Mobile Bay Magazine - August 2020

THE LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE FOR MOBILE AND BALDWIN COUNTIES

August 2020

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TARPON FISHING WITH ERNEST LADD

BARRY DUNNING Alabama’s C’22 No. 1 baller

KIDS THAT ROCK

PLUS – SEVEN BURGERS YOU’VE BEEN MISSING, PIRATE’S COVE ORAL HISTORY, COOKING WITH COLLEGE KIDS AND MORE!

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CONTENTS | VOLUME XXXVI / ISSUE 8

AUGUST 2020

46 BAKER HIGH SCHOOL’S KELSEY WHITE TAKES LIFE’S HURDLES IN STRIDE. PHOTO BY MATTHEW COUGHLIN

Wonder Kids If these 11 impressive young men and women are any indication, Mobile’s future is brighter than ever.

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Pirate’s Cove: An Oral History Read the accounts of those who make the legendary beach bar run and the stories of the devoted regulars who call it a second home.

 Kelsey White, above, won the 2019 AHSAA heptathlon, a track and field contest made up of seven events.

Read more about Kelsey, and 10 other kids that make us say “wow,” on page 46.

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CONTENTS | VOLUME XXXVI / ISSUE 8

AUGUST 2020 18

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ON OUR COVER Rising junior Barry Dunning in the gym at McGill-Toolen PHOTO BY MATTHEW COUGHLIN

FAIRHOPE’S NEW RESTAURANT, PROVISION / PHOTO BY ELIZABETH GELINEAU TAGGING A TARPON FOR RESEARCH / PHOTO COURTESY ERNEST LADD IV BLUE OYSTER MUSHROOMS AT THE HOPE FARM / PHOTO BY ELIZABETH GELINEAU

9 EDITOR’S NOTE

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10 REACTION 12 ODDS AND ENDS 15 THE DISH

24 SPOTLIGHT Take a stroll around the new Hope Farm with owner Bentley Evans

40 SPOTLIGHT Jennifer Jenkins of JJPR Agency on the fruits of entrepreneurship

18 TASTINGS Sample Fairhope’s new market and restaurant sensation Provision

30 AWARENESS Ernest Ladd IV’s passion for tarpon fishing has him looking towards Mobile Bay’s future

21 OBSERVATIONS Save room for the seven most underrated burgers on both sides of the Bay

34 BAY TABLES The Jacksons make the most of quarantined family time

42 SPOTLIGHT Story time with children’s librarian Frank Tigner

80 AUGUST CALENDAR

82 LEGENDS A look at the lasting legacy of World War II veteran Eugene Sledge

16 COLLECTIONS “Little Libraries” provide a spark for the mind and a feast for the eyes

86 LITERATURE The month of August will always send author Audrey McDonald Atkins back to school

88 ASK MCGEHEE What caused a bay boat to explode near Point Clear in 1871?

90 IN LIVING COLOR Pull up a chair at the Toulminville Soda Fountain, 1948

 Though journals were forbidden among the soldiers of WWII, lest they fall into enemy hands, Mobilian Eugene Sledge kept notes about his experiences in the margins of his pocket-sized Bible. Read about what became of those notes, and the man who wrote them, on page 82.

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Mobile Bay VOLUME XXXVI

No8

AUG 2020

PUBLISHER T. J. Potts Stephen Potts Judy Culbreth

EXECUTIVE EDITOR Maggie Lacey MANAGING EDITOR/WEB Abby Parrott

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Amanda Hartin

ART DIRECTOR Laurie Kilpatrick

EDITORIAL INTERN Jaimie Mans

ASSISTANT PUBLISHER

EDITORIAL CONSULTANT

ADVERTISING S R. ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE

Joseph A. Hyland Anna Pavao ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Jennifer Ray

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE

ADMINISTRATION CIRCULATION Anita Miller ACCOUNTING Keith Crabtree

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Audrey McDonald Atkins, Ernest Ladd IV, Tom McGehee, Breck Pappas, Aaron Trehub CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS

Summer Ennis Ansley, Matthew Coughlin, Elizabeth Gelineau, Meggan Haller, Nickole Haymaker, Chad Riley, Michael Thomas ADVERTISING AND EDITORIAL OFFICES

3729 Cottage Hill Road, Suite H Mobile, AL 36609-6500 251-473-6269 Subscription inquiries and all remittances should be sent to: Mobile Bay P.O. Box 43 Congers, NY 10920-9922 1-833-454-5060 MOVING? Please note: U.S. Postal Service will not forward magazines mailed through their bulk mail unit.

Please send old label along with your new address four to six weeks prior to moving.

Mobile Bay is published 12 times per year for the Gulf Coast area. All contents © 2020 by PMT Publishing Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of the contents without written permission is prohibited. Comments written in this magazine are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the ownership or the management of Mobile Bay. This magazine accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts, photography or artwork. All submissions will be edited for length, clarity and style.

PUBLISHED BY PMT PUBLISHING INC .

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EXTRAS | EDITOR’S NOTE

Family Matters

F

amily is everything. That sometimes-trite statement has never felt more true than now, during a global pandemic when we are making choices every day about who it is safe to spend time with. Some of us haven’t seen our grandparents in an awfully long time or are keeping parents at arms-length. Wouldn’t a good long hug from one of those folks feel great right about now? In so many ways, YES! Throughout all of this, I have witnessed so much quality family time happening everywhere I look! College kids have been home for months, hanging out with younger brothers and sisters in a way that wouldn’t otherwise have happened. With camps cancelled and group activities in short supply, family togetherness is what’s happening. Our friend groups may be getting smaller and our calendars thinner, but this time spent focused on those closest to us is priceless. Sure, this mom would love a good girl’s night out, and a real getaway is long overdue — something stretching more than one zip code. But I have to relish this time together as a family because it truly is a gift. One day we will look back with longing at the slower pace this pandemic has afforded. Certainly no love lost for the face masks, but there is a silver lining, nonetheless.

What a perfect season for MB’s annual family issue. This year we shine a light on 11 impressive kids who are out to change the world. Eloquent, driven, forward-thinking and creative are just a few of the words that come to mind when I think of the young people we met while gathering our Wonder Kids story. We don’t know what the world will look like, even 6 months from now, but I can say with confidence that I want to be a part of the world they are going to make.

I’m letting them take the lead.

OL’ WOODY DOESN’T THIS LITTLE TOY CAR JUST SCREAM AMERICANA? SOLID BEECH WOOD, A MAGNETIC CANOE ON TOP AND THE PROMISE OF HOURS OF FUN FOR THE LITTLE ONES. TOY CAR, $38 • CHAPEL FARM COLLECTION

LOVE THIS ISSUE A KEEPER I’VE NEVER BEEN TARPON FISHING, BUT ERNEST LADD JUST ABOUT HAS ME CONVINCED. CHECK OUT THIS 215-POUND MONSTER CAUGHT IN CODEN IN 1916! THE DOY LEALE MCCALL RARE BOOK AND MANUSCRIPT LIBRARY

CHICKASAW CHEESEBURGER I TAGGED ALONG ON THE BURGER PHOTOSHOOT — DUH — TO LEND A HAND WHERE NEEDED. I NOW HAVE PLANS TO GO BACK TO OFF THE HOOK FOR SECONDS. THE CHIPOTLE MAYO ON THE CABANA BURGER, ALONG WITH THE BRIOCHE BUN, WON ME OVER BIG TIME!

A SPICY STORY TIME IN THIS CAJUN RENDITION OF “THE LITTLE RED HEN,” MONSIEUR GATOR WHIPS UP A BIG POT OF GUMBO AND A LOT OF GIGGLES. IT IS BEST HEARD ALOUD BY STORYTELLER MR. BUTCH, INTRODUCED ON PAGE 42.

