2017 Progress by Franklin County

Progress 2017 HISTORY AT HOME IN FRANKLIN COUNTY

Contact Russellville City Hall at 256-332-6060

304 Jackson Ave. N Russellville, AL Russellville City Councilmen David Palmer, William Nale, Arthur Elliott, Jamie Harris, Gary Cummings, and Mayor David Grissom

A Great Place to Live, Work & Raise a family.

PROGRESS 2017

GREAT JOBS FOR GREAT PEOPLE Being the largest employer in Franklin County, we feel obligated to offer “Great jobs for Great people.” This is not just a slogan but a reality. Our plant is the source of employment for a great many workers in Franklin County. Currently, 64% of Pilgrim’s employees live here in Franklin County. Pilgrim’s is a strong source of employment for this county, not only for our production labor force, but for our contract growers, who live in the area as well. Pilgrim’s partners with local poultry growers, and in 2016 alone the payout to growers was $35,352,941. In 2016, Pilgrim’s employees earned more than $35 million. These Pilgrim’s employees and growers, in turn, support the local businesses by spending their dollars in Franklin County. In terms of providing the county with revenue for utilities, Pilgrim’s paid $5,758,522. Pilgrim’s also contributed more than $9 million in taxes and benefits for 2016. Based on the above information, we feel our Colorado-based poultry processor has been an integral part of Franklin County’s PROGRESS since 2007!

Proud to be part of the Progress of Franklin County

2045 Hwy 244, Russellville, AL

256-332-8900 PROGRESS 2017

Progress 2017 History at Home

Table of Contents

You don’t have to look far to see something new and modern – the latest iGadget, the next-model vehicle, up and coming trends in everything from food to fashion and never-before-seen TV shows, music and movies faster than you can blink. But there are also old things, and sometimes, those are the things we value the most – the quilt your grandmother made when you were a baby, or the bicycle that belonged to your mother when she was a child, or your grandfather’s pocket knife, bequeathed to you when he passed away. These items represent history and heritage, and we cherish them for that historic meaning. This value doesn’t exist only in small heirlooms and tokens, and some of Franklin County’s biggest treasures just might be its historic homes that have bravely stood the test of time to whisper of decades gone by. They remind us of an earlier era and beg us to remember the lives and legacies of the people who made Franklin County what it is today. We traveled across the county to find these homes of history, to learn their stories – the stories of the people who inhabit them now, as well as the stories of those who have loved these structures across the years. We hope that by reading these stories, you will be impacted the same way we were – transported to another time, where in your mind’s eye you see people shaping a future they will never know but that we now enjoy. Our ancestors built more than houses – they laid the foundation for their lives and ours.

5 7 8 12 13 16 19 20 24 27 30 32 36 39 40

Red Bay relic Worship Test of time Weather-tight Restaurants Prominent past Healthcare team Reclaimed Historic hotel Years in Business Hearth & home City living In the Biz Here’s My Card Buchanan house

Alison James Managing Editor

P.O. Box 1088 14131 Hwy 43 Russellville, AL 35653 256-332-1881 fax: 256-332-1883 www.franklincountytimes.com 4

General Manager Nicole Pell Managing Editor Alison James Sales Peggy Hyde & Sommer Morris Circulation Tommy Morris PROGRESS 2017

RED BAY RELIC Mink home was first brick house

uilt in 1929, the first brick house in Red Bay still stands, near downtown. It was built by the grandfather of Red Bay’s Randy Mink, and Mink still cherishes clear and fond memories made visiting his grandparents in this historic home. The house was constructed by Walter Grissom, Jim Jackson and Curtis Witt, as recorded in “One Hundred Years of Memories,” for Oliver and Eddie Mink. “You don’t have a wooden frame inside the walls of the house. It’s solid brick,” Randy explained. “All they do after that is put lattice and plaster on the inside of the walls.” The house was built when Randy’s father was 2 years old. The Craftsmanstyle house still boasts the original roof from 1929, made of metal tiles. It was built as a two-bedroom, one-bath house, and the Minks later added on a breakfast room in the back, as well as a few apartments. “Pappaw had the house built, and then later on he built the garage out back, and downstairs he built two little efficiency, one-room apartments with a bath, and then upstairs it was one bedroom, a kitchen and a bath, and he used to rent those out,” Randy said. “I can’t tell you the people who stayed there, but if you go around town and talk to people, they’ll say, ‘Oh, I remember staying in Mr. and Mrs. Mink’s apartment when we got married,’” and things like that. For Randy, the house stands in his memory as “the place I wanted to go.” “Your grandparents spoil you,” he said, laughing. “And Grandmother was a caretaker. She was a stay-at-home wife, but she was always taking care of somebody.”

PROGRESS 2017

The first Sunday in May, Randy said, was the family reunion, and everybody would gather at the grandparents’ house. “Pappaw had 11 brothers and sisters. Grandmother had a sister and a brother,” Randy said. This meant several cousins to play with. The bottom drawer in the secretary held toys, puzzles and games. “Every kid and grandkid to come through that family knew the toys were in that drawer.” But playing outside, on the other hand, required care and caution. “She used to keep her porch painted, and the kids weren’t allowed to play on the porch because we would scuff the paint,” Randy said. A tantalizing front porch swing called to Randy and his cousins, but “if we wanted to play on the porch swing, we had to take our shoes off.” On top of that, “we weren’t allowed to play in the yard because it would mess up her grass. Grandmother used to cut the grass two or three times a week, summer and winter” – in a skirt and stockings, with a push mower. “There was never a leaf in her yard,” Randy said. “She would rake and mulch and vacuum and sweep the sidewalks and sweep the porch. The house was picture-perfect, all the time.” The other preferred pastime at

Grandmother’s? Eating. “She was a very good cook, and she was a chocoholic. She had chocolate in her house somewhere all the time,” Randy said. “Candy bars or chocolate cake – something chocolate always. And she was an extremely good baker and pastry chef. She made coconut pies and pound cakes, lemon pies and chocolate pies. She made the best homemade dinner yeast rolls you’d find anywhere. We loved those. We looked forward to going for dinner because she would have those things coming out during the meal – every ten minutes she’d have a hot pan of rolls coming out.” Butter cookies from Grandmother’s cookie jar were another favorite – made, of course, without measuring any ingredients, and yet they always came out perfect and identical. Cream cheese pound cake also featured among her signature recipes. “Anytime we went to Grandmother’s, she’d cook.” Cooking took place in the “little bitty” galley kitchen with a fridge, a built-in oven, a cooktop and a small countertop – which Randy recalls as being immaculate. “She never had a dirty dish,” he said. “I was amazed at that … She

was remarkable in the kitchen – so organized.” Oliver and Eddie were married nearly 70 years before he passed away. “She used to say he never saw her in the mornings until she was fully dressed,” Randy said. “She got up before him every day and did her make-up and hair and got fully-clothed before he ever set foot on the floor … She was always dressed proper, very meticulous.” Oliver was appointed a rural mail carrier in 1927 and ran a mail route until 1965. Sometimes he would pick Randy up on Fridays to spend the weekend for all kinds of good times. That house was where he learned to play Rook, at a little fold-up card table in the den. From the house, Randy could ride his bike or walk to town, or he would go with his grandparents to Belmont or Tupelo, Miss. “She drove until she was 97 – the same car from 1975 to 1997, a big yellow Buick Park Avenue.” Company and visitors would use the front door of the house, and friends and family would enter through the side door. Deliveries came to the kitchen door. The front door opened into a formal living room – another place that was off-limits to the children – with a fire-

place that Oliver eventually capped off. “For years and years it had blue wool carpet,” Randy said. “But it had hardwood underneath. Off to the left there was a bedroom, and then when you walked out of the living room, there were big double doors, and there was a little dining room, with a pecan dining room suite, that led straight to the kitchen.” He remembers flowers everywhere. “She had a garden out back every year,” he said. “It was a sanctuary for us,” Randy said. “Everybody knew if you went down there you were going to get candy or chocolate or cupcakes … and it was just a peaceful place.” “Grandmother died in 2009, so she lived in that house for 80 years.” Today the house is being used as a rental property, boasting multiple tenants between the main house and the added-on apartments.

The Mink homeplace has well-survived the years, with then-and-now pictures revealing little change in the 88-year-old historic brick home.

