@MOREWinter-Spring 2019-2020 by Fox Press

MORE @ life in our hometown Winter-Spring 2019-20

A CLOTHES PIN CRAFTER Celebrate Lions Honey maker

@MORE A magazine celebrating the beauty of our community. Editor/Designer Andrew Garner

Advertising Sales Brittany Flowers

Photography Andrew Garner Lacey McMath

@MORE magazine is published four times per year by Atmore Newspapers Inc. 301 S. Main St. Atmore, AL 36502 251.368.2123 Advertising rates and information are available upon request. Subscriptions are $16 annually in-state, $25 annually out-of-state, and $26 annually out-of-county. Please make checks payable to Atmore Newspapers Inc., P.O. Box 28, Atmore, AL 36504

@PINS

Bratt, Fla. native creates clocks, pieces with clothes pins

@TABLE Pgs. 6-7

@HONEY Page 10

All material copyright Atmore Newspapers Inc.

@LIONS Page 9

@PINS

PIN ART

Bratt, Fla. native using clothes pins for creative outlet STORY, PHOTOS • ANDREW GARNER Under the glow of his kitchen light, James Amerson assembles a clock frame with clothes pins. This hobby has led the Bratt, Fla. native to create various pieces with clothes pins as the main medium. Amerson has created clocks, sunflowers, Alabama and Auburn pieces and even little chairs and side tables in miniature. “It just comes to my mind,” Amerson said about his creative process. “I do some trial and error. Depending on how you angle the clothes pins, I just do trial and error to learn what to do with them. The colors are

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whatever comes to mind.” Amerson said he uses clothes dye, and event has used coffee. “It worked,” he said, smiling. Amerson said he’s been diving deep into his hobby since his wife, Betty, got sick, around April 2019. “I just hate to sit,” he said. “I’ve got to do something.” Amerson admits that he got the idea of the sunflowers off of the popular website, Pinterest. “As far as the clocks and all of that, I started moving clothes pins around to get the circular See next page

Shown is James Amerson holding one of his pieces.

color for a one-color design; • Allowing 24 more hours for each color to dry; and, • Mounting the clock with screws to clothes pins inside the circle. Amerson said it takes approximately four hours to complete one color frame, and between five-six hours for multi colors. “To me, it’s just interesting how you can take something as simple as a clothes pin, and do something like this,” he said. Amerson said he really enjoys performing this craft.

shape I needed,” he said. His process of creating the clothes pins crafts is quite detailed, including: • Separating wire spring from clothes pins. He said it takes between 130-140 pieces; • Gluing pieces to wire frame for the design you desire; • Allowing 24 hours for the glue to dry;

• Attaching wire springs to the outside of the pieces; • Gluing springs to each piece on the back side; • Allowing another 24 hours to dry; • Spraying paint with primer on the piece; • Allowing another 24 hours to dry; • Spraying paint with desired

“I don’t like television,” Amersons said. “My wife loves television. She loves television.” Amerson is a U.S. Air Force veteran. He worked in Houston, Texas in the bag manufacturing industry. He made bags for concrete and dog food. Additionally, he wound up working in graphics in Cantonment, Fla., and retired once computers because popular to use.

908 East Nashville Ave. Atmore, Alabama (251) 368-3173 www.davisbellamerson.com dbacpa@davisbellamerson.com

the

@TABLE

rich cooking F

ire Steakhouse Chef Jesse Bell recently cooked a dish for a TV segment on WKRG-5. The dish was a smoked duck breast with baked brie cheese and orange honey. Bell scored the duck on the skin side, and then seasoned with Kosher salt and black pepper. He then seared the duck skin side down, and roasted it in the oven at 400 degreees for 8-12 minutes until desired done-

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STORY, RECIPES SUBMITTED BY WIND CREEK CASINO AND HOTEL ness. He then let the duck rest for 5 minutes before serving. The ingredients for the baked brie cheese include a 5-by-5 sheet of puff pastry, 1.5 ounces of brie cheese, 0.5 ounces of toasted pecans, 0.5 ounces of dried cherries and 1 tablespoon of apple jelly. Bell melted the apple jelly over low heat to liquefy, and then spreaded the jelly over one side of the puff pastry. He then spread the pecans and cranber-

ries over the apple jelly. Bell placed the brie cheese on the bottom of one of the corners of the pastry and rolled the bottom up over the cheese. He folded in the two sides, and rolled again. Bell cooked with the seam side down in a 400-degree oven for 12-14 minutes until golden brown. The orange honey glaze included 2 ounces of honey and 1 valencia orange. He placed

honey in the bowl, and zested the orange directly over the honey and mixed. The above recipe was courtesy of Bell, who works at Fire Steakhouse at Wind Creek Casino and Hotel in Atmore. On Page 7, the Wind Creek Studio highlights a beef tenderloin recipe. See next page

BEEF TENDERLOIN 2 6oz tenderloin Salt and pepper to taste Method: Drizzle oil on the steak and season with salt and pepper. Cook until desired doneness.