Maggie Lacey EXECUTIVE EDITOR

maggie@pmtpublishing.com

FIRST BORN JULEP LACEY, MY 16-YEAR-OLD SIDEKICK, RIDES THE STERN AS THE BOAT PULLS AWAY FROM PIRATE’S COVE (PHOTO CIRCA 2012). SHE HASN’T TOLD ME IN SO MANY WORDS, BUT I AM PRETTY SURE THIS IS HER HAPPY PLACE. READ MORE ABOUT PIRATES COVE ON PAGE 58.

 The 2020 MB Inspiration Home is nearing completion and we can’t wait to share it with you! Set to open for tours November 27, the fabulous 4,000-squarefoot home was designed by Robert McCown and is being built by Reehlco Custom Homes in the brand new North Hills subdivision in Fairhope.

THE 2020 MB INSPIRATION HOME

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EXTRAS | REACTION

Tell us how you really feel ...

FLOAT ON, BOATY

HERE’S THE REAL SCOOP

On June’s feature, “Boaty Knows It,” featuring local legend Boaty Campbell

A correction on July’s bite-sized rundown of Old Dutch’s summery ice cream flavors

To know him is to know one heck of a great guy.

The shop has been open since 1969, but I have been making the ice cream since 2010. The previous owner never made ice cream. That is my claim to fame!

- Ann Largay Torbert Such a neat article. You don’t find many people like him these days.

BOATY CAMPBELL PHOTO BY MATTHEW COUGHLIN

- Marsha Walding

[MORE ONLINE]

Find additional local stories on mobilebaymag.com.

Here’s what’s new on the website!

Outdoor Paradise Now more than ever, our backyards have become safe summer sanctuaries. Find inspiration for your space as we take a look back at some of our favorite porches, patios and gardens featured over the years.

- Cammie Wayne, Cammie’s Old Dutch Ice Cream

Treasure the Memories Everyone has a fun story about Pirate’s Cove (see page 58). Share your memories and old photos with us! Tag us on Instagram (@mobilebaymagazine), so we can add your story to ours.

SHIP, SHIP, HOORAY

- Cynthia Barnett A true picture of a great guy.

- Bobbie McCarthy Campbell Such an awesome article. Well written to capture my friend, Boaty.

- Sandi Haughton Fulmer Every time I think about the “cat story” that Boaty told, I burst out in uncontrollable laughter!

- J.C. Shaw This guy is a local treasure.

On May’s History piece, “The St. Mary’s Enigma” Thank you so much for John Sledge’s article. It was fascinating to learn more about the history of the ship and the mystery that surrounds its captain.

- Barbara Turner

READ ALL ABOUT IT

PHOTO BY ELIZABETH GELINEAU

Love Mr. Boaty and Mrs. Jolee. I would hear him tell stories and then look at Brad and say, “Is he messing with me?” Brad would say, “Probably not.”

On May’s History piece, “Bringing Us Together,” featuring a photo of an unidentified newsboy, seen below, in 1914 Mobile The photo of the newsboy caught my eye. It is my great uncle, Phares Demoville Beville, who ironically ended up working for the Press-Register.

Back to School Bites

- L. Taylor Beville

Breck Pappas, my family and I can’t thank you enough for this — you did an amazing job.

- Stephanie Campbell Editor’s Note: Mobile Bay Magazine sends our heartfelt condolences to the Campbell family on Boaty’s recent passing. He was a consummate gentleman and gifted storyteller. May his memory live on in the hearts of all he met.

PHOTO COURTESY LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

- Eric Anderton

Whether the kiddos are back at their desks or homeschooling at your kitchen table, one thing is certain: they have to eat! We’ve compiled some of our favorite easy dinner and snack recipes, perfect for busy weeknights.

Join Our Email List Get the latest in fashion, food, art, homes, history and events delivered right to your inbox. Sign up for our email list at mobilebaymag.com.

 Want to share your thoughts and reactions to this issue? Email maggie@pmtpublishing.com.

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EXTRAS | ODDS & ENDS

A Bite of August text by BRECK PAPPAS

According to the NCAA, nearly 8 million students currently participate in high school athletics in the United States.

It takes extraordinary talent to stand out from the crowd, but that’s exactly what a handful of our local athletes do. On page 46, meet some Wonder Kids making waves in athletics and so many other impressive disciplines.

Oh, the places they’ll go!

[ AUGUST 7 ]

NATIONAL LIGHTHOUSE DAY Is it ironic that we didn’t see this coming?

0.028

miles per hour The speed that Heinz Ketchup exits its glass bottle. According to the company’s website, “If the viscosity of the ketchup is greater than this speed, the ketchup is rejected for sale.”

Test the ketchup speed yourself with a little help from our list of seven underrated burgers, page 21.

MOBILE DAD JOKE How did the cannon at the Loop lose its military job?

It was fired.

1.6 SECONDS The amount of time it took for Tiki, the once-upon-a-time legendary Mastiff of Pirate’s Cove, to swallow the bar’s popular cheeseburger.

Dive into our Oral History of Pirate’s Cove on page 58.

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SIGHT-FISHING A type of fishing in which an angler sees a fish first and then tries to coax it to eat their bait, lure or fly.

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MILLION neural connections are made in a baby’s brain every second from birth to age 3.

Think story time is nothing more than a way to make those eyelids heavy?

Think again. Thankfully, there are librarians like Frank Tigner, page 42, making the most of this learning opportunity.

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FOOD | THE DISH

Bite of the Bay MB’s contributing food fanatics share their go-to local dishes.

SEASONAL CHEESE BOARD AT THE CHEESE COTTAGE / PHOTO BY ELIZABETH GELINEAU

CHARLANA QUIOVERS, Owner, BackFlash Antiques

SEASONAL CHEESE BOARD AT THE CHEESE COTTAGE “The Cheese Cottage is a cool breeze on a warm day. The courtyard is a feast for the eyes with the sights and sounds of downtown Mobile. Their seasonal cheeseboard is full of surprises with rich, intense cheeses and an unexpected bacon onion jam.

It’s accompanied by fresh strawberries and grapes, local honey and pecans, and a variety of crackers and baguettes. All sipped down with my favorite Moscato.”

THE CHEESE COTTAGE • 650 ST LOUIS ST. 308-8488 • THECHEESECOTTAGELLC.COM

RYAN BALTHROP, Singer, songwriter, musician

HOT CHICKEN SANDWICH AT SQUID INK “I am a disciple of this sandwich, having enjoyed at least half a dozen of them over Mardi Gras. They spice rub, batter and fry a chicken thigh. It sits on a nest of lettuce, tomatoes and pickle, is finished with a tangy aioli and served high on a potato bun. I will testify that the Mob Town hot chicken is a must for locals or any hungry tourist.”

SQUID INK • 102 DAUPHIN ST. • 405-0031 SQUIDINKEATS.COM

CADE KISTLER, Program Director, Mobile Baykeeper

THE SPECIAL AT RAVENITE PIZZERIA “If you like New York-style pizza, you’ll love a slice from Ravenite. The Special is topped with traditional favorites — pepperoni, sausage, onions, green pepper, mushroom, beef, ham, black olives and garlic. The hand-tossed dough and brickoven taste come through immediately, so you’re going to want to eat every bite of this crust. If you’re craving pizza and want to spend your money locally, Ravenite should be your next stop.”

ANN-BROOKS MORRISSETTE, Executive Director, Fuse Project

PORK EMPANADAS AT THE HOPE FARM “You don’t see empanadas on many menus in town, but The Hope Farm in Fairhope is full of delightful surprises.