PROGRESS 2017

Isbell United Methodist Church Rev. Michael Cole Sunday Service 10am & 5pm Wednesday 6pm 10650 Hwy 43 • Russellville, AL

Halltown United Methodist Church Pastor Scott Lindsey

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Service Sunday 10 & 11, Worship 11 Wednesday 6:30

515 Hwy 124 • Red Bay, AL

Gateway Church of God Serving God Serving People Pastor Nick McSpadden Sunday 9:45, 10:45 & 5pm Wednesday 6:30pm

15988 Hwy. 43 N•Russellville, AL 256-332-7176

John 3:16

Services

Pastor: Dr. Wade Wallace

16241 Hwy. 43 Russellville, AL 256-332-2804 www.discovercalvary.com PROGRESS 2017

Sunday Worship Service ... 8:15 am & 10:30 am Sunday School ... 9:30 am Sunday Evening Worship ... 6:00 pm Wednesday evening ... 6:30 pm Adult, Students & Children We Invite You to come Worship with us at Calvary! 7

TEST OF TIME TD West home outlasts the ages

or nearly 160 years, the TD West Estate has thrived nestled in the Old Nauvoo community of Franklin County. The 1858 log cabin has been continuously lived in by West descendants, save for two years. The cabin is the namesake of its builder, TD – Tinsley Davis – West. West is the great-grandfather and grandfather of current occupants

Doris and mother Mildred Hutcheson. TD West built the home after he was already living on the property, “baching it” in the small cook room until he constructed the house, while he served as a teacher in the nearby Old Nauvoo school. “My great-grandmother was 20 years younger than my great-grandfather, and she told about coming to play in the yard here when they were build-

PROGRESS 2016 2017

Heirlooms and collectibles ﬁll the outside and inside of the West home, including an antique spinning wheel that belonged to Hutcheson’s great-grandmother plus plenty of unique birdhouses dotting the front porch.

ing this house,” recalls Doris. “Then, when she grew up, she married him. She was 15 and he was 35 when they got married.” The original rooms of the cabin are 20 feet by 20 feet, and though they are now enclosed as a single house, each half of the two story, two-pen cabin was at one time connected by a dogtrot. TD cut the pine logs that still form the exterior of the house, protected across the decades by a roof that overhangs all the way around. The post office occupied the front room of the house on the left, and Doris’ great-grandfather and greatgrandmother traded stints as postmaster. “They had to bid on it and see who would get the job. Sometimes he got, and sometimes she got it, and sometimes other people,” Doris said. The dogtrot was filled in when Doris’ parents moved in to live in the cabin full time, in the late 1970s, as one of several renovations they undertook to spruce up the place and make it a little more livable. “I remember coming here as a child, and you could see all the way through,” Doris said. “Back at the back was the water bucket and the dipper.” In addition to closing in the dogtrot, her parents’ renovations also included turning the PROGRESS 2017

wood porch into concrete; building stairs to access the upper level in the left-hand pen; and dropping down a portion of the roof so they could put windows in the upstairs. Two years of renovations made the home what it is today – but despite the upgrades, it is still by and large that same 1858 cabin. “We’ve tried to retain the integrity of the house – tried to maintain what it looked like,” Doris said. Today, the front porch is full of collectibles, from antique farming implements to all kinds of birdhouses. “We love it out here. We have blankets, and we come out even when it’s cooler,” Doris said. The house is like the porch – full of mementos and memorabilia, many that have been passed down through the family from generation to generation. Every artifact in the house has a story – from her great-grandmother’s petticoats and her grandmother’s milking stool to her grandfather’s banjo and the history textbook her great-grandfather taught from and annotated with his own memories of the history it contains. These family heirlooms are precious to Doris. Having them “makes me closer to my ancestors.” “It’s home. It’s family. It’s my responsibil-

Franklin County Sheriff’s Office “Working Hard to Keep Your Home Safe”

Sheriff Shannon Oliver

Sheriff’s Office Dispatch-24hr 256-332-8811 256-332-8820 www.franklinsheriff.org 9

ity to maintain it and pass it on to the next generation and make sure they know its history,” she said. That history is a treasure that can’t be bought or sold. “A timber cutter came by the other day, wanting to buy our timber, and I said, ‘I can’t think of a thing I would enjoy more with the money than I do just the trees’ – being able to walk in the woods and know my ancestors walked here; my ancestors slept under this tree; my ancestors slept in this bed, in this room. “I sleep in the room where my grandparents slept … and most people don’t even know their ancestors or anything about them. So it’s such an honor to be able to have all that

and know the history,” Doris said. “There’s just a connection you feel because you have these things.” Except for about two years, someone in the TD West family has always lived in the cabin. Doris’ great-grandparents raised 14 children over the years in the front room of the righthand pen – one of them being Doris’ grandfather, her mother’s father. Side rooms were added onto the back of the two pens but were removed when Doris’ parents made their renovations. The house still draws water from a spring down the hill – the spring g where everyone in town used to do their washing and get their water.

Doris’ bed presents a cozy picture of cabin life. Her great-grandfather’s clock has hung there above the stairs for decades. She also keeps these antique dresses on display.

PROGRESS 2017

The home place was the site of large community picnics, back in the day. “Mother says she can remember tables would start at the gate and go all the way down, and people far and wide would come,” Doris said. “They had a grandstand in the corner of the yard, and people would give political speeches there.” Doris moved back to the TD West house in 1995 after teaching school in Memphis – high school Latin, etymology, mythology and English – off and on for 25 years. “It got so dangerous I just quit. I had guns pulled on me, and I thought, ‘I’m going to get killed if I don’t get out of here,’” she said. “I just had this overwhelming urge, ‘I have to get back to Alabama.’ I always wanted to live here. I would cry when I had to go back to Memphis, even as a child.” Two weeks after she moved back to Old Nauvoo with her parents, her father was diagnosed with terminal cancer. She sees the urge to move back as God’s nudge that her family was going to need her. Her father passed away in 1996 but mother Mildred is 91 now and, until spring 2016, was very active, even to riding 4-wheelers around the property.

Doris’ youngest brother was the only sibling who grew up in the house, the other siblings having already grown and left home. And even though her siblings are scattered across the South now, Doris said there is usually someone from the family coming to visit frequently. Family members cherish the home place as their heritage, and Doris said she hopes someone in the family will come to live in it one day and keep it in the family for generations to come. Two nephews who live south of Birmingham “really love this place. They would move today if they could get their jobs situated.” But family members aren’t the only visitors who love the TD West Estate. Doris said she often has groups come to tour the historic cabin – some scheduled and some that just drive up hoping to take a look around. She shares her home generously as often as she is able. “It’s not only ours. It’s for everybody else, too, to enjoy and find out the history because their ancestors probably lived just like this.” “I’m just glad it’s still here,” she added. “Every time we have a storm, I pray, ‘Don’t let a tree fall on the house.’”

Russellville Hotel & Suites

13770 Hwy 43, Russellville, AL 256-332-1002

• Banquet & Conference Facilities Avail. • 40” HD flat panel Televisions • Complimentary Deluxe HOT Breakfast • Free Wi-Fi • Large Whirlpool Suites Each Best Western branded hotel is independently owned and operated.

IFT SERVICE, INC.

1110 Hwy. 20 E • Tuscumbia, AL • 256-381-0021 www.liftserviceinc.com

Sales • Service •

Parts •

Rentals

Service to our customers is our speciality. We will not disappoint you.

