every five years,” Osborn said. “We don’t send anyone who’s out of food and hungry away,” Turton

Packing for distribution

Christian Love Pantry

Getting everything ready for distribution a team effort all enjoy

said, adding that partial services can be provided when necessary.

In addition to the twice-yearly services, the Christian Love Pantry also hosts several special event distributions each year. In December, for example, 250 families received over 90 pounds of food, including a 6-pound ham, 8 pounds of chicken, ground beef, as well as a variety of canned goods, breads and staples.

So how does it all happen? It takes a lot of partnerships, Osborn said. United Way is still the ministry’s top funder, providing about 40 percent of the budget. The rest comes from grants, churches, individual donations, fundraisers and civic organizations.

The Community Food Bank of Central Alabama in Birmingham is an important partner, as well. The agency serves as a hub for food pantries, homeless shelters and children’s programs, and Christian Love Pantry

Christian Love Pantry

volunteers can buy food, including meat, for 16 cents a pound through the Food Bank so they can distribute it to their clients. “We get a lot of good food for very little money,” Osborn said. “It allows us to give generously.”

In addition to bread and pastries, Publix donates pallets of food a few times a year. Fresh Value offers a discount on food, and fresh produce is harvested from Gateway Community Garden. In addition, local farmers donate fresh eggs. The volunteers also provide recipes and information about other social services available.

MEETING THE NEED

At its peak, the Christian Love Pantry provided nearly 3,000 families with regular services in a year. In 2020, the numbers dropped since clients received relief payments from the government, but since then the numbers have been on the rise again. In 2021, the ministry served 1,150 households with 2,961 people, Turton said. Last year, 1,406 families with 3,607 people were served. About 30 percent of those were children.

Although volunteers currently number about 100, there’s always room for more, according to Debbie Parmenter, who is a former volunteer coordinator and current Board chair. Volunteer opportunities range from working directly with clients for screening and food

Making sure children’s wishes come true

Students learn life lesson through volunteering

distribution, stocking donations, using pallet jacks to move large quantities of food and picking up daily donations at Publix. Only one shift per month is required, but many volunteers look forward to helping more often.

“We all have our niche,” Osborn said. “This is one little thing we can do once or twice a month that contributes to the community at large.”

Many of the volunteers are retired and have supported the ministry financially for years, but they are now enjoying a more personal commitment now that their children are grown, and job commitments have ended. “Many of us for many years had more money than time to help,” Turton said. “It’s indescribably better to be on this side of it and provide more than financial support.” l

For information about receiving assistance, call (205) 338-2358 during the ministry’s business hours, which are Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9 a.m. to noon. To learn about volunteer opportunities, message them on The Christian Love Pantry Facebook page.

Rotarians Gay Blackwell, Don Smith and Joe Paul Abbott

Plenty of sorting goes into distribution

IN THE BEGINNING

Fats and the flag man: Two pioneers with St. Clair ties helped plant the seeds for modern stock car racing

Story by Paul South Submitted Photos

Before Bill France Sr. saw his dream of big-time, big money stock car racing take root in little towns like Daytona Beach, Darlington and Talladega and big cities like Atlanta and Charlotte, seeds were being planted.

Two men – Perry Edgar “Fats” Layfield and Johnny Garrison Sr., both hard working, blue-collar husbands and fathers who made a living with their hands, were two of those planters.

Layfield, the patriarch of a racing clan that drove dirt and asphalt tracks for three generations, and Garrison, who became a respected official as a flagman, didn’t know it then. But they, like the more famous Allisons, Pettys, Earnhardts and Waltrips, helped build the glitz and glamor of modern stock car racing.

“Fats” Layfield’s son, James, himself a short track driver, said it best. “All the little tracks are what made NASCAR.”

Fats and the flag man

A brief history

In the beginning, bootleggers and their sons ran booze through the mountains, hills and hollows of Appalachia, from West Virginia to Alabama. Trying to outrun Prohibition and feed their families, the daring drivers tried to satisfy thirsty customers.

Then, after World War II, a booming American middle class – freed from the shackles of gas and tire rationing – pulled their old jalopies from barns and sheds and off blocks and souped them up.