The empanadas are filled with savory pork braised with Fairhope Brewing Co. beer (brewed across the street), lightly fried, and topped with local greens, pickled red onions, Cotija cheese, tomatillo sauce and lime crème fraîche. Pair it with one of their garden-to-glass cocktails, and enjoy the perfect start to your evening.”

THE RAVENITE PIZZERIA • 102 N SECTION ST.,

THE HOPE FARM • 915 NICHOLS AVE, FAIRHOPE

FAIRHOPE • 929-2525 • THERAVENITE.NET

340-3276 • THEHOPEFARM.COM

 What dishes made you drool and left you hungry for more? Share them on our Facebook page! august 2020 | mobilebaymag.com 15

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A Novel Idea Stories are waiting to be discovered in front yards along the Alabama Gulf Coast. text by MB STAFF • photos by SUMMER ENNIS ANSLEY

4 We can’t think of a better family-friendly social distancing activity than discovering your next book within walking distance of home. In a grassroots movement to get free books in the hands of friends and neighbors, more than 60 people in Mobile and Baldwin counties have built and registered their libraries online to be searchable and mappable. Here are some of our favorites. MB

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GUMBO | COLLECTIONS

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8 HOW IT ALL WORKS

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A Little Free Library is a “take a book, return a book” free book exchange. The libraries come in many shapes and sizes, and anyone may take a book or bring a book to share. The goal is to inspire a love of reading while building community. Millions of books are exchanged each year, profoundly increasing access to books for readers of all ages and backgrounds, but most importantly in areas where books are scarce.

1. Midtown Mobile, 14 Houston St. 2. Satsuma, Railroad St. at Orange Ave. 3. Spring Hill, 4451 Suzanne Circle 4. Downtown Mobile, 261 Dauphin St. 5. Dog River, Sundowner Marina, 4910 Marina Drive N. 6. Fairhope, 17 Orange Ave. 7. Fort Morgan, 7597 Kiva Way 8. Magnolia Springs, 14346 Oak St. 9. Tillman’s Corner, 4050 Canal Drive 10. Daphne, Village Park, 8501 Well Rd. 11. Spanish Fort, 568 Wedgewood Drive

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FOOD | TASTINGS

Provision text by MAGGIE LACEY • photos by ELIZABETH GELINEAU

W

hen you walk in the door of Provision, you are met with a slick dark green wall and a smiling face. Everybody experiences a warm welcome at the front desk of the new market and restaurant in downtown Fairhope, where the checkout worker is part traffic director, according to proprietors Elisabeth and William Hanes.

Coffee and pastries to the left, they explain, comfy seating to the right, light retail offerings at the front — reminiscent of a more curated Anthropologie — and cocktails and gourmet foodstuffs all the way to the back. Just start walking; there is no wrong direction in this cavernous-but-somehow-cozy food hall.

Mobilian William Hanes met his wife Elisabeth, from Cullman, at JH Ranch, and not long after, the couple took a job at Blackberry Farm, the luxurious bed and breakfast in Tennessee known for high-end cuisine and impeccable hospitality. The Haneses absorbed everything they could about the industry there, in the hopes of one day opening their own boutique hotel. But fast-forward 8 years and two small children, and the life of a hotelier seemed less romantic.

Still passionate about hospitality, the couple says, “We pulled the things we loved into something that would work for our family, and Provision was born.”

While Blackberry might have provided the Haneses with the training needed to build an exquisite customer experience, JH Ranch gave their work its soul. “We want to provide a community space, to get to know our customers and really make people feel known.”

Customers can talk with William about the newest wines from Slovenia or Israel, shop truffle chips from Spain and cheeses from across the south, or bring a laptop and plug in for the afternoon with a matcha and croissant. “We never envisioned a full-service restaurant,” William explains. “Just come by before your dinner reservations for a snack and a great glass of wine.” The hospitable couple even made the best of opening during a worldwide pandemic. “People have been so supportive, we’re so grateful to be in Fairhope. And fortunate to have a big enough space to allow social distancing, so customers can enjoy spending time over good food and drink with their own group.” MB

 Provision • 100 N Section St., Fairhope • 850-5004 • provisionfairhope.com 8 a.m. - 8 p.m., M - T; 8 a.m. - 10 p.m., W - Sa; closed Su

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FOOD | TASTINGS FARRO SALAD

[ ON THE MENU ]

STRAWBERRY TOAST Honey-whipped feta, fresh local strawberries and chopped herbs sit atop toasted multigrain bread that is then drizzled with honey and orange zest for a taste like orange marmalade.

FARRO SALAD

WEEKLY CHEESE BOARDS

PROVISION MULE

This refreshingly light salad features chopped apples, fresh blueberries and shaved Parmesan over nutty farro grains and a big pile of arugula, finished with toasted pecans and crispy onions.

Designed to be paired with either red or white wine, and changing weekly with new offerings, expect to find duck prosciutto from The Spotted Trotter, house-candied nuts and new-to-you cheeses.

This crowd-pleasing winebased cocktail is built with fresh lime, blackberries, mint, simple syrup and pinot noir in a large Bordeaux glass, the perfect summer sipper to pair with a cheese board.

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VENTURE OFF THE BEATEN PATH TO TRY SOME OF THE MOST UNDERRATED BURGERS ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BAY.

SEVEN BEST

BURGERS YOU’VE NEVER HAD text by BRECK PAPPAS • photos by ELIZABETH GELINEAU

GREEK BURGER, OX KITCHEN

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WE’LL NEVER TELL YOU TO TURN YOUR BACK ON THE CLASSICS (THINK CALLAGHAN’S, BUTCH CASSIDY’S), BUT DON’T BE AFRAID TO BREAK YOUR BURGER ROUTINE. PREPARE TO MEET SEVEN OF YOUR NEW BEST FRIENDS. GREEK BURGER (PREVIOUS PAGE) OX KITCHEN 85 N BANCROFT ST., FAIRHOPE

It’s not often you come across a burger with feta cheese and tzatziki sauce, but after eating this creation of chef Bo Hamilton, you’ll wonder why. With a soft brioche bun, roasted peppers and pickled onion, the Mediterranean-inspired burger has plenty of flair without being gimmicky or over the top. And like the other burgers on the menu, diners can make it a double for a few extra bucks. Say it with us now — “Opa!” “I grew up in Birmingham, whose restaurant scene was shaped by Greek restaurateurs, so this burger is sort of a throwback to the food of my youth.”

– Chef Bo Hamilton SAM’S ORIGINAL BURGER (THE S.O.B) SAM’S SUPER BURGER 8789 GRAND BAY WILMER ROAD, GRAND BAY

This cheeseburger is definitely the heavyweight of the menu at Sam’s Original Burger, which celebrates the 34th anniversary of its founding this month. If four patties are more than you bargained for, never fear; grab yourself a Super Burger Single. Owner Philip Dixon, grandson of Sam, says the restaurant makes roughly 400 patties a day by hand. Sautéed onions and jalapeños help distinguish this monster — as if it needs any help standing out from the crowd.

THE CISCO BURGER THE GOOD GUYS MOBILE FOOD UNIT LOCATION VARIES, CHECK FACEBOOK PAGE

You’ll chase this food truck down for its burgers, and the Cisco Burger is the leader of the pack. Owner Tuven Helvacioglu hand-presses the beef and pork chorizo patties daily, and the smoked chipotle sauce is also made in-house (“Put-

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ting ketchup and mustard on this burger is a big no-no,” he says).

Purple onion, green leaf lettuce, tomato and cheddar cheese round out this standout on a brioche bun. Check facebook.com/GoodGuys251 to see where the truck will be parked every week.