• Golf, Utility & Specialty Vehicles • New Electronic Fuel Injected Models in Stock • Many options & Accessories Available • From 2 to 6 Passenger

We specialize in material handling equipment and the full support of this type of machinery. We offer sales, service, parts, and rentals from six major equipment manufacturers. We also provide parts and service of any nature for any brand of lift truck: preventive maintenance, field repairs, and major repair work in our shop. We have a large rental fleet perrs an a d scrubbers. that includes forklifts, golf carts, sweepers and Looking for Parts, Service, Accessories or a New or Used Golf Cart? We can take care of your needs. If you have no way to haul your cart, we can pick it up or repair it on site. From Tires & Wheels to New Batteries, we can handle it all. PROGRESS 2017

Golf Cars

www.yamahagolfcar.com 11

WEATHERTIGHT Log cabin rides out tornado

t’s been a century and a half, plus a decade, since Robert Wiley Richardson built a log cabin on Cedar Creek Lake in Franklin County. It’s been not quite three months since a tornado ripped across the area and almost whisked the cabin away. Nov. 29, 2016, an EF-2 whirled across the state line from Mississippi into the Shoals. Most of Franklin County was left unscathed – but Adeline Scott’s house took a beating, as the winds whipped into her home and took the roof off. Water damage touched every room of the old house, but the exterior was left largely intact, and family members, friends and other volunteers have been making steady progress to return the home to its former glory. “They’ve done a fantastic job,” said Scott, greatgranddaughter to Richardson. She’s been staying with her daughter since the tornado, but she is eager 12

to return to the home where she has spent so many happy years. “I like the peace and quiet,” said Scott, who grew up in the little cabin. It was a three-room house and a back porch during Scott’s growing up years. “It’s much bigger than it was when I was growing up,” said Scott, who transformed that back porch into two additional rooms and added on a side room. Five brothers lived in the house, after World War II, and Scott and one sister, Mildred, shared a bedroom. Older sisters had already moved away from home. “We worked hard, and we were poor, but we never went hungry,” Scott said. “We worked in the corn and cotton fields. Life was hard. We grew most of our food.” Scott said her family canned most everything, to be stored in the root cellar, and what wasn’t canned was

dried. The house was heated by a fireplace that kept the big family and little cabin none-too-warm. On Sundays Scott and her cousin tramped through the woods to a little country church. Sunday dinners were a treat, with company and good meals – including Mom’s fried pies and egg custards. But “life was hard.” Scott graduated from Belgreen in 1957 and married just a couple of days later. She and husband Kermit moved to Illinois and lived there for 11 years before moving back to Belgreen. In 1977 they moved back to the home place and lived in a trailer. “When my dad was on his deathbed, he told me to sell the trailer and move in the house with mom and take care of Mom,” Scott said. “And we did that. My dad died in 1980, and my mother died in 1984.” When she and her husband moved home to take care of her parents, he installed wood stove heatPROGRESS 2016 2017

Our 8th Anniversary Thank You to Our Friends & Customers! Mexican Food

Authentic

New Daily Lunch & Dinner Specials

Come in and try our Sweet Tea & Southern Food! Hours: Monday & Friday 8am - 8pm Tuesday - Thursday 8am - 2pm Sunday 12pm - 2:30pm closed Saturday 102 4th Ave SE Red Bay, AL

256-356-2200 Sonic Drive-In of Russellville 15376 Hwy 43 N Russellville 256-331-3422

6th Anniversary March 2017 Thanks for makingg ar Great! another year

PROGRESS 2017

ers and insulated the house. They remained in the house following her parents’ passing. When Kermit passed away in 2000, Scott stayed on. Son Richard lived with her for a while until he married, and all five of her children have married now. Scott still loves calling the Robert Riley Richardson cabin “home.” At home, she loves to cook for company – country cookin’ – and she also enjoys wile away the hours sewing and quilting. Spending time on her front porch is another favorite pastime. “When it’s summertime, I like to have my coffee out here. I had a glass top table, and when my husband lived, we ate at that table a lot,” Scott said, “and then after he died I bought a little small table that had two chairs, and I just eat at the little table up here in the mornings – I like to have breakfast on the porch.” Belgreen and Cedar Creek make 14

for a good community to live in, Scott said. “If you have sickness or death, the neighbors will be right here, Johnny-on-the-spot to help you,” said Scott – something she has seen firsthand, especially since the tornado. Renovations are still under way, and when Scott does get to return home, it will be a house that is practically brand new, despite being 160 years old. “It’s been in the family ever since Grandpa built it in 1859, and it’s just a great community to live in.”

Photos of the Robert Wiley Richardson cabin show it around 2000 (top) and then about three months ago, right after a tornado tore the roof off. (Left) Richardson left his mark on the front door of the home, pounding his initials and building date in with nails.

PROGRESS 2017

Northwest Alabama Livestock Auction

Clayton Flannagan Manager

Proud to call Franklin County home.

Russellville: Every Monday day

Goats & Hogs 10am, Cattle Immediatelyy following

2017 Goat & Sheep Sale

April 8, June 10, August 12 & December 9

2017 Draft Horse & Mule Salee March 18, May 20, July 15, October 21

14330 Hwy 243 South, Russellville â&#x20AC;˘ 256-332-3323 www.nwalivestock.com

Holiday Plaza Apartments 1, 2 & 3 Bedroom

Jackson Townhouses

3 Bedroom, 2 Full Baths, Fireplace

Contact Butch Balentine for details 256-332-2960

Roger Bedford Attorney-at-Law 256-332-6966 | bedfordlawoffice@gmail.com

Elected to Serve Dedicated to Excellence

Welcoming New Industries!

David Hester, Rayburn Massey, Probate Judge Barry Moore, Jason Miller and Chris Wallace

Franklin County Commission PROGRESS 2017

Not Pictured

Michael McQuary

PROMINENT PAST 90-year-old home boasts decades of Red Bay history

ed Bay’s Jane Williams is deeply involved and connected with the city’s history – as an active volunteer and supporter for the Red Bay Museum and also as a homeowner of one of Red Bay’s historic houses. “Uncle Bob Tiffin” – great-uncle to Tiffin Motorhomes’ Bob Tiffin – built the house, located across from Bay Tree Park, in the early 1920s. It

changed hands a couple of times until it was purchased by the then-newly married John and Jane Williams, in 1964. Jane, a Red Bay native, was in nursing school at the University of Alabama, and husband John had just gotten out of the Navy. Jane’s greataunt and great-uncle had purchased the Tiffin house to live in while they built a new home on a nearby vacant

PROGRESS 2017

Proudly serving Franklin County Franklin Electric Cooperatives 200 4TH AVENUE SW (256) 356-4445

Russellville 256-332-2730 Red Bay 256-356-4413

120 Clark Drive Russellville, AL 35654 256-332-4981 1-800-331-7855 www.clarkpulley.com

A Friendly City on a Progressive Path Incorporated 1907

L-R; Councilmen Mike Kennedy, Jarod Massey, Herbert Trulove, Mayor Charlene Fancher, Councilmen Jason Vinson and Brad M. Bolton • Bay Tree Council of the Performing Arts • Red Bay Museum • Weatherford Library

• Cypress Cove Farm • Streetscapes & Murals of Red Bay • Recreation & Parks

City Hall – 203 4th Ave. SE • 256-356-4473 www.cityofredbay.org PROGRESS 2017

The home that now belongs to Jane and John Williams was built by the Tifﬁn family in the early 1920s. When the Williamses purchased it in the mid-1960s and put their personal touch on the home, like turning the dining room into an inviting sitting room.

lot; they then sold the house to their newlywed niece. “Mother and Daddy lived across the street, and I was going to work across the street at the medical clinic that Dr. Dempsey and Dr. Weatherford had,” Jane explained. “I worked there as an RN.” So they began their future in a home with history. Of course, as is the case with many older houses, it needed some remodeling. “When we bought the house, I had just gotten out of college, so we didn’t have any money, much,” Jane said. “We just did what we could to the house.” As the years have passed, they made many improvements, like painting the old-fashioned paneling on the walls; bricking the exterior;

and adding on a beautiful rounded doorstep. “We didn’t have much money, but I said, ‘I would really like to have a round doorstep’ because that makes the house,” Jane said. “Johnny tells everybody he had to hock a horse and a saddle and a sack of feed to pay for it.” Before the Jane’s great-aunt and uncle purchased the house, it was owned by Jenny Brown, a prominent figure in Red Bay history. “She took in 30-something children, like an orphanage, and took care of them,” Jane recounted. “When she came to Red Bay in 1928, she set up a business down behind NAPA and brought about ten sewing machines with her and hired women to make pinafores … Ms. Brown was the first female industrialist anywhere around.” Her factory was later built on the site of what is now the park. Jane lived across the street at the time and remembers playing with children who were cared for in the home by Brown. “She was a fabulous person. She saved a lot of people’s lives. We have to honor her somehow.” The house, situated on a corner lot, features picturesque dormer windows. A metal fence once encircled it, and the walls of the house were built of solid wood. “It’s a really strong house,” Jane said. Originally, the front door opened into the dining room, but the Williamses closed in the small front porch to create an

entryway and a flower workroom, and they converted the dining room into a cozy sitting room. The flower workroom conceals a door that at one time led to the only stairs to the upper level – a door originally accessed from the front porch. The Williamses added a set of stairs in part of what was formerly a bedroom, between the former dining room and a new 24-foot by 24-foot room the Williams added to the back of the house – a room that now serves as the main attraction, the room where people gather and memories are made. “Way back when” the house was heated with five coal fireplaces. The only two fireplaces that remain now are in the front sitting room and in Jane’s bedroom, which are set back to back. They have both been closed off. “In the winter when the wind was blowing, it would hold a sheet out, there was so much airflow,” Jane said. A sink original to the house remains in use in the utility room off the kitchen. A set of wooden double doors are also still in use in the home, preserved from decades past. Upstairs are two big bedrooms and a big bathroom. The home is a place where indoor plants flourish in south sun and beloved pets live comfortable lives. Jane brightened the front of the home with an array of beautiful flowers, like azaleas, thrift, hydrangeas, spiderwort and foxglove.