The vets who returned home from war were hungry for excitement. Automakers transitioned from a war footing to a consumer culture. America became a car culture that spilled over into movies like Rebel Without A Cause and songs that went like this:

“Son, you’re gonna drive me to drinkin’ if you don’t stop driving that hot rod Lincoln.”

To satisfy the public’s need for speed, dirt and asphalt tracks sprung up – Iron Bowl between Roebuck and Tarrant City, east of Birmingham, Birmingham International Raceway at the State Fairgrounds, Sayre Speedway and Dixie Speedway in Midfield.

Racing at the Iron Bowl dirt track

The flag man

Fats and the flag man

At Sayre, James Layfield remembered, “Go up there and fight and hope a car race would break out.”

In black and white photos, the multitudes surrounded the tracks despite the blistering sun. There were farmers in overalls and straw hats, men in heat-wilted white shirts and sweaty felt fedoras, wives and children and seemingly enough picnic baskets to feed the 5,000.

Layfield and Garrison were there in the center of it.

James Layfield never saw his Dad race. He was a big man who looked like “Hoss” Cartwright from the TV series, Bonanza After his son came into the world, “Fats” raffled off his race car, the Number 13 “Black Cat” Ford. When he tried to give the proceeds to a local church for a new floor, he was turned away.

“They said it was like gambling. He gave it to the preacher and told him to buy himself a new suit,” James recalled.

Tears come quickly when he talks about his Dad. He still remembers that once he took up the sport, his Dad never missed a race, even after work-related back injuries confined “Fats” to a wheelchair.

“He worked hard all his life, and age just caught up with him,” the younger Layfield remembered.

The elder Layfield could tell if an engine was right just by the sound. “I’d be out there working, and he’d yell from the house, ‘You better go back to where you was at. It sounded better before.’ He was my pit crew and my crew chief.”

“Fats” was a big man with a big heart, his son recalled. He checked on his neighbors, giving rides when needed.

“If there was somebody broke down on the side of the road, he’d stop to help them,” James said. “He’d either help ‘em fix it or tell them how to fix it. Or, if they could get it pulled to the house, he’d have the car waiting on me, so I could fix it for the folks.”

His voice quivered as he talked about his Dad. “He could be kind, and he could be rough,” James said. “He was at the race track every time I went. He was crippled up, but every time I’d go to the track, he was there. He’d say, ‘Boy, you need to quit this. But he was always there.

“After he passed away, and my son started racing, I’d look up to see (Dad’s) truck, and it wasn’t there. It just wasn’t the same.”

Fats and daughter, Mary, in 1956

Fats next to the No. 84 Layfield car

Fats and the flag man

Racing was in the family’s blood. Before Fats’ grandson, Eric, was old enough for a driver’s license, he started working on his Dad’s race car. Soon, Eric Layfield was behind the wheel. Eric and James Layfield worked on each other’s cars.

“He was 15 on a Saturday night and turned 16 on a Sunday and ran his first race,” James said of his son. Needless to say, the Layfields were nervous.

“He had a little trouble getting his mother (Peggy) to sign the release form for him. But he had a level head on him and knew what he was doing. I think he finished third in his first race. The next year, he won the (season) championship.”

Peggy Layfield was a racing veteran of a sort. For years, as many as four race cars were worked on in the family shop at one time.

“We’d have the engines going, and the windows and dishes would rattle,” James said. “Peggy put up with that for 45 years, and we’ve been married 52.”

And when she was 15 or 16, James Layfield recalls, even his daughter Keri got into the driver’s seat – sort of.

At the Talladega short track, she joined her Dad in a specially

Spectators line the track for Iron Bowl racing.

John Garrison Sr.

Fats and the flag man

created, two-driver cruiser class. James steered and handled the brakes and Keri, the gas pedal.

“We were three or four laps in, and she got the stiff leg and had the gas on the floor,” James says. “We spun out between turns one and two and blew the engine. I was done.”

As for what drew him to racing, James, who also built his own engines, wanted to show the other drivers what he could do. He raced dirt and asphalt. And he had a favorite: “Asphalt is for getting there; dirt is for racing.”