BACON WRAPPED ASPARAGUS

8 jumb o asparagus 4 slicesof bacon, cut in half 1/ 4t garlic powder 1/4t onion powder Oil Sal t and pepper to taste M ethod: Drizzle the asparagus with oil. Season wi th garlic powder, onion powder and sal t and pepper. Wrap with bacon and place on a sheet pan. Place in oven at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

SHRIMP STUFFED POTATO/ CREAMY CRAB ALFREDO SAUCE 2 potatoes, baked 2 T butt er, room t emperature 1/4 c sour cream 6 oz sauteed shrimp, chopped 4oz shredded cheese Creamy crab alfredo sauce 3oz butt er 3 garlic cloves, minced 1 1/ 2 cup heavy cream 4oz parmesan cheese 2oz ro mano cheese 4oz crab meat Method: Sli ce the potato in half. Gently scoop ou t the pota to and place in a large bowl.Place the bu tter in the bowl. Add the sour cream, sal t and pepper and mix together. Chop the shrimp into largepieces. Fold in the shrim p and cheese.Gently stuff the mixture back in the potato. Bake in the oven until browned on top about 20 -25 minutes. Melt butter in a sauce pan. Add garl ic and saute briefly. Add creamand turn to medium heat and add crab meat and allow to simmer. St ir in cheese. It is the official policy of the Alabama Community College System and Coastal Alabama Community College that no person shall be discriminated against on the basis of any impermissible criterion or characteristic including, without limitation, race, color, national origin, religion, marital status, disability, sex, age or any other protected class as defined by federal and state law.