YACHT CLUB CHEESEBURGER 19TH HOLE, LAKE FOREST YACHT & COUNTRY CLUB 1 GOLF TERRACE, DAPHNE

You don’t need to be a golfer to enjoy this country club cheeseburger, available to the public and straight from the griddle of Chef Clint Delaney, who draws on his culinary experiences from Dauphin Island and the Grand Hotel. The 8-ounce patty is the star, a blend of certified Angus beef, ribeye, and short rib chuck and resting on a golden brioche bun. Nothing on Delaney’s burger has ever seen the inside of a freezer — a veritable hole-in-one on a bun.

MS. D’S FAMOUS BACON CHEESEBURGER MS. D’S RESTAURANT 25757 HIGHWAY 181, DAPHNE

It wouldn’t be a hole-in-the-wall cheeseburger without a secret ingredient, and owner Joy Davis says her lips are sealed. She will tell you, though, that her favorite thing about this burger is its fresh toppings, thanks in large part to Allegri Farm Market right across the road, which supplies all of the restaurant’s produce. Tall, imposing and juicy, this backroad bacon burger has a cult following — so it’s no surprise the restaurant goes through two cases of bacon a week.

“You can dress it up any way you like it, and it’ll just keep getting taller and taller! We go through a lot of napkins around here.” – Owner Joy Davis

OFF THE HOOK BURGER OFF THE HOOK MARINA & GRILL 621 HIGHWAY 43, CHICK ASAW

Everything between the brioche buns on this burger is made inhouse. Yes, that includes the meatloaf patty, the mac ‘n’ cheese and the chipotle mayo (you read that sentence correctly). Chef Kate Anderson says this burger is so popular, and accessible, that she has a regular crew of postal workers who drive the 15 minutes from Mobile on their lunch break. Open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the grill overlooks the kayakers and boaters on Chickasaw Creek.

“Originally, I didn’t know if this burger would go over well because it’s so different. Now, we really just can’t imagine the menu without it.”

– Owner and executive chef Kate Anderson THE BACON RANCH STEER BURGER ROSHELL’S CAFÉ & DELI 2906 SPRING HILL AVE.

With origins in 1952, Roshell’s Café & Deli has had 68 years to perfect its “Steer” burgers, and it shows. The Bacon Ranch Steer Burger features two 8-ounce patties, hand-formed from daily ground beef deliveries and stacked with crispy bacon and “all the trimmings.” No seasoning touches these patties — not even salt and pepper — so expect a burger as classic as this diner. This option is nostalgia on a sesame seed bun; it’s no wonder owner Roshell Flowers feeds third-generation clientele.

“Sometimes a customer will say they want the Ranch Steer Burger, but they don’t want Ranch on it. I want to tell them that this burger has been around since before Ranch Dressing was invented!”

– Owner Roshell Flowers

SAM’S ORIGINAL BURGER

CISCO BURGER

YACHT CLUB CHEESEBURGER

MS. D’S BACON BURGER

OFF THE HOOK BURGER

BACON RANCH STEER BURGER

LION’S MANE MUSHROOMS

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text by MAGGIE LACEY • photos by ELIZABETH GELINEAU

F U NG I

LOVE OUTSIDE, THE NOON SUMMER SUN IS BEATING DOWN AS I

FOLLOW BENTLEY EVANS AROUND A GRAVEL PATH AT THE HOPE FARM. HE TELLS ME THAT 70 TO 80 PERCENT OF THE PLANTS GROWING BESIDE THE NEW RESTAURANT AND EVENT FACILITY IN FAIRHOPE ARE EDIBLE, BUT IT’S THE ONES THE PUBLIC CAN’T SEE WHEN THEY DRIVE UP THAT I’M MOST INTERESTED IN. HE SCANS INTO A HIGH-TECH LOCKING SYSTEM WITH HIS PHONE, AND A DOOR TO A CLEAN-PAINTED SHIPPING CONTAINER OPENS, REVEALING WHAT COULD EASILY BE A SMALL HOSPITAL TRIAGE ROOM. THE DOOR CLOSES BEHIND US, SEALING OUT THE SUMMER HEAT AND LEAVING US IN MOMENTARY TOTAL DARKNESS. WHEN THE NEXT DOOR OPENS, HOWEVER, MY EYES ARE MET WITH SHELVES UPON SHELVES OF MUSHROOMS BATHED IN AN EXTREME HOT PINK FLORESCENT LIGHT.

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Planting the Seed The shipping container urban farm, around which Bentley built his restaurant, wine bar and event venue, undoubtedly holds his greatest passion. He describes the process of growing mushrooms — from sterilization to inoculation, colonization to harvest — with excitement as he shows off one gorgeous flush of blue oyster mushroom after another. They each will produce five pounds of product, all originating from one tiny hole in a plastic bag. “It’s roughly 30 days from start to finish,” Bentley says, explaining they can get two harvests out of one bag before they have to start the whole process over again. And while this cycle is repeating itself under the hot pink lights of one shipping container, hydroponic produce is sprouting in racks inside yet another. Microgreens, purple basil, red-veined sorrel, wasabi arugula — whatever Bentley decides to grow can be sprouted and harvested, regardless of the season, in his controlled environments. Meanwhile, fruit trees, edible flowers and herbs grow outside along raised beds overloaded with colorful eggplants and peppers, all in plain view and within arm’s reach of The Hope Farm’s customers. It is clear that Bentley loves the thought of a dinner guest wandering the grounds with a glass of wine, picking a flower off his pineapple guava plant. “Those little flower petals explode in your mouth!” He hands me a delicate society blossom to eat, warning that I will have garlic breath for the rest of the day, and promises to let us try the wasabi arugula, which packs a punch and then disappears just as quickly. “The whole experience comes together when our customers are able to see these containers, see what we’re doing on the farm, then taste the food.” And for the team of chefs and cooks, the gardens are a culinary playground.

Each of the aforementioned flowers, herbs or produce will eventually make its way into cocktails, appetizers and entrees created by The Hope Farm’s creative team. “There’s nothing we don’t do ourselves, right out of the garden to the cutting board, with our own two hands,” says Bentley.

Growing an Idea Bentley discovered his passion for agriculture after college, and so in 2018 he attended a program at the University of Arizona’s Controlled Environment Agriculture Center, studying

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Top to bottom: Bentley Evans tends the blueberry bushes tucked behind the hydroponic gardens. A flush of blue oyster mushrooms growing out of the bag.

The warm mushroom salad with fried goat cheese.

indoor hydroponics. His early conversations with family and friends about starting an urban farm in south Alabama blossomed into musings about a possible wine bar to sit alongside the farm. Bentley’s father, Robert Evans, is a wine aficionado, and soon after, signed on to become partner and co-founder of The Hope Farm. Robert built upon his business background to increase the scope of Bentley’s plans and before long, the idea grew into the 1.25-acre facility I now see before me.

Farming, cooking and gathering around the family table all go hand in hand, and Bentley was inspired by what he calls the “magic” of coming together at the end of a long day to share good food. Both family-style portions and table arrangements were always a part of the plan for The Hope Farm, but COVID-19 eliminated the communal seating for now. He still hopes you can enjoy a whole Gulf fish with the folks at your table or pass the mushroom toast around your group for all to try. From the gardens, to the kitchen and the dinner table, The Hope Farm seems both cutting-edge TOMATO GALETTEand a bit old-fashioned, returning to a slower way of doing things.