He always remembered his Dad’s advice. “I’d get out in front, and he’d tell me to slow down,” James recalled. “He wanted me to let them pass, then me pass ‘em back to put on a show. But I worked hard to get in front, and I wanted to stay in front.”

James had stretches when he was out in front often. “You get out in front, and you win every weekend there for six or eight weekends, it makes you feel good to know that you’re the one they hate the most or get cussed the most. But you just keep on going.”

Birmingham International Raceway at the Fairgrounds

John Garrison Sr. and Jerry Lawley

The flagman

John Garrison Sr. kept racers going – safely –through hundreds of races. A veteran of World War II who served on Okinawa as part of the Army Air Corps, Garrison flagged his first race after volunteering on a dare at a California short track after the war. He had flagged informal drag races on Okinawa after the allies took the island from the Japanese.

He was a master of the flags – every color was racing’s code. But Garrison brought a color all his own to the track, waving each flag with a flourish, like a ballet against the roar of an eight-cylinder symphony. One photo shows him dressed all in white, smiling and clutching a checkered flag and wearing a tam that matched the flag.

And the fans loved it.

“It was a big thing back then,” John Garrison Jr., said. “Dad saw life as an adventure. My Dad and that generation of people were just unique in the way that they were raised. My Dad was the 13th and youngest kid in his family … In the early days, they didn’t have much. Dad was a colorful character all of his life. He didn’t take life very seriously. He always found a reason to laugh.”

Many like Garrison, had never left their hometowns before they went off to war. Survivors returned home “full of vim and vigor” and looking for excitement.

“By and large, that was the fuel for the sport of racing,” Garrison said. “Those guys were daredevils. They were adventurers. Some were pilots, many were infantry. You had a generation that didn’t want to sit on the front porch in abject safety. They lived by risk, and they wanted adventure.”

The elder Garrison, a mechanic, taught his son to work hard and risk as well. Lessons were learned not by talking, but by doing. And though he loved to laugh, flagging was serious business for his father. It could be the difference between life and death on the track.

“As a boy, I remember walking the track with my Dad at BIR (Birmingham International Raceway). Two hours before the race, he would walk the entire track, looking for pieces of metal that had come off the cars or were lying on the track. His concern was a piece of metal flying up. A lot of these cars didn’t have windshields. He didn’t want the drivers to be injured.”

Garrison Jr., who started his own structural steel firm at 40, remembered when at 16, his Dad gave him a crash course in flagging at Dixie Speedway. “Dad said, ‘Get up here. You’re going to flag this race.’

When his son pleaded that he didn’t know

Wrecks were common on the old dirt tracks

Perry Edgar “Fats” Layfield

Lining up for the start of the race

Fats and the flag man

how. His Dad responded, “You’ll learn how. That’s the thing that he did that gave me confidence in myself. He didn’t spend a lot of time instructing me. But when he was involved, it was like that time at Dixie Speedway. Without knowing it, he was teaching me independence.”

Garrison Sr. is a member the Alabama Auto Racing Pioneers (aarpinc.org) Hall of Fame, joining the likes of Bobby, Donnie, Davey and Clifford Allison, Neil Bonnett, “Red” Farmer, Hut Stricklin, Don Naman and legendary racing writer, Clyde Bolton. In the future, “Fats” Layfield should join them.

Life’s lessons learned

The lessons learned from their fathers was like a gift handed down from generation to generation. While walking the track with his Dad looking for shards of metal may have quietly taught John Garrison Jr. independence and attention to detail so important in his future business efforts, “Fats” Layfield taught his son the power of possibility.

James Layfield was stricken with polio as a toddler. While a patient at the old Crippled Children’s Clinic in Birmingham, he would clutch his Dad’s finger and walk with him up and down the long tables where young patients were eating.

“The nurse would say, ‘You can’t do that,’” James remembered. My Dad would say, “My boy’s gonna walk out of here.”

And he did. No checkered flag win was as sweet.

Garrison always ready with the checkered flag

The journey to mend his heart led

Qua was born with tricuspid atresia that required a series of open heart surgeries as an infant. But as a teen, his health took a dramatic turn. Qua’s pediatrician and cardiologist recognized something wasn’t right with his heart and sent him to Children’s of Alabama. Our team was standing by when he arrived by helicopter, and within two weeks he received a new heart. He rebounded quickly and was back at home a few weeks later, thanks to the expert heart team here at Children’s of Alabama.