PROGRESS 2017

Your Healthcare Team Russellville Health Care, Inc. Is a skilled nursing facility that provides nursing services for residents with serious illness or disabilities 24 hours a day, delivered by registered nurses, licensed nurses and certified nurse BJEFT

Short Term Rehab Physical Therapy Occupational Therapy Speech Therapy Long Term Care Memory Care Unit Bariatrics Unit

We Offer: Âˇ Physicians Services Âˇ Optometry Services Âˇ Physical Therapy Âˇ Activities Âˇ Occupational Therapy Âˇ Dietary Services

Âˇ Speech Therapy Âˇ House Keeping Âˇ Mental Health Services Âˇ Laundry Âˇ Podiatry Services Âˇ Onsite Hair stylist

We are a 50 bed facility. We have 11 private rooms and 39 semi-private beds to accommodate your personal preference.

Together we will work to provide your loved one with the highest level of care For more information please call or come by and visit us 256-332-3773 | 705 Gandy Street N.E. | Russellville, AL 35653

Monday - Friday: 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. Sat: 8 a.m. - Noon OďŹ&#x20AC;ering Store to Car Service Wait Minutes, Not Hours

We accept all Major Insurances including Blue Cross Blue Shield, TRICARE & Express Scripts PROGRESS 2017

RECLAIMED Richardsons renovate, treasure family home

he oldest portion of the old Ezzell house near Cedar Creek was built in 1850. The main structure was built in 1890. But much of it was rebuilt some 30 years ago, when Jackie and Bunny Richardson purchased the property and gave it new life as part of Rustic Youth Camp. The “old Ezzell house” is all tied up in family history, as recounted by Jackie:

Jesse Jones originally claimed the section of land, where he built a log house near the big spring nearby. Jones had two daughters, one of whom married Robert Wiley Richardson – Richardson’s great-grandfather. Richardson’s grandfather – Robert Jess – was born in the family home in 1851, but the Richardson family wound up living on the other side of the hill in a log cabin R.W.R. he built – a cabin that still stands to this day, where cousin

PROGRESS 2017

Adeline Scott now lives. Another Jones daughter married W.T. Allison; their daughter married Billy Ezzell. “The Allisons and Ezzells wound up with the land on this side of the hill, and the Richardsons wound up with the land on the other side of the hill,” Jackie explained. Robert Jess Richardson raised 14 children, including Jackie Richardson’s father, Harris Henry, on the other side of the hill. Another of those children, Ed, also raised 14 children, one of those being Scott. Meanwhile, in regards to the Jesse Jones property, Billy Ezzell passed away, and the house eventually passed to his nephew, JC McCaleb – from whom Jackie Richardson ultimately purchased the house. “My dad knew JC quite well, so he told him, ‘If you ever decide to sell that place,’ I’d like to buy it,” Jackie said. The day came when McCaleb offered it to H.H. Richardson for purchase – at a time, in 1984, when Jackie and Bunny were searching for a place to locate a Christian summer camp. “We’d just moved back from Jefferson County, and we had been hunting everywhere for a place to put the camp, and we couldn’t find a place to our liking,” Jackie said. McCaleb offered the house and land, and Jackie and Bunny decided to take it. McCaleb hadn’t been living in the house, and it needed some work – to state the matter lightly. The interior, Jackie said, was graffitied with “ugly words,” and that wasn’t the worst of it. “It was so junked up,” Jackie said. “The porches were rotted off … We tore the chimneys down. One had dragged the room off the foundation, so I jacked it back up … I rebuilt it all.” It was three or four years after the purchase, once he had finished paying it off, that Jackie began the massive renovation in earnest. In the interim, he

VILLAGE SQUARE APARTMENTS

Proud to be part of the Progress of Franklin County

256-332-4620 "Get 3 months basic cable free"

Franklin County Cattlemen’s Association

· 50 years of age & Disabled or · 62 years of age or older or r out ouee! · Mobility Impaired f Ask ab l rra

We appreciate your support.

efe $250 r

RENT BASED ON INCOME/NO DEPOSIT

Locally Owned & Operated since 1972

256-332-5300

Home •Auto • Life • Commercial Serving our area for over 50 years!

130 N. Jackson Ave. • Russellville

Office: 256-332-1381 • Fax: 256-332-4835

March 9 April 8

Phil Campbell Hoedown - June 16 & 17 Jam on Sloss Lake - July 4 Vina Fest - July 29th Watermelon Festival - August 18 & 19 Red Bay Founders Fest - September 16 Spirit of Hodges - October 14 Spruce Pine Day - October 21 PROGRESS 2017

When the Richardsons purchased the house built by ancestor Jesse Jones, it needed to be rescued. Today, the home is a beauty, full of family memories and period-appropriate pieces, like an old stove and dry sink in the kitchen and antique telephone on the dining room wall.

said, they used the home as a haunted house for events. Jackie said he undertook the project despite some pointed advice from his brother, who was in the construction business: “Burn ’er down and build you a new one,” Jackie said. “He said, ‘I wouldn’t want that job.’ And he made fun of my scaffolding. I had a scaffold 30 feet off the ground and four feet wide, and I put a rail around it.” “I thought it was a mess,” Bunny agreed. “But you don’t burn down a perfectly good house … I had been seeing it all my life, when we would come down through the country, and I thought it was the prettiest house I had ever seen.” Despite the challenge, Jackie said he was committed to the reno. Connecting to heritage was a partial driver in the decision. And even with all the work he would have to undertake, Jackie said he knew the old homeplace was just right for what would become Rustic Youth Camp. “I like to think I had a vision of what it could be,” he said. “And I think it’s turned out to be what I thought it could be. We tell everybody it’s our playhouse. We love it. It couldn’t have been any better for the camp. We’ve had kids here from 43 states and 15 foreign countries – that’s blessing enough.” But it took good old-fashioned hard work to make that vision a reality. “I kept pushing and shoving and cutting and burning,” Jackie said. “It worked out for good.” The house at one time featured a dogtrot with a dirt floor, and Jackie said Bunny wouldn’t let him close it in – at first. “Finally, one day she said she wanted me to build her a walk-in pantry, and I said, ‘If you’ll let me close in the dogtrot …’” – and so he finally got to close in the dogtrot and build a new, better stairwell about seven years ago. He also added a “man cave” in the nook that was formerly part of the back porch. “It’s all been a lot of work,” Jackie said. When the remodel was complete – or complete enough – the Richardsons aimed to furnish and decorate the house with period-appropriate items. “We’d go to estate sales,” Jackie said. The house is full of antiques and treasured heirlooms, including hand-carved furniture and vintage kitchen and dining pieces – like a mill and flour bin, a pie safe and a dry sink. “All this furniture has a story,” Jackie said, gesturing across his ornately-furnished sitting room. The dining room will host all the family for Christmas. A large bedroom, office and living space is a haven for the Richardsons, full of keepsakes and collectibles, but the living room and dining room are favorite spots for Bunny. “I like my big china cabinet, and I like my collection of old plates and dishes,” she said. “I like the living room because it’s Victorian.” The big china cabinet is a one-of-a-kind piece from an antique store in Shelbyville, Tenn. The mantle and a smaller china cabinet and buffet in the dining room were once in the same house in Jackson, Tenn., in the early 1900s. “I had to have them,” said Jackie, who purchased the mantle from a woman in Red Bay and the cabinet and buffet from her sister two years later. “If these three pieces of furniture could talk, wouldn’t they have something to talk about?” Although the Richardsons enjoy their historic family home, upkeep is a challenge. “There’s constantly something going wrong you have to fix,” Bunny said. But, “I always enjoyed history and liked older homes.”