serviced regularly by a qualified professional to ensure it is operating safely and efficie *Carbon Monoxide: Natural gas equipment needs lots of air for safe burning and vent er venting or exhaust can cause an accumulation of carbon monoxide, which may cau headaches, nausea, or death by asphyxiation. *Yellow Flames: If the pilot light or burners of your furnace or natural gas equipment turn off the equipment and have it checked by a qualified professional. * Allow Space: Keep the naturalorgasbusiness: burning equipment clean and do not store items These important safety tips safety applytipstoapply all to natural gas in your These important all natural gasequipment equipment in your home orhome business: next to the equipment. • Seek Professional adjust or modify natural gas appliances yourself. *Seek Service: ProfessionalNever Service: try Nevertotryinstall, to install,repair, repair, adjust or modify natural gas appliances your*Flammable Materials: Do not store flammable materials anywhere within the immed self. A qualifiknows ed professional knows the technology and relevantgas gas codes codes that mustmust be followed. A qualified professional the technology and relevant that natural gas burning equipment (suchbeas followed. water heaters). *Regular Service: Have your natural gas equipment and exhaust venting systems inspected and • Regular Service: Have your natural gas equipment and exhaustventing inspected serviced *Gas Odor: When naturalsystems gas equipment is workingand properly, there is no odor. Do n serviced regularly by a qualified professional to ensure it is operating safely and efficiently. smell of safely odorant and in natural gas. If there is a gas odor which smells like rotten eggs ins regularly by a qualified professional to ensure it is operating efficently. *Carbon Monoxide: Natural gas equipment needs lots of air for safe burning and venting. Impropor business, perform the following: • Carbon Monoxide: Natural equipment needsoflots ofmonoxide, air for safe and venting. Improper er venting or exhaustGas can cause an accumulation carbon whichburning may cause frequent 1. Evacuate IMMEDIATELY venting or exhaust can These cause an accumulation od carbon monoxide, headaches, nausea, or death asphyxiation. important safetybytips apply to all natural gas equipment in your home orwhich business: may cause frequent head2. Call your local gas company from a safe distance away from your home or business *Seek Professional Service: Never try to install, repair, adjust or modify natural gas appliances *Yellow Flames: If the pilot light or burners of your furnace or natural gas equipment lookyouryellow, aches, nausea, or death by asphyxiation. contact your localthat police self. A qualifiedand professional knows the technology and relevant gas codes mustdepartment. be followed. turn off the equipment have it checked by a qualifi ed professional. • Yellow Flames: If the *Regular pilot light ofequipment your furnace natural gas look tunfrom off a gas compan Keep or everyone awayinspected fromequipment theandbuilding until givenyellow, the “all clear” Service: or Haveburners your natural gas and3.exhaust venting systems * Allow Space: Keep the natural gasedburning equipment clean and do not store items on top of or serviced regularly by aby qualifi professional to ensure it is operating safely and efficiently. the equipment and have it checked a qualified professional. next to the*Carbon equipment. Monoxide: Natural gas equipment needs lots of air for safe burning and venting. Improp• Allow Space: Keep theer venting natural gasnotcan burning equipment clean and dothe not store itemsofon top of or next to *Flammable Materials: Do store ammable materials anywhere within immediate vicinity or exhaust causeflan accumulation of carbon monoxide, which may cause frequent nausea, or death by asphyxiation. the equipment.natural gasheadaches, burning equipment (such as water heaters). *Yellow Flames: If the pilot light or burners of yourproperly, furnace orthere naturalisgas yellow, *Gas Odor: When natural gas equipment is working noequipment odor. Dolook not ignore the • Flammable Materials: DO not store flammable materials anywhere within the immediate vicinity of turn off the equipment and have it checked by a qualified professional. smell of odorant in natural gas. If there is a gas odor which smells like rotten eggs inside your home natural gas burning equipment (such as water heaters). * Allow Space: Keep the natural gas burning equipment clean and do not store items on top of or or business,next perform the following: to the equipment. • Gas Odor: When natural gas equipment is working properly, there is no odor. Do not ignore the smell 1. Evacuate*Flammable IMMEDIATELY Materials: Do not store flammable materials anywhere within the immediate vicinity of of odorant in natural gas. Ifgas there isequipment afrom gas aodor which smalls likehome rotten eggs inside your home or businatural burning (such water heaters). 2. Call your local gas company safe asdistance away from your or business. If after hours, *Gas Odor: When natural gas equipment is working properly, there is no odor. Do not ignore the ness, perform the following: contact your local police department. smell of odorant in natural gas. If there is a gas odor which smells like rotten eggs inside your home 3. Keep everyone away from the building until given the “all clear” from a gas company employee. 1. Evacuate IMMEDIATELY

Natural Gas Safety Tips Natural Gas Safety Tips

CALL OUR 24 HOUR EMERGENCY SE AT 368-2207, OR AFTER HOURS CALL 368-9141

CALL BEFORE YOU DI IT’S THE LAW! CALL OUR 24 HOUR EMERGENCY SERVICE or business, perform the following:

1. Evacuate IMMEDIATELY 2. Call your local gas company from a safe distance away from your home or business. If after hours, 2. Call your local gas company from a safe distance away from your home or business. If after hours, contact your local police department. contact your local police department. 3. Keep everyone away3.from the building “all clear” from a gas company employee. Keep everyone away from theuntil buildinggiven until giventhe the “all clear” from a gas company employee.

To avoid a potential pipeline accident, have the location of all lines marked before ex AT 368-2207, OR AFTER HOURS, hand or with equipment. Call 811 (Alabama One Call) a minimum of three working d CALL OUR 24 HOUR EMERGENCY SERVICE plan to dig. Once your call is made, the following will happen: CALL 368-9141

*Operators with underground facilities in the area where the excavation is planned ar AT 368-2207, OR AFTER HOURS, This will assure proper notiﬁcation to the respective participating municipalities, natu CALL 368-9141 tric, communications and water/sewer utilities.