“When my mother had the beginnings of dementia, she was in Birmingham, and I was in Pell City. Working full time, I couldn’t be there. But Always There could, and they helped her with the things she needed to remain independent -- taking her grocery shopping, making sure she got the right medications at the right time, being a companion. Always There allowed her to stay in her own home and took the worries away from my siblings and I when we couldn’t be there for her.”

-- Carol P.

Qua Heart Transplant Survivor

FINDING ADVENTURE on the TRACK

The pioneers who paved the way

Story by John Garrison Jr. Submitted Photos

World War II had just ended, and America emerged victorious. The economic engine turned from war production to consumer production. People who, during wartime rationing of everything from rubber, gasoline, meat and butter, suddenly had plentiful supplies of everything.

American auto manufacturing had quit producing cars from 1943 to 1945 to support the war effort. American ingenuity, however, came alive after 1945. People felt good about America, and new inventions abounded and by that same year, Americans were saving on average 21percent of their earnings.

In a good economy, hard-working people like to enjoy some of the fruits of their labor with social activities, and many turned to sports events.

Couple all that with a re-emerged automobile industry, and the everyday American, blue-collar guy looked for ways to continue the good feeling that competition and another chance to win brought about.

Enter the thrilling stock car racing industry

Dirt racing at the Birmingham Fairgrounds

where an old family jalopy dragged from the barnyard would get a new lease on life as a racecar.

Imagine a group of guys coming together as a ragtag team to build a racecar. One might have mechanic’s skills, another as a body and fender/ painter/welder type and yet another exsoldier with courage enough to drive at breakneck speeds.

This is how a whole new enthusiasm for motorsports began in Alabama and across the nation. Despite automobile racing existing prior to this period, it was reserved primarily to a small population and cars built specifically for racing and not your typical old family coupe or sedan, thus the term “stock car.”

Around Birmingham, circa 1948, there was a track carved out of an old field near Roebuck called the lronbowl Speedway. The track was a dirt oval and on Sunday afternoons, crowds would gather to see the daredevil field of drivers and their home-built machines compete to be the first to the checkered

The pioneers

flag. The hill above the track would be filled with wives, kids and neighbors with picnic baskets sitting on the hoods of their family cars taking in the spectacle. Everybody came home covered in dust.

As the early days of stock car racing in Alabama was forming, the fairgrounds at Birmingham had a 1-mile oval horse racing track built in 1906 that sometimes held an occasional motorcycle race or a car race of specially built open-wheel racecars.

During the same period as the old lronbowl Speedway, Birmingham Fairgrounds began running stock car races, as well. Then in 1958, NASCAR (National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing) brought sanctioned racing to Birmingham and other tracks in Alabama.

Stock car racing was being born from the crude beginnings of low-budget, homebuilt cars to a commercial industry that brought higher levels of engineering talent and corporate sponsor dollars emerging into the highly refined sport of stock car racing today. Racing was financially out of reach for the regular guy. The old days and ways were changing quickly.

There is still a group of traditionalists that have a love and devotion to the old days where it all began. Beginning days that produced such greats as Bobby and Donnie Allison, Red Farmer, still making racing appearances at 90 years old, and Neil Bonnet, who died racing stock cars in 1994 at 47 years old.

Although those became household names in the sport because of the entry into corporate racing,

The pioneers

Birmingham International Raceway in its later years

Vintage stock cars at Birmingham Fairgounds

there were great racers that will forever have places in the hearts of the “purists” of the sport. People like Nero Stepto, Sonny Black, Fletcher Ford, Alton Jones, Fred Thompson, “Paddlefoot” Wales and those who went by aliases – drivers who changed their names so their employer wouldn’t fire them for engaging in such a dangerous sport.

There is an organization dedicated to the preservation of racing history in Alabama named the Alabama Auto Racing Pioneers (aarpinc.org) where hundreds of old photographs and stories abound on the history of racing here.

At the Talladega Motor Sports Hall of Fame, the Alabama Racing Pioneers room features photos and memorabilia from that bygone era.