PROGRESS 2017

Southwood Garden Apartments Thersa Scott Manager

Texas Apartment Services

6RXWKZRRG *DUGHQ 5XVVHOOYLOOH $/ 3KRQH )D[ VRXWKZRRG#WH[DVDSWVHUYLFHV FRP ZZZ WH[DVDSWVHUYLFHV FRP

â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;Our Residents are the heart of everything we do!â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

Locally Owned & Operated since 1972

256-332-5300

Serving Franklin County and Surrounding Areas

for 30 years Rickey's Hardwood, Ceramic & Carpet Installation Coming soon Rickey's Flooring Store

John 3:16 Owner:

Rickey Phifer

205-993-4634 â&#x20AC;¢ cell 256-627-2801

Covering Franklin County since 1879.

01166 usstt 220 . 4 gu ug Au o y/A No ully/ JJu uee N ssu ol.l. 7 IIss Vo V

ice in Serv light f

ide tic pr Patrio January/February 2017 Vol. 6 Issue No. 7

Kalim Wells, VP/Agent PO Box 808, 2B Front St., Belmont, MS 38827 Belmont 662.454.3304 Cell 662.423.8154 Red Bay 256.356.4804

kalim.wells@tristateinsagency.com www.tristateinsagency.com 517 1st St., Red Bay, AL

Auto â&#x20AC;¢ Home â&#x20AC;¢ Boat â&#x20AC;¢ Motorcycle â&#x20AC;¢ Business â&#x20AC;¢ Life â&#x20AC;¢ Health

PROGRESS 2017

14131 Hwy 43 P.O. Box 1088 â&#x20AC;¢ Russellville 2256-332-1881 â&#x20AC;¢ fax: 256-332-1883

Seeking y m Ar ionthe lost Called to act chaplaincy

www.franklincountytimes.com

Global missionary Shaping th f

HISTORIC HOTEL Hotel Red Bay gets second lease on life

The check-in desk at the soon-to-be-opened Hotel Red Bay is an exact recreation of the original check-in desk, which now welcomes visitors to the Red Bay Museum across the street. 24

t’s probably fair to say there isn’t anyone in Red Bay who doesn’t know about Hotel Red Bay. Though the historic hotel has sat empty for a few decades, it overcame the threat of demolition, and the grand reopening is quickly approaching. The “new” hotel was built in 1924 and meant more to the town than your average Best Western or Hampton means today. It was a gathering place. It was the first stop for many visitors coming in on the train. It stands as the backdrop for so many memories, and now it promises a future of many memories to come. When Emily Strickland first expressed interest in operating the restaurant portion of the hotel in early 2016, she harbored no ambitions of owning and operating the hotel as well. But when she connected with property owner Mark Dempsey, he was looking for someone to operate the both of them – leaving her with a decision to make. Strickland’s love for Hotel Red Bay dates back to the ’90s, when the threat of its demolition was becoming imminent. She was an art and design student at the time and was learning a particular emphasis on historic homes and historic structures. She said she remembers that she couldn’t bear the thought of Red Bay losing such a historic landmark, and she recalls the relief she felt when the hotel was purchased – with an eye toward saving it – in 1999. But she never thought, nearly 20 years later, she might wind up running it. Nevertheless, Strickland hearkened back to her high school years, when her grandmother managed a hotel and Strickland would visit during the summers and help out. From that experience, she felt confident to take the plunge and run the 13-room hotel as well as the restaurant. Strickland said she cherishes the idea of being able to embrace her God-given gift for hospitality and entertaining. “Our goal here is hospitality,” Strickland said. “From the time they walk through the door, we just want to show people we appreciate them and we’re here to serve them. I love to serve people … That’s what I want this to be all about.” The “new” hotel, built in 1924, replaced a previous hotel on the same site. It holds eminence in the city as one of the first brick buildings to be constructed, and its exterior walls were built three bricks thick. The original hotel was constructed by Everett Smith and First National Bank and boasted more than twice the number of rooms the reincarnation offers. A point of pride in the reopened hotel will be the restaurant, which Strickland has christened 24 Crossroads, a name with layers of meaning: it connects to the history of old Highway 24 and the year the building was constructed; it’s a tribute to a railroad crossing, which can be seen in the venue’s logo; it reinforces the idea of the hotel being at the crossroads of the town; brings to mind the idea of a crossroads in one’s life – “This hotel has been a crossroads for many people in their lives,” Strickland said;

PROGRESS 2017

A wooden pew came from the First Baptist Church in Red Bay, where it served as the deacons’ bench.

and even ties in the cross of Christ, paying homage to the heritage of faith woven throughout the hotel’s history. Artisans are being commissioned to create all kinds of different crosses to hang on a wall of the restaurant. The restaurant features a few handcrafted booths, as well as tables with chairs that bear strong resemblance to the original chairs. A patio seating area is also planned. 24 Crossroads will serve Southern home-cooking as well as Italian dishes. “Some of the items on our menu, I know there is nowhere else in Red Bay, or even any restaurant in Russellville, that serves those items.” Like the

15347 Hwy. 43 • Russellville 256-332-1108

2 256-332-3220 310 Jackson Ave. N. Russellville

PROUD TO PRINT THIS YEAR’S PROFILE 2017. ProgrOReYsATs HO2M0E 17 HIST

IN FRANKLIN COUNTY

PROGRESS 2017

w w w.publicationspress.com 884 Lagoon Commercial Boulevard Montgomery, AL | 334.244.0436

hotel restaurant of yesteryear, 24 Crossroads will be closed on Sundays, Strickland plans. Down the hall from the restaurant is a private dining room, across from which, in what was formerly a barbershop, Strickland is planning a gourmet coffee shop that will be accessible from the street as well as from the hotel. Crowning glories of the soon-to-beopened hotel are the check-in desk and staircase, which are to-spec recreations of the original desk and staircase that are now housed at the Red Bay Museum. “Just about everybody who has a memory of Red Bay Hotel, they all remember the check-in desk,” Strickland said. Other bits and pieces of the original are also sprinkled through the new hotel, like a plaster column in the lobby, or a tall storage cabinet in the dining room that was created using a door rescued from the old hotel. The door, which formerly led into the room Strickland is using as her office, opens to reveal shelving. Strickland describes her Hotel Red Bay as “a vintage boutique-style hotel.” In decorating, she said she has tried to incorporate the flavor and personalities of people connected to Red Bay and to the hotel, its past and its future. Each room is decorated and set up differently, with a mix of antique, contemporary and eclectic pieces. One room stands in tribute to Nancy Giles – the woman who owned and operated the hotel for 21 years and

chronicled her experience in a book titled “From the little Red Bay Hotel to the Heartbreak Hotel,” pieces of which are also included in the compendium “Hotel Red Bay: A Tribute to Nancy Giles,” by Jane Johnson Hamm. Strickland has combed a two-hour radius of Red Bay, visiting nearly every, if not every, antique store in that area and has sourced all of her great pieces from places like Cedar Creek Antiques in Florence and The Cracker Box, “a little shop above a hair salon,” in Cullman, as well as Ewing Variety in Red Bay and Xplore Liquidations just over the state line. She has also had things donated – a pair of lamps from a man whose parents spent their wedding night in the hotel, for example; a picture of Venice, Italy, that hung for decades over a Red Bay mantle; and a French, creamcolored sofa that adds a special touch of elegance to what Strickland hopes will often be used as the “bridal suite.” The furniture and finishings are largely period appropriate, with a few modern, contemporary touches woven in – comfortable elegance, Strickland said, is the aim. “I didn’t want it to look like an Embassy Suites or a Holiday Inn,” Strickland said. “We want this to be very charming and special.” In February, Strickland has been working to put the finishing touches on rooms and procure fire escapes, and she said she hopes to open in

The private dining room seats 14 and will be available by reservation for private events. The table came from Corinth and dates back to the 1800s, from a Mason lodge. “It was like it was meant to be in this room,” owner Emily Strickland said. It will be called the Doodlebug Dining Room, in honor of the ﬁrst passenger train through Red Bay. 26

PROGRESS 2017

YEARS IN BUSINESS 1879

1920

1926 Atkins Marble & Granite Works, Inc. Headstones • Grave Markers • Monuments • Cremation Urns • Memorial Benches • Memorial Portraits • Granite Marble • Bronze Markers • Cemetery Vases • Lettering • We engrave death dates

In business since 1926 (256) 332-2332 403 E. Lawrence Street Owners: Grant & Beverly Atkins atkinsmarble@bellsouth.net Russellville, AL

1948

1953

1960

Quality Work and Friendly Service We Work With ALL Insurance Companies Hours: 7:30-4 pm Monday-Friday We Appreciate Your Business!