CALL BEFORE YOU DIG! CALL BEFORE YOU DIG! IT’S THE LAW! TRY NATURAL

*Within 48 hours (working days) after being contacted, operator crews will mark thei

To avoid a potential pipeline accident, have the locationfacilities of allwith lines color-coded paint marks or flags, or tell the excavator they have no line marked before excavating by hand or with equipment. *When Call 811 (Alacrossing or digging near underground utilities, the excavation should be perfo bama One Call) a minimum of three working days before you plan to facility is exposed. digging until the marked *For further information on safe digging practices, procedures and frequently asked q dig. Once your To call is made, following avoid a potentialthe pipeline accident,will have happen: the location of all lines marked before excavating by www.al811.com • Operators with underground facilities in thehave area where the hand or with equipment. Call 811 (Alabama OnetheCall) atominimum of threebefore working days by before you To avoid a potential pipeline accident, location of all linesexcavamarked excavating dig.hand Once yourequipment. call is made, the(Alabama following happen: or with Call 811 Onewill Call) a minimum of to threethe working days before you tion is planned plan are tonotified. This will assure proper notification to underground dig. Once your call is made,inthe will happen: *Operatorsplan with facilities thefollowing area where the excavation is planned are notified. respective participating municipalities, natural gas, electric, communi*Operators withnotifi underground in the area participating where the excavation is planned are notified. This will assure proper cation tofacilities the respective municipalities, natural gas, eleccation and water/sewerThis utilities. will assure proper notification to the respective participating municipalities, natural gas, electric, communications and water/sewer utilities. The least expensive green energy cho tric, communications and water/sewer utilities. • Withing 48 hours days)days) after being contacted, operator *Within(working 48*Within hours 48 (working after being contacted, operator crewswill willmark mark underground hours (working days) after being contacted, operator crews theirtheir underground crews will markfacilities their with undergrounf facilities color-coded color-coded paint marks orwith flags, or telltellthe theyhave have the area. facilities with color-coded paint marks or flags, or theexcavator excavatorpaint they nono lineslines in theinarea. *When crossing or digging near underground utilities, the excavation should be performed by or digging near underground thethe excavation by hand marks or flags, *When or tellcrossing the excavater they have noutilities, lines in area.should be performedhand digging until the marked facility is exposed. digging until the marked facility is exposed. • When crossing or digging near underground utilities, the excava*For further information on safe digging practices, procedures and frequently asked questions, go *For further information on safe digging practices, procedures and frequently asked questions, go tion should be performed by hand digging until the marked facility is to www.al811.com to www.al811.com expoded. • For futher information on safe digging practices, procedures and frequently asked questions, go www.al811.com Theto least expensive green energy choice 251-368-2207

IT’S THE LAW!

GAS

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@LIONS

Shown from L to R: Audrey Moon, Anne Hetzel, Renee Hardy and Patty Helton Davis participate in a bridge game.

CELEBRATE LIONS Atmore club reaches 92 years of service to community

our ladies. A bridge game. Stories and

songs. That’s how the Atmore Lions Club celebrated its 92nd birthday and charter night earlier this winter at First Presbyterian Church. According to a service leaflet, the program was led by Lion Nancy Karrick and the Bridge Club, which played a card game throughout. A lot was happening in Atmore in 1928, the same year the state purchased land for a convict farm, according to the program. In those days, bacon was 29 cents a pound at the A&P, and a pound of 8 O’Clock coffee was only

STORY BY SUBMITTED, PHOTOS BY ANDREW GARNER 37 cents. This was the same year that the Lions Club in Atmore was assured. The Lions Club charter was awarded on Feb. 2, 1928. At first, the Lions Club met at the high school in Atmore, but their meetings transitioned to the upstairs of Escambia Drug Store. Early on, members learned the value of being a Lion, which meant having courage, strength, activity and fidelity. Early projects of the club included mosquito control, sidewalk paving, curb market, involvement in Boy Scouts and a new hospital. According to Atmore Advance archives, the Lions Club, only 4 months old in 1928, plans for a new and

up-to-date hospital were in the works. As time went by, the whole town got behind the Lions Club. According to Advance archives, the PTA served a luncheon to the Lions Club in the library of the high school. The new hospital was completed by 1929. The Methodist Church helped provide a festive feast for the club in May 1929. Another project the Lions Club helped ignite is the lighting of the athletic fields behind the old high school on Pensacola Avenue. Although women were somewhat involved as

the members’ wives, they formed unofficial groups called Lionesses. Their purpose was to project meals and support projects. In 1987, women were allowed to join the club. In more recent times, the club has helped renovate and sponsor the Lions Club Community Center, adopted a mile, helped fund a splash pad, cooked and served at a diabetic camp for children, sent high school students to leadership training, among others. Editor’s note: Karrick provided the information for this story.