Membership in the organization is only $35 a year to join. Current membership is 320 across the state and there are gatherings and banquets for those interested in preserving the history. l

Checking out a wreck that was stopped by the fence

St. Clair, Alabama Business Review

Story by Linda Long

Photos by Graham Hadley and David Smith, submitted

Bright future ahead

St. Clair economy continues to grow

The future’s so bright, I gotta wear shades … Those lyrics from an old 1980s rock song could well be the theme for St. Clair County’s economic movers and shakers. Fiscal 2023 is beginning to shape up as another banner year – like the one before it.

The 2022 numbers tell the story – 675 new jobs, $400 million invested and $20 million in new wages announced in 20 projects that were announced, broke ground, or opened in 2022. The county saw an economic upswing across the board, from housing to manufacturing, retail sales to tourism, new business to expansion of existing industry.

According to Don Smith, executive director of the St. Clair County Economic Development Council, there’s reason for optimism. “We’re excited about the prospects that we have in the pipeline for 2023. A lot of the projects announced last year and even the year before will be coming on line this year,” said Smith. “We saw the number of projects at one of its highest levels in 2022 and this is carrying into 2023.”

For Pell City, new retail is coming to town. Smith says, “The groundbreaking we had for the big shopping center, Pell City Square, was actually expected in 2019. It was put on hold for a while because of the pandemic but now it’s moving forward.”

The shopping center, to be completed this year, will include Hobby Lobby, PetSmart, Ross Dress for Less, TJ Maxx, Old Navy, Ulta Beauty, Five Below, Rack Room Shoes and others.

St. Clair’s menu for success also includes white tablecloth, fine dining with all the frills. According to Smith, The St. Clair and Tavern at The St. Clair, should be opening the beginning of 2023. “It’s something different. There’s nothing else like it here at all. It will be a place where you can celebrate special occasions and where you could also entertain guests. It just opens up all sorts of possibilities.”

Because of Pell City Square, “other eateries, shops and hotels are expected things that may be in our local market,” he said.

Smith said the largest revenue generator among all the new projects will be that new retail center. “A big number will be generated off that each year in sales tax.”

The largest potential job creator of all new projects is the Kelly Creek Commerce Park in Moody. “It’s a New Year’s present for the county,” Smith said. “The

Ribbon cutting at National Cement

The St. Clair and Tavern at The St. Clair

Business Review St. Clair Continues Growth

172-acre industrial park is expected to create 800 to 1,000 new jobs in the next five to 10 years. “We don’t know who the companies are yet, but we will have the space and infrastructure for them to invest. We’re expecting it to accommodate company headquarters, light manufacturing and warehousing as well.”

Also new to Moody will be a Starbucks and an entertainment center housing a trampoline park, an arcade and a bowling alley to be announced.

“Both of those projects fall in line with the Moody’s community input that was given to the city by its citizens on projects that they wanted them to focus during their recent comprehensive planning sessions,” said Smith.

The largest investment in the county, by far, is the $325 million dollars committed by National Cement in Ragland.

“This is the largest private investment in St. Clair County’s history,” said Smith. “It secures that facility’s production for another 50 years.”

He said National Cement is central to Ragland’s history. “Decades ago, the cement plant did a lot of labor-intensive mining,” said Smith. “It employed about a thousand people. Trains would come through and drop people off downtown. Over time, automation and machinery became available, and it was a lot easier to

extract materials with a machine rather than shovel and pickaxe.”

As time went by, employee numbers have gone down, but wages have gone up. “What we saw,” he said, “was the need to reinvest and keep up with changes in technology. They had to modernize almost their entire facility, so now Ragland will have those jobs for the next 50 years.”

Other parts of the county are seeing growth as well. Springville has new business coming to town, including the Blue Water Bottling company and the opening of the Big Canoe Creek Nature Preserve. Big Canoe Nature Preserve is set to open in the spring or summer of this year. The long-awaited preserve will provide hiking and horseback riding trails as well as canoeing and kayaking.

According to St. Clair County Tourism Coordinator Blair Goodgame, “We are thrilled with the progress of the BCCNP. This project will be an asset to St. Clair County for generations to come. Not only will the Preserve enhance the lives of locals, but it will serve as an attraction for outdoor enthusiasts across the Southeast – adding to the county’s already vast catalog of outdoor recreational opportunities.”