Harvesting On my walk with Bentley, the conversation continues about mushrooms, the farm-to-table movement, national chefs he finds inspiring and “research and development” trips to Napa Valley. None of these things represent a new idea … but it is remarkably new down here. And while The Hope Farm’s high-tech farming methods might seem out of place for a small-town, south Alabama restaurant, the Evanses figured the region was ready. “Here on the Gulf Coast, our clientele is progressive and well-travelled, and we knew they would get it,” Robert says. And if the warm reception The Hope Farm received in its first few weeks of business is any indication, we will get to experience many seasons of good food, wine and gathering down on the farm for years to come. MB

Top to bottom: The cocktail bar and dining room of The Hope Farm. Sliced Châteaubriand with fried Brussels sprouts and crispy fingerling potatoes. Wine education is part of the experience offered.

august 2020 | mobilebaymag.com 27

MUSHROOM TOAST

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THE HOPE FARM’S MUSHROOM TOAST

SERVES 2

The mushroom toast is a popular appetizer for sharing, giving the table a chance to try the unusual fungi growing at The Hope Farm.

2 tablespoons olive oil 1 teaspoon garlic, chopped 1 teaspoon shallots, chopped 1/4 cup white wine 3 cups mushrooms, mixed varieties 1 cup vegetable stock 2 teaspoons thyme, chopped 1/3 cup butter 1/4 cup heirloom tomatoes, blistered* 3 pieces sliced sourdough bread, grilled in olive oil

1. Heat a large saute pan and add olive oil, garlic and shallots. Saute until golden brown, then add wine to the pan. Simmer until all alcohol has evaporated.

2. Add mushrooms, vegetable stock and thyme. Bring to a simmer and let reduce slightly.

Add butter and allow to melt and combine with the pan sauce.

3. Add blistered tomatoes and toss lightly. Remove from heat and serve on grilled sourdough. * Blistered tomatoes are quickly sauteed in olive oil over high heat until they burst and char slightly.

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GUMBO | AWARENESS

Tarpon Fishing from the Jump A moonlight encounter with a tarpon 33 years ago sent Ernest Ladd down the angler’s path of frustration, elation and conservation. text by ERNEST LADD IV

T

here’s nothing easy about tarpon fishing. I can convince a friend to come along with me once, maybe twice, but that’s typically enough for them. It’s not unusual to go hours without a bite. Tarpon are extremely finicky eaters, and that’s frustrating enough without the heat. On an ideal day tarpon fishing in the Bay, the water would be slick as glass — meaning very little breeze. So sometimes you just sit there for hours, the sun bearing down, and you can feel the sweat forming at the top of your back and begin trickling down.

Most people just can’t deal with that. They want more action, and it’s hard to blame them. Only the crazy people, like myself, put up with it. But that’s because I know what it’s like when you get that bite. I greet that adrenaline rush like an old friend. So in the most miserable, sweltering, frustrating moments, I stay motivated knowing I can get a bite at any time. That keeps me fresh — and it’s kept me tarpon fishing for over 30 years.

The desire to catch a tarpon was spawned at a young age as my maternal grandmother always spoke of them and how beautiful they were. We fished a few times for them together, always trolling big spoons down the Gulf beach, but never got a bite. I also saw my paternal grandfather catch a small one while speckled-trout fishing off the Gulf beach.

I’d been on a few tarpon trips without success and asked questions to my mentors Robert Hope, John Edwards, William McFadden and Noel Nelson to help me out. At the risk of sounding cliché, I don’t know whether I hooked my first tarpon or if it hooked me. What I do know is that I’ll remember the moment for the rest of my life. I was about 19, hoping to catch my first tarpon with my buddy John Williams in Navy Cove, on the north side of Fort Morgan. We had been there since early morning, chumming and hooking nothing but bycatch: jacks, sharks and stingrays, which, at that age, was still fun.

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We were almost out of bait, and it was just about dark. All of a sudden, John got a bite. I didn’t hear the splash, but John’s eyes got big as saucers. “It’s a tarpon! He jumped and spit the bait!” he screamed.

I don’t know if I believed him, but we continued fishing with a renewed energy.

We were down to the very last bait, and by this point a full moon was rising over Bon Secour Bay. Next thing I knew, I saw my line going against the current and thought, That’s odd. I reeled up the slack and set the hook, and suddenly the fish jumped right by the boat, silhouetted against the full moon. I could hear the gills rattling and see that big fish of silver; it was the most incredible sight I’d ever seen while fishing.

I had grown lazy towards the end of the day and hadn’t re-tied my frayed leader, so the fish broke the leader on the jump. But that was the moment, seeing it come out of the water, that really hooked me on tarpon.

To this day, I’ve never tired of the jump. Just the thought of seeing that fish come out of the water helps me sit through the hours of boredom and baking sun.

Some of the tarpon I’ve caught have more years to them than I do. By staining their otoliths, calcium carbonate structures that help with a fish’s hearing and balance, scientists can determine a specimen’s age like counting the rings of a tree. It’s not unusual for a tarpon to reach age 50, and many live beyond that.

I’ve never had any desire to kill one, and most fishermen are getting onboard with catch and release. It’s $50 to purchase a kill tag from the state, but there’s really no reason to kill them; these fish are worth more to me alive than a photo op at the dock or a state record. Why kill a fish just for a photo? In 2003, while in the Bay fishing solo, I caught what would’ve been the state record at 231 pounds according to the tarpon weight calculator: 87.5 inches fork length, 42-inch girth (the current record is 203

pounds). I’m really glad I didn’t kill that fish as she was upwards of 80 years old and could spawn more tarpon for me to catch. And I’m the last person who wants to get in the way of that. I am equally glad the official state record still belongs to Billy Wildberger, one of the few early legendary tarpon fishermen.

All our fish are migratory, coming from south Florida en route to Venice, Louisiana, a mass aggregation and spawning point for the Florida and Mexican tarpon populations. As they pass by our beaches in July or slip into the Bay in August, you might see a solo tarpon or you might see a school of 500. These days, I mostly catch them off the beach from a boat. I’ve chased them from Alabama to Venice, Louisiana, Boca Grande, Florida, and Costa Rica. A lot of the time, I’m sight-fishing — looking for a school of tarpon, getting out in front of it and casting to them. You’re looking for them to break the water, which we call a “roll.” It can look similar to a porpoise from a distance, but a tarpon’s roll is more elongated.

Finding them is one thing, but the hardest part of the sport is getting the “eat,” convincing a fish to eat your bait or fly. Most will just swim by and not pay any attention to your offering. I have been in the middle of a 1,000-fish school, with tarpon rolling everywhere and on all points of the compass — blowing bubbles underneath the boat,

“ONCE YOU HOOK ONE, IT’S USUALLY JUST A SECOND OR TWO BEFORE IT’S AIRBORNE. THEREIN LIES THE THRILL FOR MOST FISHERMEN, SEEING THAT SEVEN-FOOT FISH BURST OUT OF THE WATER RIGHT NEXT TO YOU.” – Ernest Ladd IV coming up, looking at you, bumping your lines — and no eats. That’s when you want to pull your hair out. But then you finally get an eat, and it’s all worth it. A great day tarpon fishing is getting three bites all day and each being a tarpon. Many days end with no bites or one bite. That is a long day.

Like I said, you have to be crazy to chase these fish, and most people don’t have an interest in dedicating that much time for so little action and for a fish you can’t eat. Tarpon are the poor man’s billfish — hours of boredom for a few minutes of pure adrenaline-rushing pandemonium.

Once you hook one, it’s usually just a second or two before it’s airborne. Therein lies the thrill for most fishermen, seeing that seven-foot fish burst out of the water with

Left Ladd captures the exciting moment of the first jump after the bite during a solo fishing excursion. Right Ernest Ladd with his first tarpon of 2019. PHOTOS COURTESY ERNEST LADD

august 2020 | mobilebaymag.com 31

gills rattling right next to you. The best part of the fight is the first five minutes. That’s when most of the big jumps occur, then it’s a tug of war before you can pull that beautiful fish alongside the boat.