SEE US FOR ALL YOU GLASS AND AUTO BODY NEEDS!

See Dale Garrison For Free Estimates Cooperbody@gmail.com 865 E. Lawrence Street – Russellville, AL

256-332-3215

1960

FRANKLIN MEMORY GARDENS

1961

Sinclair-Lawrence & Associates Insurance For all Your Insurance Needs Call...

RUSSELLVILLE’S ONLY PERPETUAL CARE CEMETERY

Serving You Since 1960 Complete Ground Burial Services We o;er Ground Burial, Mausoleum, and Cremation Niches. All may be purchased at need or pre-need to include the grave fee and bronze memorial.

OͿce on grounds located at 2710 Waterloo Road • Russellville

Carolyn Atkins Porter

256-332-2115

1972

If you say it with flowers, say it with ours.

117 S. Jackson Ave. • Russellville 2513 E. Avalon • Muscle Shoals (256)383-8335 (256)332-2061

1976

1989

1998

2000

2001

2006

PROGRESS 2017

(Clockwise from top) A crowd gathers downtown, swarming around the hotel, during the annual Picnic in 1929. For Strickland, the picture of this little boy brings to mind the dozens of children cared for by Jenny Brown, who once managed the hotel. Antique telephones will enable guests to reach the front desk. Antique and unique furniture is the order of the day at Hotel Red Bay.

March. The hotel will open first, followed at some point by the restaurant. The first week of operation, Strickland said, is going to be dedicated to the community, with several nights of dinners and tours by advancepurchase followed by the First Night’s Stay, before the hotel officially opens to the general public. Of course, many of the community have already gotten their first peek inside. The first event at the hotel since it began the path to reopening was a small ladies Bible group participating in a time of prayer in November – a meaningful moment, for Strickland. “They asked God to bless this building and were thankful for what it has meant in this town,” Strickland said. A bigger event followed soon after – a larger group of ladies for coffee. The hotel also hosted the retirement reception for Mayor David Tiffin, serving about 150 people. “Everybody was very interested in seeing the hotel,” Strickland said. And that’s what she wants. “We’d like this to be a destination hotel, where people want an experience.” Which, really, is how it always has been. “I am happy every time I come into this building. It just makes me feel happy to know this has been a source of gathering and entertainment and fellowship for this town,” she said.

PROGRESS 2017

Congressman Robert Aderholt & Family Proud to work for the Economic Growth for the 4th Congressional District for Alabama. Paid for by Aderholt for Congress

CNC Family owned & operated Serving our area for 12 years

Âˇ Digital drawings Âˇ Machine cut & polished Your Source For Granite or Stone ates m i t s View our Beautiful Selection of Slabs ree E

205-993-4448

Find us on

Facebook

739 Hagood Street | Phil Campbell, AL | www.cncstonecrafters.com

Proud to Serve District 18! I will always fight for Progress and to provide everyone in my district a chance to achieve the American Dream.

State Representative Johnny Mack Morrow and wife, Dr. Martha Morrow.

State Representative

Johnny Mack Morrow Proudly Serving Franklin, Colbert & Lauderdale Counties PROGRESS 2017

HEARTH & HOME Carltons claim Edwards house

n the back street in Red Bay can be found the towering Pearl Edwards house. As recorded in “One Hundred Years of Memories: An Oral History of Red Bay, Alabama,” Pearl Bonds Edwards was the daughter of Red Bay merchant Turner Bonds, who built what became known as the Pearl Edwards house in 1908. Pearl was a longtime employee of Feldman’s; her husband Walter worked at a Red Bay drugstore. Today, the house is occupied by Celia and Marvin Carlton, who are renting the house from Sonny Thompson. “I had always admired this house so much,” said Celia. The Carltons lived “down the hill,” and Celia would pass by the historic home while taking her dogs on walks around the neighborhood. It was on these walks that she met and got to know Thompson, and she would tell him how much she loved the house. “It had sat empty for years,” Celia said. “A couple of renters rented it, but they didn’t stay but a month or two. They didn’t take care of it.” When Thompson offered to rent it out to Ceila and her husband, she at first thought it was a crazy idea. After all, they already owned a house just a couple of blocks away. But the more she rolled the idea around in her mind, she couldn’t turn the offer down. The Carltons signed a sixth month lease, to live in the house on a trial basis, in June 2016. But by the time the six months were up, Celia was determined to stay. “I’m not going anywhere. I love it.” The Carltons would love to buy the house one day, if Thompson and a cousin, who share ownership, decide to sell. Celia loves the house for its Victorian feel. “I have always told my husband that if I had been reincarnated, I would have lived in the Victorian era,” she said. “I just like the whole

Celia and Marvin Carlton, pictured with granddaughter Autumn, have made themselves at home in the Pearl Edwards house. PROGRESS 2017

Victorian era, and I always have … If I could have built a house, it would have been just like this. I wouldn’t want a new house. I just love everything about it.” Vestiges of the historic home are sprinkled throughout the two-story house. The floor in the entry is original, as are the doorknobs throughout. Although the house has been well-loved and well-worn over more than a century, Celia said she hopes to – if they are ever able to purchase it – give the house a remodel, including repainting doors and walls back to their original colors. On the bottom floor, near-12 foot ceilings make the house feel open and spacious. Victorian reproduction furniture invites guests into the sitting room. The dining room occupies what was formerly part of the wraparound porch. Celia’s decorating style varies room to room, but much of the décor is period or pays tribute to her own family history. In the room her granddaughters, ages 1-13, stay in when they come visit, for example, one wall is festooned with a coat her mother wore in the early 1970s and her gloves from the 1950s. A quilt made by Carlton’s grandmother tops the bed. The upstairs bathroom is dominated by French toile curtains. Her home is also full of cherished collections – a set of hand mirrors, one of which was hers as a child and one that was her mother-in-law’s; brooches belonging to dozens of elderly women she has been acquainted with; and handkerchiefs, perfume bottles and all sorts of teapots. Celia’s “North Pole room,” the landing at the top of the stairs, is all Christmas, all the time. “I’ve always been a Christmas person,” she said. “This is my North Pole all the time. I got a lot of the pieces in North Pole, Alaska.” A Christmas village is prominent in the wide landing, as are myriad Santa Clauses. “Everything in the house, just about, has special meaning to me.” One of her favorite spots in the house is the upper level porch, which is original to the house. “At nighttime you can see all the lights of the town. It’s beautiful,” she said. “It’s our favorite place to sit out and watch the traffic at night … One night a week we treat ourselves by going to Jack’s and coming out here, and we just like to sit and listen to nature.” As for Marvin, his view on the house is simple: “She loves it, so I love it.” And Pearl Edwards still occupies the home too – the Carltons named their dog Pearl Edwards in homage to house’s namesake. PROGRESS 2017

A picture of the Peal Edwards house in “One Hundred Years of Memories” shows the house’s namesake with her family. Celia Carlton’s decor and furnishings are special to her, including her Victorian reproduction furniture and her North Pole village. The Carltons paid homage to Pearl Edwards by naming their dog Pearl Edwards.