In the commercial sector, the EDC is eyeing a number of retail prospects, including a new grocer in

Work underway at the Kelly Creek Commerce Park in Moody

the Springville, Odenville, Argo and Margaret area. “There’s a number of developers who represent different grocery brands looking at different sites. We’re just trying to find the right spots for the right brand and the size acreage. That’s the key, but it’s been a challenge because building costs have skyrocketed.”

Interest in sites throughout the county is heightening. “We have active prospects on almost every interstate interchange on the I-59 corridor, and we hope to announce some in early 2023,” Smith said. “A community like St. Clair County has so much potential because of its two interstates and close proximity to both Birmingham and Atlanta. That’s a big draw in helping us recruit.”

Prospects for the future continue to look promising.

“So long as long as we continue to make St. Clair County a welcoming place for people to invest, which may include residential, commercial or industrial, we will continue to grow at a strong rate,” Smith said.

“It just makes me very happy to see job opportunities and conveniences now in the county. People will soon not have to drive outside our community to get what they need.”

WHO IS YOUR PT?

TherapySouth is an outpatient physical therapy practice with a fun, family-oriented environment. For more than 30 years, Tyler McGrady and the experienced physical therapists in Pell City have built relationships with their patients and helped them achieve their physical goals. We know you have a choice for your healthcare, and we’d love for one of our great people to be your physical therapist!

New trail at Big Canoe Creek Nature Preserve

Eissmann announces $3.4 million expansion, creating 79 new jobs

German automotive supplier Eissmann Automotive, N.A., has announced an expansion to its Pell City facility. It includes a $3.4 million investment in new advanced manufacturing equipment for their new production line. They expect to hire an additional 79 employees to support the production necessary for their new orders.

Eissmann Automotive has 13 locations on three continents. The company specializes in car interiors, built-to-print trim components, shifter modules and many other parts for German and Domestic auto makers, such as Mercedes, Audi, Jeep, Tesla, Porsche, Volkswagen and others. Their commitment to high quality and 100% customer satisfaction has been a key to their success.

“Eissmann Automotive Group’s decision to expand their facility in St. Clair County is wonderful for our citizens and community,” said Stan Batemon, St. Clair County Commission chairman. “It is always beneficial to both our community and the company when higher paying jobs with more advanced technology are announced. This is a testament both to the company’s ability to produce a great product and the faith they have in St. Clair County’s workforce.”

“We have been very pleased with our experience working with the City of Pell City, the St. Clair County Commission

and Alabama’s Department of Commerce,” said Tracy Breeding, plant director for Eissmann. “They have been wonderful partners as we continue to invest in Pell City to provide quality service and products to our valued customers.”

“Pell City is excited to be home to quality companies like Eissmann Automotive Group,” said Pell City Mayor Bill Pruitt. “They have always been a great partner in the community, and this expansion is great news. We are looking forward to their continued success and the new jobs that will soon be available in our city.”

“St. Clair County and the State of Alabama are very fortunate to have Eissmann Automotive Group expand in our community,” noted Alabama Senator Lance Bell, (R-Pell City). “We applaud them for their success in capturing the business necessary for this expansion, and we are excited that they are growing as an important part of the state’s automotive supply chain.”

St. Clair Economic Development Council Chairman Joe Kelly said, “Eissmann Automotive is a great company who has experienced much growth and success here in St. Clair County. We are excited to learn that they are making this new investment in their Pell City facility. We congratulate Eissmann and wish them continued success.”

Eissmann Campus

Business Review News in Brief

St. Clair EDC, City of Moody, Chamber of Commerce and developers break ground

MOODY BREAKS GROUND ON STARBUCKS DEVELOPMENT

Commuters and coffee drinkers will soon have a new choice. A project to bring Starbucks to one of Moody’s busiest gateways broke ground in December. The site is located at Moody Parkway and Blue Ridge Drive.

At the groundbreaking ceremony, Will Roark, Brice Johnston and Chris McCoy with RJ Development thanked all the stakeholders involved in the project, saying the project was coming up on about the one-and-a-half-year mark. “We’re excited to see this project come to fruition and want to thank all those involved in the process. We have enjoyed working with the city and county on this project” McCoy said.