I’ve always been conservation-minded. I remember the time, when fishing with my grandfather at 15, I released a 6-pound trout back into the water.

“What are you doing?!” he asked, shocked.

“We’ve got 15 in the box,” I answered.

“There’s no sense in keeping any more.”

“No Ladd has thrown back a 6-pound trout,” he said.

“Well, Dee Dee, you just watched one,” I said. “You have to leave something for your great-grandkids.” It took a couple years, but he eventually came around to that notion.

I first got involved with tarpon conservation and science in 2007 in a collaborative effort with Mike Larkin of the Rosenstiel School of Marine Science and local tarpon anglers Noel Nelson and Hayden Olds to place a PAT (popup archival tag) on an Alabama tarpon. The goal was to learn as much as we could about the fish, their movements and habits, so that we can help protect them.

I ended up being fortunate enough to catch the first tarpon tagged in Alabama, which was a special experience. In three months’ time, that fish traveled 1,200 miles, covering water between Venice, Louisiana and the Shark River in the Everglades. Later, I worked with Andrea Kroetz and Crystal Hightower of the Dauphin Island Sea Lab on tarpon tagging with SPOT satellite tags, as well as acoustical tags. I also participated in DNA study efforts with the Bonefish and Tarpon Trust, collecting DNA samples from tarpon I caught. What we’ve learned is that they’re everyone’s fish — some migrate from the Yucatan, some from Cuba and some travel all the way up to Nova Scotia. Even though we’ve got pretty good conservation measures in the U.S., other countries don’t have the same measures, so the goal is to pass along this information to show that their fish are our fish, and vice versa.

Locally, I’m most concerned about the state of Mobile Bay. Tarpon just aren’t there like they used to be. In 2003, my best year fishing the Bay, I caught 21; tarpon could once be found consistently, but over the 32 mobilebaymag.com | august 2020

past five years, that just hasn’t been the case.

Frankly, I’d be lucky if I saw one. I only saw three fish over several trips in the Bay in 2019. Something has changed, and now the fish are avoiding the Bay. Of the fish we’ve tagged at the beach, a couple have ventured into the Bay, but within two or three days, they’re gone.

So what’s changed? I don’t pretend to have all the answers, but water quality is likely the culprit. As more people come to the coast, there’s more runoff, sewage spills and pollutants entering the Bay. I’m hoping that we can use science learned through the Sea Lab’s tarpon research to address that issue and prevent the spoil dumpage from the planned widening of the ship channel in the Bay. This is going to potentially release heavy metals and other toxins which have accumulated and embedded over decades in the spoil, not to mention create cloudy water conditions as the spoils are fine particulate silky clays coupled with mud.

They’re proposing to put a 1600-acre spoil island right where these tarpon like to rest in the Bay and mill around. But it’s not just tarpon; you’ll see redfish at times, cavallas (jack crevalle), skipjacks, Spanish mackerel, just all kinds of marine life. It’s ironic that, 25 years or so ago, Alabama Marine Resources permanently closed portions of the Bay to shrimping in order to protect the seagrass beds, which are vital nursery grounds. Now, the Department of Conservation is in favor of destroying the very area they protected. We need to preserve that area for our tarpon and seagrass beds to help the overall water quality and for our children and future generations.

I’m really blessed that my two sons have enjoyed tarpon fishing with me since they were 4 or 5 years old, and each of them have participated in tarpon conservation by catching and tagging tarpon. They’ve contributed to the science, which makes me proud. It’s nice when your children enjoy the same things you do, although, down the road, they might curse me for spawning the tarpon addiction. I see a lot of frustration and sweating in their futures. And not enough eats. MB Ernest Ladd IV is a lifelong Mobilian and a partner at Thames Batre Insurance. MB contributor Breck Pappas assisted with this story.

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FOOD | BAY TABLES

Together Again In a world of uncertainty, comfort can be found at the dinner table. text by AMANDA HARTIN • photos by ELIZABETH GELINEAU

A

ll five Jacksons congregate inside their Spring Hill kitchen, brought in by the tantalizing aroma of the pork tenderloin resting on the stovetop. Lolling at the table, Walton Jr. asks, “Who’s your favorite, Mom?” with a laugh, momentarily interrupting the chatter of conversation around the room. Ashley casts a quick smile over her shoulder, not answering her 16-yearold’s question, and returns to slicing meat, her daughter, Abby looking on.

Standing with dad Walton Sr. is oldest daughter Sarah Hunter, home from the University of Alabama since mid-spring.

They’re busily discussing who’s bringing what to an upcoming family gathering in Fort Morgan. It’s the little things like this, the meal-planning and joking with her dad and hanging out with her brother and sister, that the 21-year-old rising senior has missed. She knows being together again, although unexpectedly, is the silver lining in a cloud of uncertainty surrounding a pandemic.

“It has been fun to be able to see things rather than just hear about it on the phone,” Sarah Hunter says, placing the broccoli salad on the table, a dish she helped prepare and looks forward to fixing each Christmas. “But I do miss my alone time,” she laughs, nudging her sister playfully. “Yeah, it’s good having her home, but I don’t like it when she borrows my clothes,” Abby, 17, retorts, smiling.

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The large picture window in the kitchen allows the late afternoon sun to spill over onto the one-of-a-kind table from Charles Phillips Antiques, now set with family favorites, like sour cream butter biscuits and brown rice consommé. As her family digs in, Ashley looks on, a gentle smile on her face. “I like having everybody here,” she says, her eyes giving way to joy. “It makes me feel settled.”

Sensing a sappy turn, her husband pipes, “The last time Ashley cooked, we all got food poisoning.” Laughter ensues, all acknowledging Walton Sr.’s uncanny ability to turn everything into a joke.

“But seriously,” the attorney with Maynard Cooper & Gale continues, “we’ve eaten more together in the past three months than we have in the past year.” Heads nod in agreement.

Conversation comes easy as do the grins and chuckles. There’s a feeling of comfort in this place, the heart of the home, that’s dec-

orated in cool blues and sentimental keepsakes, both from Ashley’s time as a teacher’s aide at St. Paul’s and from her children.

“This is the best thing,” Abby says, finishing off her piece of strawberry ice cream pie. Ashley takes note to make it more often. As the family starts to disseminate, with dad returning to work and Walton Jr. heading to ball practice, Sarah Hunter watches from the banquette, taking stock of more than just the activity in front of her.

“At the end of the day, the biggest part of our family is our mom,” she says out of earshot of Ashley, when asked about what family means to her. Abby agrees and adds, “Someone is always here for us, encouraging us.” This Jackson family “recipe” for comfort and acceptance, cultivated over time, can’t be found in Ashley’s treasured box of tried-and-true keepers, but it might be the most important one that gets handed down.

SOUR CREAM BUTTER BISCUITS YIELDS 3 DOZEN

With only three ingredients, this Southern staple can be whipped up any night of the week.

1 cup sour cream 2 cups self-rising flour 2 sticks butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix all ingredients well and spoon into miniature muffin tin. Bake for 10 - 15 minutes, or until golden.

Opposite Sisters Abby (standing) and Sarah Hunter Jackson have missed sharing laughs in person.

Above A plate full of favorites. Ashley Jackson’s box of treasured recipes.

Basketful of poppable, warm biscuits.

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BROCCOLI SALAD SERVES 10

Raisins add a sweet tang to this easy salad. Ashley recommends soaking the raisins in water one hour before preparation — the raisins magically plump and become irresistibly juicy and flavorful.