HONEY HARVESTER

James Jordan figured why not get some beehives for honey

STORY, PHOTOS • LACEY MCMATH

ames Jordan loves honey. “I’ve always loved honey, and I ate a lot of it,” he says as he deftly steers his ATV across the wide expanse of his backyard. “One day I thought, why not get some beehives so I can just make my own honey? I figured it would be cheaper. Turns out, it’s not.” he chuckles. Four years ago Jordan set out to to learn about beekeeping. Soon after, he purchased two hives. “You always want to start with more than one hive,” he says. “That way you can compare them. If something starts to go bad with one you can tell the difference and you can fix it.” After dressing up in thick white suits with many layers

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that zip and Velcro over each other, we climb onto his ATV to pay a visit to his beehives. You have to make sure every single opening in your suit is closed up tight, Jordan tells me, because a bee will find their way into any gap in your clothing, no matter how small. As we drive, he starts to give me a lesson on bees. “All of the workers in the hive are females,” he tells me. “When they’re first born, a worker is in charge of taking care of the babies, cleaning the hive, and such. They’re the nurses. When they’re a couple weeks old, they become foragers or guards and the next generation becomes the nurses.” The only males in the hive

are the drones, and their only purpose in the community is reproduction. “They just mate with the queen,” says Jordan. “Then at the beginning of every winter, the females run them off so that they don’t have to worry about feeding them during the cold months.” The average lifespan of a worker bee in the winter is 4-6 months, while in the summer they only live a few weeks because they literally work themselves to death. “They aren’t just getting pollen and nectar here,” says Jordan, referring to his idyllic backyard. “They can go up to 2-3 miles

away to collect it. That’s why they die so quickly in the summer, they wear their wings out.” A queen, however, can live for several years. Nestled in a small alcove in the midst of 72 acres on the edge of Atmore, Jordan’s bee community is a fascinating place. Bee boxes line the sides of a wide lane. Around the tiny slit that is the entrance to each box swarm dozens of bees; some of them have large pockets of pollen clinging to their See next page

hind legs as they return from a foraging trip. Jordan climbs off the ATV and makes his way to the first box where he removes the lid and lifts out one hive. Bees fly out in a whirlwind of activity. Jordan attends to his hives once every few weeks, making sure that everything looks healthy and is working properly. He takes measures to get rid of pesky wax moths and other intrusive bugs, cleans out dead bees, and adds sugar water in the winter for a food source. “Since they can’t make as much honey in the winter,” he says, “we have to give them something to eat to help them live.” The bees typically rely on honey for nourishment, and when Jordan collects honey in the fall he always leaves some behind for them to eat that winter. In addition, he plants corn every year alongside some perennials to give them plenty to eat. He has plans to grow sunflowers this year. Twice a year he removes honey from the hives. Jordan says he easily gets over a hun-

dred gallons of honey from his current boxes. Right now he has 30, but he plans to “split” most of them soon. Splitting a hive simply means moving the queen to a new hive, where a contingency of workers will follow. There they will reproduce and start the whole process over. Meanwhile, back in the new hive the remaining workers will create a new queen and continue on. “If the queen leaves for any reason, the nurses take a certain egg and start feeding it royal jelly,” Jordan tells me. That results in a queen being born after

about 16 days. A new queen also could be “elected” if a hive swarms, which happens when things get too crowded and the queen sets out to find a new place to live. 50-60% of her workers will follow. It’s also possible for a queen to get kicked out of the hive for not doing her job. “They know what each other’s supposed to be doing, so if the queen isn’t producing like she ought to, they’ll find someone that is,” says Jordan. Jordan has a park bench set up on the edge of his “bee clear-

ing” and says he likes to just sit and watch them work. “You can actually see patterns, like they are flying on freeways. They definitely all know what’s going on.” “It’s a good hobby,” he says. “A lot of beekeeping groups are trying to get younger people involved. It’s better for them than staring at a phone or TV,” he laughs. The Southwest Alabama Beekeeper’s Association, located in Flomaton, meets once a month to learn and compare notes with one another. If you’re interested in bees, it’s a good place to start – Jordan joined the club before he ever bought his first hives. Beekeeping is a fascinating challenge, and it can also be a great inspiration for how to live if you spend enough time observing them. Hard work, cooperation and accountability are what make a beehive successful, and perhaps they are the models we should all look to. The results they end up with are certainly sweet – something to think about as we pour honey over our bread, cereal, or coffee.

Medically supervised, hospital-based service for adults experiencing impending or active withdrawal from alcohol, prescription medications, and/or other drugs.

Break through the cycle of addiction. 251-368-6238 or toll free: 800-939-2273

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