CITY LIVING Grissoms make their home in heartbeat of community

ayor David Grissom and family – wife Melissa and daughter Kate – moved to downtown Russellville in summer 2016, as the fourth owners of the Dr. Walter Gresham house. The nearly 90-yearold home, built in 1929, stands stately at the intersection of Jackson Avenue and Cotaco Street. The Grissoms purchased it in January 2014 from Jim Alverson – but their admiration of the home began years earlier. “When Melissa and I got married, we had our wedding reception there,” David said. From the porch above the front door, Melissa tossed her bridal bouquet to guests below on the front lawn. It would be a few years later that Alverson would ask the Grissoms if they were interested in buying the historic home. Melissa cherishes that her father Billy Fuller Sr., who was a homebuilder, was still living at the time and was able to come inspect the house for them. “A few days before he passed away, he said it was a good, solid house and was built really well,” she said. “That was reassuring to know.” Of course, it’s been three years of labor and renovation to bring the home into the 21st century. “It needed a lot of work, and we have been working on it ever since we bought it. It’s still not finished,” David said. The Grissoms tackled the roof right away and then replaced the wiring, the plumbing and the insulation. They updated the old plaster walls to sheetrock and installed a brand-new HVAC system. “The original home was basically completely re-done from the roof down,” David said. The 1929 hardwood floors, however, remain – rescued and refinished. The original staircase is also intact, with

PROGRESS 2016 2017

the original banister, and they were able to keep one of the original mantelpieces – all three fireplaces were kept and restored. Many of the windows are also original to the house. “We like to take old things and make them new again. We thought it would be a great addition to our town, to revitalize it,” David said. “We wanted to do something special downtown and make it our home.” “I like the character of the home and the architecture,” Melissa added. “There’s just something about an older home.” Eric Fuller, Melissa’s brother, took on the massive remodel as building contractor. “It’s been a lot of hard work and a labor of love,” Fuller said. Modernizing the home while respecting and embracing the history, where possible, has been one of the biggest challenges. “We wanted to keep a lot of original woodwork, like the floors and the handrails, and we had to work around that and try to preserve it throughout the whole process.” The Grissoms were particularly diligent about a seamless exterior transition aesthetically from the “old house” to the add-on: they expand-

(Clockwise from top) The Grissoms treasure a copy of the original blueprints for the 1929 house, as well as architectural specs. In 2015, Gresham descendants came to visit Grissom and sent along some historic photos of the Greshams in their house. This photo pictures Gresham relatives outside the home. Jim Alverson, from whom the Grissoms purchased the home, gave them a Christmas card, sent out by the Greshams in 1937, that depicts the home.

PROGRESS 2016 2017

ed the house with a new three-car garage, laundry room, outdoor swimming pool and two adjacent sunrooms, one of which serves as an art studio. Everything from the brick, to the limestone over the windows, to the corbels under the eaves of the roof, matches as closely as possible. “Whatever I do, I want it to be done right, and I don’t want it to look like it was halfway done,” Fuller said. “We wanted it to flow and look like it was supposed to be there.” Another aspect of the remodel that was essential to the Grissoms was using local talented people to complete the reconstruction. “We’ve been able to use all local roofers, painters, plumbers and contractors,” David said. “We have a lot of really qualified people in Russellville, and I’ve just always thought it was very important to use local folks.” Inside, the nearly 10,000-squarefoot home features 10-foot ceilings on the first floor; 9-foot ceilings on the second floor; and 13-foot ceilings in the sunroom and art studio. It boasts six bathrooms and includes a tornado shelter area, in addition to plenty of bedrooms and living space. A room above the garage serves as David’s “man cave.” The “mayor’s office,” at the top of the stairs, is his favorite room. The art studio is Melissa’s. “Kate and I both enjoy art and making things,” she said. Kate loves inviting friends to have fun in her playroom and the pool. The attic will also likely be a popular spot, as its been converted from storage space into a 16-seat theater room, complete with a large projector screen and 16 electric theater chairs. Décor and furnishings will be traditional and largely period-appropriate. But although the Grissoms love their new-old home, one of the biggest draws is location. “I like it because I can walk to work. I’ve done it several times. Monday I can walk home from council meetings, so it’s neat to do that,” David said. “We have some really good neighbors. We love it downtown.”

The Grissoms are the fourth owners of the Gresham house, which was also home to Veto Scott and Jim Alverson before the Grissoms purchased it in 2014. A snowy picture shows the home as the Grissoms began their remodel.

PROGRESS 2017

National Champion of Savings Discounts up to 40% Lanny Norris Agency | 256-332-0540 | LannyNorris.com

Serving Franklin County District Attorney’s Office

Assistant District Attorney Jeff Barksdale & District Attorney Joey Rushing

We’re here for you!

• Collects worthless checks and service fees. • Prosecutes parents who fail to pay child support. • Handles all felony offenses committed in Franklin County. • Represents crime victims and collects restitution for victims of criminal activity. • Restitution Recovery Unit collects court ordered money owed to victims.

Russellville Hospital Adds New Digital Mammography Unit Russellville Hospital excited to announce the addition of a new state of the art digital mammography unit. This new mammography unit will allow for a more efficient use of the patient's time by processing the image in seconds verses minutes. The platform also has a better ergonomic design to improve patient comfort while providing very clear and crisp images for the detection of small nodules. The new mammography unit will be available March 1, 2017.

Schedule your mammography

screening TODAY!

For additional information about mammography services, please call

(256) 332-8688 15155 Highway 43 Russellville, Alabama 35653 www.russellvillehospital.com

Proud to be part of the Progress of Franklin County • Helping Revitalize Downtown Russellville • Creating Jobs & Economic Growth • Committed to Industrial Development PROGRESS 2017

IN THE BIZ Tucker family business flourishes in Irvin House

n the early 1980s Joe M. Tucker had his accounting office in the Byars building in downtown Russellville, with six offices in 900 square feet. “I thought I needed a few more offices,” said Tucker, who was also interested in finding something to purchase outright, rather than paying for rented space. He stopped in next door, to H. Neal Taylor Sr.’s law office. “I actually came over here to ask Mr. Taylor about the build36

ing across the street. I went in and talked to him, and he told me Cecil Batchelor owned it. He said, ‘How would you like to have this?’ I said, well, I hadn’t thought about it.” But after mulling the idea and talking over it with his wife, Tucker said they decided to purchase the Irvin House in 1983, and he reopened Joe M. Tucker CPA there in 1984. The Irvin House dates back to the early 1900s,

1906 or 1907. According to a warranty deed dated from 1907, the corner property passed to J.S. and Linnie Irvin in February 1906 from Louis Deprez for $800. The lots were part of a larger property Deprez had acquired from Noble R. Ladd, according to an 1877 deed document. A deposition by L.C. Bendall to notary public Jeanette Mitchell in 1928 affirms that “J.S. Irvin and Linnie Irvin immediately entered into actual PROGRESS 2017

Call to Ànd out what’s showing! Opening March 3 Hwy 43 • Russellville

256-332-3619

Since 1879

Proud to be part of Team Russellville! Congratulations Graduates!! Best wishes for a Bright Future!

PROGRESS 2017

possession and occupancy of said lots, erected a dwelling house thereon, and have since that time continiously (sic) resided on and occupied the same as their home.” Many owners have called the property or portions of it theirs over the years, according to records, including Irvin descendants, Dr. W. A. Gresham, Leslie and Ruby Jackson, J. Hobart and Gladys Grissom and Walston and Jewel Hester, before it was sold to Taylor Sr. in 1962. A portion did and still does belong to Batchelor, Tucker added. Although the home was initially a residence, Taylor Sr. had his law office in the front, and he and his family lived upstairs and in the back of the house. “We’ve always had it as an office,” said Tucker,

Elaborate woodwork and transom windows are two of the features that remain in the Irvin house from decades gone by.