The 2,500 square foot Starbucks is scheduled to open in June 2023 and will create approximately 20 jobs. Customers will have the option of indoor and patio seating, as well as a drive-through. The project brings a multi-million-dollar investment to the City of Moody.

“The City Council and I listen to our neighbors about the different retailers we would all like to see in Moody,” said Mayor Joe Lee.

“Most times this involves our team connecting the right developer, who has a relationship with the retailers we want, with a property owner who is willing to work with them. I am happy we were able make this happen on this project. I know this project will be a tremendous success because this is a brand many have talked about, and Chris

McCoy’s team has worked hard to make it happen. It’s all about working as a team.”

“We are happy to once again be able to partner with Mayor Lee and his team on another great project,” said St. Clair County Commission Chairman Stan Batemon.

“Chris and his development team have been wonderful to work with, and I believe this is just the first of many of their investments in Moody and other parts of our community.”

RJ Development specializes in all aspects of commercial real estate with a primary focus on the development of new retail shopping centers. The company has developed more than 2 million square feet of retail space.

ENTERTAINMENT CENTER ON HORIZON FOR MOODY

Moody City Council cleared the way for a 60,000 square foot entertainment center for the city, an answer to a muchrequested type of development in input from the community for quite some time.

The council is entering into an agreement with Signature Developments, LLC and Starz events, LLC to construct and operate a new family entertainment center near the I-20 interchange.

The new facility is expected to be approximately 60,000 square feet and will be built on roughly 6.7 acres with interstate visibility. The project site is owned by the city’s commercial development authority (CDA), and the agreement allows the transfer of the property to the

developer with certain personal and business guarantees to repay the city the appraised value of the property over 10 years.

The family entertainment center will offer popular activities like a bowling alley of approximately 10-16 bowling lanes, a trampoline park, a soft play recreation facility designed and intended for use as an area for young children, a snack bar/concessions area and other attractions in high demand.

“We are looking forward to opening a state-of-theart entertainment center customized to the interest of the local citizens, said Shafiq Samji, the project’s developer and operator. “Moody is a fast-growing community with incredible potential, and we believe this project is a perfect fit. We have enjoyed working with the City of Moody, Chamber of Commerce and County Commission on this project.”

The agreement allows the developer 24 months to open the facility. “We would like to open the facility today, but much of the equipment is specialized and will require a number of months to receive and have installed after the building is constructed. We would like to be open before Thanksgiving of 2024,” Samji said.

“Most times private retailers and developers choose where they are going to locate,” Mayor Joe Lee noted. “On this occasion, the city’s CDA owns the property, which gave us a say in what would locate on the site.

“This is a project both the citizens and our council have wanted to see in our community. People expressed a desire to see more family entertainment options during our recent community input session for city’s comprehensive plan, Moody at the Crossroads. We listened and hope this will be the anchor for a larger, master planned entertainment district.”

St. Clair County Commission Chairman Stan Batemon expressed confidence in the project.

“Mr. Samji has a number of successful business ventures in St. Clair County and Shelby County. He also has experience in the family entertainment sector, and we look forward to supporting the city in another successful project.”

COOSA PINES FCU GIVES $500,000 IN BONUS, REFUND TO MEMBERS

Coosa Pines Federal Credit Union announced that its members in November received over $500,000 as a bonus dividend and loan interest refund for 2022. This is the eighth consecutive year that Coosa Pines members have received a bonus and refund, for a total of over $2.7 million.

The Board of Directors made the decision to issue the bonus and refund based on the success of the credit union in 2022. “This year has been one of the most successful for Coosa Pines, and the outlook for next year is positive,” said CEO Don Carden. “While the purpose of a bank is to make money for its shareholders, as members of a financial cooperative, we all share in the success of our credit union.”

The dividend bonus was figured using 7.25% of dividends earned on the member’s share savings account from Jan. 1 to Sept. 30, 2022. The loan interest refund amount is determined by 7.25% of the loan interest paid for the same period. Certain exclusions applied, but qualifying members saw a deposit in their share savings accounts.