1 large broccoli head, chopped 1 cup raisins, plumped 1 small red onion, chopped 8 ounces sunflower seeds 1 pound bacon, fried and crumbled 1/2 cup mayonnaise 1/2 cup sour cream 1/4 cup sugar 3 tablespoons cider vinegar

1. Add broccoli, raisins, red onion, sunflower seeds and bacon to a large bowl and toss.

2. For the dressing, in a smaller, separate bowl, mix remaining ingredients and pour over salad. Stir well and serve.

Above Ashley gives Sarah Hunter’s broccoli salad one last mix. Strawberry ice cream pie is a sweet end to any summertime dinner. Walton Jackson Sr. bellies up with dinnertime humor.

PORK TENDERLOIN WITH RED PLUM PRESERVE MARINADE SERVES 8 - 10

This recipe was handed down from Walton Sr.’s mother, Martha Jackson. Ashley uses Smucker’s Red Plum jam, which can also be used as a spread for the biscuits.

1 (2 - 3 pound) pork tenderloin onion powder, to taste garlic powder, to taste salt, to taste 2 tablespoons butter 3/4 cup onion, chopped 1 cup red plum preserves 2 cups Dr. Pepper 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1/3 cup chili sauce 1/4 cup soy sauce 2 teaspoons mustard 3 drops Tabasco sauce

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place tenderloin, fat side up, in a baking dish, and season with onion powder, garlic powder and salt.

2. For the marinade, melt butter in a saucepan and saute onion. Add remaining ingredients, and simmer for 15 minutes.

3. Baste tenderloin with prepared marinade, reserving some, and place baking dish in oven. Continue basting every 15

to 20 minutes. Bake for 35 - 45 minutes per pound, or until the internal temperature of the pork is 155 degrees.

4. Remove from heat and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

BROWN RICE CONSOMMÉ SERVES 6

Another recipe handed down from Martha Jackson, this easy side dish is one the Jacksons enjoy regularly.

1 stick of butter 1 small onion, diced 1 cup white rice, uncooked 2 (10.5-ounce) cans beef broth

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a saucepan, melt butter and saute onion. Mix in rice and cook on low heat for 5 minutes.

2. In an ovenproof dish, pour in beef consommé and add the rice, onion and butter mixture.

3. Bake until liquid is absorbed, about 30 minutes.

august 2020 | mobilebaymag.com 37

STRAWBERRY ICE CREAM PIE WITH HOT FUDGE SAUCE SERVES 8 - 10 Cammie’s Old Dutch strawberry ice cream makes this dish extra delicious.

Ashley’s friend, Elizabeth Harris, contributed the outta-this-world hot fudge sauce recipe.

25 chocolate sandwich cookies, finely crushed (Oreos work well) 1 cup butter, divided 1/2 gallon strawberry ice cream, softened 1 (8-ounce) package unsweetened chocolate baking squares 2 cups sugar 1 cup milk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/8 teaspoon salt fresh strawberries, sliced, for garnish

1. Mix crushed cookies with 1/2 cup melted butter. Pour into 9-inch pie pan, and firmly press to form crust.

Spoon ice cream onto crust, smoothing out the top.

2. For the sauce, melt chocolate and remaining 1/2 cup butter in a large saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly. Add sugar and cook, stirring constantly for 30 seconds. Add milk and cook, stirring constantly for 3 minutes. Be careful not to bring to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract and salt. Let cool until sauce thickens but is still pourable.

3. Drizzle sauce over ice cream and garnish with strawberry slices.

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Above, clockwise Walton Jackson Jr. gets caught in predinner banter. Pretty-in-pink ice cream pie, drizzled with delicious hot fudge sauce and dressed with sweet berries. Sarah Hunter enjoys the view from the banquette.

august 2020 | mobilebaymag.com 39

PEOPLE | SPOTLIGHT

Balancing Act On the heels of the 10th anniversary of branching out on her own, local PR maven Jennifer Jenkins talks about juggling that seemingly elusive work / life balance. interview by MAGGIE LACEY • portrait by NICKOLE HAYMAKER

So to start, what does work / life balance mean to you? How do you define that?

Oh my gosh, I would say, “Is there such a thing?” (She laughs.)

No, I actually do believe there is such a thing. For my team and me, it’s about identifying whatever your most important priority is for that day — whether it’s a big presentation with a client or your mom is sick and having surgery or a child is graduating from preschool — these are big deals and need to be put in a place of priority. Since we are an all-female company, and more than half of our team members are working moms who need flexibility in order to maintain that balance, I wanted to make sure this is a place where no one has to choose between family or career.

Before we get started, I have to acknowledge that if you were a man, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation! Katie Couric has started asking top male executives how they “do it all,” since that is a question continuously asked of women at the top of their fields. But there is something about the way both you and your staff talk about balancing work and family that made me think that a lot of MB’s readers could relate.

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Were there times in your career when you didn’t believe a healthy balance was achievable?

Once I had my third child, it was really hard to think about travelling overnight, multiple nights at a time, leaving kids at home. There was definitely a time in my early career when women in particular tried to shield their role as a mom and a wife, fearful that would be a barrier to success.

I think there is so much more understand-

ing in the workplace today than there used to be. When I started JJPR, it was just me — solo entrepreneurship with one client.

But as my business began to grow, what I found was that prioritizing a balance was a great strategy for recruiting and retaining really accomplished employees. Finding that balance was the foundation on which I built JJPR. Was there a moment that pushed you to make the leap to your own agency?

When my youngest got sick with RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) after I had gone back to work, the first thing I was asked was if she could be left at daycare or with a babysitter, and that’s a part of what pushed me to break out on my own. That tug was really, really strong. It was more important for me to take care of family, but I still wanted to do the work and have a career. I didn’t realize it could grow to what it is today.

And was it a scary leap?

It was a huge decision. I was leaving a really good job with benefits at a solid agency, and some people have told me since that I was a pioneer. I never thought of it that way! But even just 10 years ago, there were no “boss babes” and hashtags for all that. No one was running from the corporate structure or trying to do something on their own to be able to balance that work and family life. But my husband Gerry said, “If this is how you’re feeling, you need to do it.” Like when I was

asked to be president of the Junior League when I was more than 8 months pregnant.

I can’t believe you said yes!

I know! I remember talking to Gerry about it. I knew it would be a wonderful learning experience for me, and it truly was a training ground for this business. I am also a big pros-and-cons-list-maker, and I remember going through long lists when I wanted to start my own agency. It was an eye-opener to look at the pros and cons and realize I could still do certain things, even if I started my own agency, but there were things I couldn’t do if I stayed where I was. I am a gut person, I feel the decision. But once we made that list, it was pretty obvious.

What hours do you work these days?

It’s definitely an ebb and flow. When the pandemic hit, I was working way more hours, upwards of 60 hours a week, because during those weeks and months our clients were the top priority. They needed our support.

By and large I have been able to dial back my hours compared to when I first started the business. And our team members have that same ebb and flow. Sometimes we work late nights, we work events and we adjust our hours to compensate for that. This summer I have been trying to have Fridays at home to do something fun with my children. I can’t always do that, but I have to give myself a little pass because flexibility doesn’t always work on schedule.

How do you keep work from seeping into your home life?

Personally, I stopped looking at emails on weekends and at night because it stressed me out and there was nothing I could do in that moment. I was working hard all day, and I wasn’t turning off so I could have my focus and my attention on my kids.

Do you have any specific memories of your kids coming to work with you?

Graham was a little baby when I once interviewed (via phone) Port Authority Director

Jimmy Lyons. Graham was a quiet baby normally, but he just wailed. Jimmy Lyons was great about it. I was 26 at the time and completely mortified. It was a really big interview.