PROGRESS 2017

HERE’S MY CARD Bail Bonding

who uses the first floor as offices and the second floor as file storage. “I liked the historical feature of it. Some businesses do take older buildings sometimes and make them into offices, and I liked that idea. Of course, we didn’t want to keep throwing rent away – I wanted ownership in something.” The extra space was also a primary draw. The front door opens into a grand but comfortable entry. In a room to the immediate left, Hal Kirby proposed to Myra Grissom in front of the fireplace, where Shelia Tucker now greets visitors to the office. Each office features a large fireplace, none of which are in use but serve as reminders of a time when they provide comfort and warmth to the house. Joe has his office space in the back of the building, in a room that was added on in probably the 1950s as a den or family room; he updated it with a tiled drop ceiling. Tucker said he at one time actually used the fireplace in his office but thinks they will soon have to take down the chimney, as it seems to be gradually pulling away from the house. The interior of the Irvin House, despite a little wear of time, is yet a sight to behold. Unique touches are present throughout, including the stained-glass window that overlooks the landing halfway up the stairs – which was an anniversary gift from Taylor Sr., to his wife Ruby. It came from the First Baptist Church, when the church burned. Transom windows throughout the house are original, as is the entryway. The staircase was at some point covered with carpet when Taylor owned the building, but the Tuckers have considered one day removing the carpet and restoring the wood stairs and banisters to their original state. “It would be nice to make it look better,” Mark Tucker said. “But I haven’t figured out what I want to do … It would be nice to get the little dings out of everywhere. It’s a big job.” But a few dings are to be expected in a building that’s seen more than a century go by. PROGRESS 2017

Bank

Carpet Serving Franklin County and Surrounding Areas

for 30 years Rickey's Hardwood, Ceramic & Carpet Installation Coming soon Rickey's Flooring Store

John 3:16 Owner:

Rickey Phifer

205-993-4634 • cell 256-627-2801 The Irvin house was built in the early 1900s. One of the unique features of its interior is this stained-glass window that overlooks the landing halfway up the stairs – which was an anniversary gift from Taylor Sr., to his wife Ruby. It came from the First Baptist Church, when the church burned.

Directional Drilling GRISSOM & GRISSOM, INC. Town Creek, AL

Directional Boring and Installing Underground Utilities

256-685-3232 Cell: 256-412-9922 39

Dozer Work

Dependable Dozer & Dirt 256-332-4854 Farm Equipment Norman Pool Dealer

Pool Farm Equipment, Inc. Lewis Brothers & Taylor-Way Dealer

Cell: 256-565-7780 OÇ¥ce: 256-685-0556 nr2p@aol.com

Pool Farm Equipment, Inc. 23971 AL Hwy. 157, Town Creek, AL 35672

Florist

Consider The Lilies Floral Design for all Occasions &RESH 3ILK &LOWERS s 0LANTS 'IFT "ASKETS s 6ARIETY OF 'IFTS Tuxedo Rental t Local Honey

TH !VE 3% MAIN STREET 2ED "AY !, q

Furniture

PROGRESS 2017

Home Inspection Advanced Home Inspections “Know What You Are Buying” If you’re thinking about buying a home, it’s important to have that home inspected by a licensed, qualified professional. We offer complete home inspection services, evaluating all the major systems of your potential new home, so you don’t buy into any unpleasant surprises. Call us today.

256-627-2663

AL#0586

Insurance

Lawn Care

FRANKS LAWN CARE FREETES!

ESTIMA

Spring Clean-up

Hedge Trimming • Pressure Washing Shrub Work • Leaf Blowing & Mulching

256-627-9691 Metal

BUCHANAN HOUSE Barretts leave their mark on historic home

The walls were built solid brick and plashe two-story brick on the corner of Washington Avenue and High tered on the interior. “The house had about 12-foot ceilings in Street in Russellville is remembered as the Buchanan home or it on the lower level,” remembers George the Barrett home – depending on who you Hargett, who spent many years in the house after courting and then marrying Jeanne ask. The historical marker in the front names it Barrett in 1948. “There was a living room for Buchanan, honoring the family that had and a sitting room on the front, and a dining the house built in 1893. But it’s no wonder room, and they had pocket doors that you many folks associate it with the Barretts, who could slide back and make it one room. I was lived in the home for more than five decades. told the Buchanans were big entertainers, Buchanan was a druggist in Russellville when they originally built it. You could make who built the elaborate house. The house a big dance floor in those three rooms.” The bottom floor also had the kitchen – reportedly changed hands to the O’Reilleys around the turn of the century, and the “Her mother and her sister were gourmet cooks. We had some delicious meals there. I Barretts purchased it in 1943. PROGRESS 2017

Office: 256-462-1050

Mini Storage Belgreen Mini Storage g & Boat Storage

256-412-2298 41

Pest Control

PREDATOR

PEST CONTROL “The Insect Predator”

For all your pest control needs

Clay Weatherford

40 Years Experience

(662) 871-5302

Eddie Deaton

(662)315-2841

Printing Services Color and Black & White Copies

Business Cards Forms Blue Prints Large Format Printing Canvas Prints Art Prints

www.shoalscopy.com

Produce Strawberries Peaches Vegetables

Greenhouse Opens March 25th Larry & Bonita LouAllen

1974 Co. Rd. 177 Moulton, AL 35650

256-974-0078

U-Pick www.louallenfarms.com loualllw@yahoo.com

Roofing

Gann’s Discount Siding • Metal RooÀng • Vinyl Siding • Gutters • Vinyl Windows

Jerry & Chad Gann 256-446-9767 • Leighton

Sod

don’t know in the world they did that in that little kitchen … Thanksgiving dinner we would have turkey and ham and cranberry sauce and six or eight vegetables and four or five desserts. Even my parents used to go down there for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner with the Barrett family. We’d have 40 or 50 people in that house,” – and the house’s one bathroom. A large stairway led to the upper story, featuring three or four bedrooms. As with many houses from that period, closets were sparse. Hargett remembers coal-burning fireplaces that heated the house. “It wasn’t very warm in the wintertime,” he said. Jeanne’s sister bought the house for their parents, according to Hargett. “My wife’s father

was a barber. Barbers didn’t make a lot of money back in those days, and my wife’s sister was a home demonstration agent. She lived in Birmingham and traveled all over the country.” Prior to the purchase of the Buchanan house, the Barrett family lived in a rental house in Russellville, Hargett said. Hargett remembers the house well, though the family sold it in 1995, because he spent a great deal of time there. The Hargetts moved just a mile away after marrying. “We were over there all the time,” he said. “Jeanne had several brothers and sisters, and they used to all come … I was over there nearly every day. For awhile there, her mother was living there by herself, and we would look after her.”

Historic photos of the Buchanan house show the passage of time.

PROGRESS 2017

RUSSELLVILLE WATER AND SEWER BOARD

+BDLTPO "WFOVF 4 t 3VTTFMMWJMMF "MBCBNB %BO 5FSSZ o $IBJS 3JDIBSE 5VUJDI +PF (SBIBN

256-332-3850

8BOEB .ZSJDL )BSPME .JUDIFMM %PVH $MFNFOU .BOBHFS

Pride, dedication, determination and hard work produce Quality, Excellence and Progress.

8BMOVU (BUF 3PBE 3VTTFMMWJMMF "MBCBNB 0GÃ½DF )PVST .PO UISPVHI 'SJEBZ BN UJM QN (256) 332-2020 (BT 0GÃ½DF (256) 332-3850 6UJMJUZ 0GÃ½DF (256) 332-2230 "GUFS )PVS &NFSHFODJFT

Robert Perdue â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Chair Ron McCulloch â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Secretary William Hamilton

Jimmy Montgomery Mike Vaughn Roger Enchiff, Manager

4FSWJOH 3VTTFMMWJMMF BOE TVSSPVOEJOH BSFB GPS ZFBST XJUI IJHI RVBMJUZ BOE MPX DPTU /BUVSBM (BT BOE QSPVE UP CF B QBSU PG UIF PROGRESS PG 'SBOLMJO $PVOUZ PROGRESS 2017

Addressing today's challenges AND building for a better tomorrow. Building for a better tomorrow starts in the home. Franklin County is a great place to live, work, and play. While there are many special treasures in the county, one of the greatest can be found in the home. Home is where children learn the history of their family and community. Home is where manners and respect are taught. Home is where a childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s future can be built. Together, we can build for tomorrow by continuing to better the quality of life for the children in our communities. With integrity and conservative values, I am honored to serve the people of Franklin County. Proudly serving you,

Senator Larry Stutts

PR ROGRESS RO OGRE RE RESS ES SS S 201 20 2017 017

Funded by Stutts for Senate, P.O. Box 1014, Tuscumbia, AL 35674