The bonus dividend and interest refund are based on the current year’s results and projections for the following year. Therefore, any future bonus or refund are not guaranteed. “Every member is an owner of Coosa Pines,” said Carden. “Every decision we make is with their financial success in mind. We are elated when we can save them money, reduce financial stress, or share with them a bonus and refund like this.”

Coosa Pines FCU was chartered in 1950 and has a field of membership that includes Talladega, Shelby, St. Clair, Jefferson, Coosa and Clay counties.

Entertainment center concept layout

Coosa Pines in Pell City

DOUGLAS MANUFACTURING INVESTS $2 MILLION IN TECHNOLOGY

Douglas Manufacturing closed out 2022 with an announcement about its future. The company, established in 1978 in Pell City, is investing more than $2 million in growth and automation.

Over the next two years, the investment will go toward new manufacturing technologies, such as new CNC equipment and automation, as well as expanding its physical plant. The company estimates that this investment and expansion will create more than 20 new positions in Pell City and increase the plant by roughly 15,000 square feet.

Once complete, the company plans to add a second shift, thus allowing the business to more than double the production capacity of key components so that the company can keep up with an increase in demand for its core component lines: pulleys, lagging, idlers, magnetics, impact beds and take-ups.

The investments will spur economic growth with increased purchases from local and national suppliers.

“The significant new investment Douglas is making to expand its Pell City manufacturing plant illustrates our strong commitment to the conveyor industry, to Alabama and our local community,” said Paul Ross, company president. “We would like to thank St. Clair County, the City of Pell City and the St. Clair County EDC for their support in helping to make this new investment possible.”

For 45 years, Douglas has established its legacy as a leader and innovator in the conveyor industry.

The plant expansion represents the latest chapter in the Made in Alabama success story that has been written over the past four and a half decades. To learn more about the Alabama-made products Douglas produces, visit www. douglasmanufacturing.com.

CARDEN OPENS NEW CLASSIC HOME MORTGAGE OFFICE

Mortgage Specialist Teresa Carden of Classic Home Mortgage celebrated the opening of her new office with an open house for the community. The office is located at 2600 Mays Drive, Suite B, in Pell City.

A Pell City native, Carden began her career in finance in 1996 and insurance in 1989. She worked as an in-house bank loan processor, transferring quickly to mortgage loan processor. She rose to Mortgage Department Head and has 20 years of experience in home loans.

She opened the local branch of Classic Home Mortgage in September 2022, building on her experience and passion for helping people achieve home ownership. “It is the largest investment most people will ever make,” she said.

Carden is a Home for Heroes Mortgage Specialist, which gives EMS, educator, healthcare professional and military service personnel a Heroes Thank You Reward.

Our newest team member of dedicated healthcare providers - Dr. Jackson starting seeing patients in September 22.

• Residency, St. Vincent’s East Family Medicine

• Doctor of Medicine, Cum Laude, St. George’s University School of Medicine

Dr. Jackson will serve our community with the same compassion that guides healthcare at PCIFM.

Life through the lens of Mackenzie Free

I wish we could inherit memories

The same way we inherit our grandfather’s eyes or our mother’s mannerisms, I wish we could recall memories of our loved ones as they once were … back when they existed without us.

I wish I could remember the first time my mother fell in love or how my grandad felt the day he arrived home from war. I wish I could close my eyes and recall my great grandmother’s childhood home and the way her momma looked in the morning light of their farmhouse kitchen window or the rush of emotions my grandfather felt the day my father was born.

I wish that “family inheritance” consisted not of money or things, but instead, we were gifted our ancestors most treasured memories, their most carefully curated moment – wrapped up just waiting to be untied.

This kind of inheritance anchors us. It offers us some insight into who we are and where we came from. We are by no means defined by them. Our lives are still wholly our own. But, in a way, we are all still conceived a bit by these memories from long ago. These memories helped make us. They are a part of us … poured into the very foundation of our existence.

(The above image is a digital copy of a slide taken in 1953 by my grandfather, Maxie L. Black.  Featuring my grandmother, Betty Lou Black, and aunt, Patricia)

- Mackenzie FreeWife, mother, photographer & current resident of the unassumingly magical town of Steele, Alabama