My son, Miles, used to drive to the office with me so much that he memorized my Starbucks drive-through order by heart! But he has grown to have such a work ethic, and I’m proud of that.

Then my youngest, Ann Page, was 6 months old when I started JJPR. She came to work with me quite a lot. I remember her as a little baby in a bouncy seat next to me as I was making phone calls.

One of my vivid memories is when Ann Page turned 1. The business wasn’t quite a year old, and we were knee-deep in the throes of doing the big grand opening for ThyssenKrupp Steel and ThyssenKrupp Stainless. I was working 18 to 20 hours some days. I ran home long enough for us to do a little family birthday celebration with cake and to take pictures, and then I was back off. That was difficult; I have had to make choices. That day of the birthday, the balance tugged toward work. We didn’t forgo any celebrating, but I needed to work on that launch.

What kind of leader are you?

My mentality is that “teamwork makes the dreamwork,” so we look out for one another. If you are a good leader, no one will know who the leader is because the team is empowered to make smart decisions, and I feel like I see that every day. They come to work with great ideas, but I have to empower them to think independently and let them know I value their ideas and skills.

How did quarantine affect your workflow and productivity?

I definitely think employers are realizing employees can be just as productive telecommuting. For us, we seamlessly moved to distance work because at some point through the years, we have all worked from home while we juggled life.

But there is no replacement for that in-

person team camaraderie. We did so many great brainstorming sessions in quarantine via Zoom, but once we got back together (at a safe social distance), we learned that there is no replacement for human connection.

We value that.

How do you practice self-care and avoid burnout?

I have a hard time with self-care. I am getting better as I get older. I get up very early in the morning before everyone else, have my coffee and read my devotion, plan my day and think through things. That quiet time is good for me and helps me avoid burnout. Getting away and truly disconnecting is good — going somewhere with terrible cell service, being in the moment and enjoying nature. Spending time disconnected is an important selfcare tactic. And I get a facial once a month; that’s my biggest indulgence as I age.

Can you find peace with the fact that you can’t give work and family 100 percent of what they want or need?

It’s taken me a long time to learn the word “no.” Someone once told me, “If it’s not a ‘hell yes,’ then it’s a ‘no.’” That’s sometimes hard because, like most moms, I want to do it all, but want and need are very different.

I have to prioritize my time, because I can’t make more of it. I don’t have more of myself to give to my family.

For example, I totally dropped the ball on the quarantine homeschooling — I failed at this! But it was a battle I couldn’t fight right then. But AP’s teacher was gracious. It was hard to keep up with, so my hat’s off to everybody who stays home with the children or teaches all day. None of it’s easy, and trying to do all of it during quarantine is unrealistic.

Doing it all is just impossible.

I have more choices because I work for myself, and that’s what I wanted when I set out on my own. I wanted choices. I have tried to work harder and harder to set boundaries that put my family first, but I struggle every day. MB

august 2020 | mobilebaymag.com 41

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PEOPLE | SPOTLIGHT

THE STORYTELLER Known as much for his theatrics as his devotion to children, librarian Frank Tigner shares stories not found on shelves. text by AMANDA HARTIN • photos by MEGGAN HALLER / KEYHOLE PHOTO

F

rom under a perfectly coifed handlebar mustache, Frank Tigner’s mouth twists and contorts, allowing a syrupy-thick Cajun accent to escape. “Who’s gonna fill this pot with water so I can cook up some gumbo,” he drawls, giving life to Monsieur Gator and peering around the room, all eyes glued on the man from whom the perfectly parsed pitch emanates. “I may have read this book a few times before,” he admits, after reading the last page upside down, a skill he perfected through the years.

It’s hard to believe that “Butch,” a moniker Tigner has worn since birth, doesn’t like to bring attention to himself. “I’m actually a relatively shy person,” he says as he places “Gator Gumbo” atop a mound of books nearby and settles back into the rocking chair. He’s clearly gifted at commanding attention.

“You can teach a crow to talk.”

Tigner spent his childhood splashing in creeks and running rutted dirt roads in Greenville, Georgia, a tiny speck of a town where gentlemen spent their lunch hours playing marbles in the town square and the phone operator knew everyone’s whereabouts.

“We’d ride to town in a goat-pulled wagon,” Tigner begins, the first of many stories to bubble up that afternoon. “The goat’s name was ‘Doat.’ We would pick up Co’Cola bottles on the way and trade them in when we got to Papa Todd’s general store. Then we’d sit on the porch, eatin’ soda crackers and hoop cheese and drinkin’ our cold Co’Colas.”

Many of Tigner’s boyhood stories center around a diminutive woman named Cha Cha (pronounced “Chay Chay”) who drove a huge black, two-door Chevy with 2-by-4s taped to the clutch and the brake.

“She lived to be 99,” he says of his 4-foot-7-inch greataunt who had a menagerie of playmates for Tigner and his brother, including Doat the goat. “She also had a pony named Eggnog and a talking crow — I promise it was a crow!” he laughs, sensing disbelief.

Stories of Cha Cha trickled out in no particular order, like the time she taught a young Tigner to make elderberry wine and the time she showed him how to make fruitcake, the kind that made people ask for seconds. She showed him the best picnicking rock, where they’d spend hours at a time splashing in the cool water, and she always made sure Santa’s footprints were visible come Christmas morn. Having no kids of her own, she made sure her nieces and nephews felt special. He did. And it’s a trait that must’ve rubbed off on him.

“I’m as photogenic as a pregnant walrus.”

He’s got a sense of humor, that’s for sure. That, paired with his engaging demeanor, is a match made in limelight heaven. Tigner made his stage debut in first grade.

“I played the rain,” he laughs of the probably-notmeant-to-be-comedic role. “I was in a yellow raincoat with tinsel hanging from it.” A theatrical time line dotted with school plays and collegiate choir shows leads to Mobile where he settled in at Chickasaw Civic Theatre.

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“I don’t dance well,” he muses. “I’m usually the comic relief in musicals.”

That’s another thing about this man with the jolly laugh — he’s self-aware, at least nowadays.

“I wanted to be a pharmacist when I grew up,” Tigner says, noting he was next in line to become a fourth-generation druggist at the pharmacy his great-grandfather established. “I grew up working in our drug store. We had a soda fount, and I dipped ice cream and made shakes until I was about 15. Then I started helping my dad count pills in the prescription department. But then I got to college and hit physics. Science wasn’t my forte.”

Tigner stepped away from school to regroup, and it was during his time working as a college recruiter that his calling became evident: teaching. When his mother — who was also his first grade teacher — heard the new plan, she told her eldest, “I always knew you were going to be a teacher.

Teachers are born, they aren’t created.”

The man full of stories and faces and voices soon found his rhythm as a high school history teacher. What likely caught

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kids’ attention more than his booming voice — or arched eyebrow — was Tigner’s genuine desire to make a connection with his students. “I would read to them,” he says. “I would even read ‘Oh, the Places You’ll Go’ to my 9th and 10th graders. You never get tired of getting read to.”

After 15 years in the classroom and 12 years as an elementary media specialist, Tigner retired and moved further south. But his showmanship and teaching were far from over.

“I’m where I’m supposed to be.”

Inside the meeting room of the Monte L. Moorer Branch of the Mobile Public Library, a cabinet is covered with colorful book-themed arts and crafts, and a lone multicooker pot sits on a table. “This is where I’m supposed to be,” Tigner smiles, now donning a chef ’s hat embroidered with the name “Francois.”

“It’s French for Frank, you know.”

But around these parts, he is known as “Mr. Butch.” And he’s pretty famous among one particular group, with fans rushing to greet him in places like the grocery store.

“They’ll come running up the aisle, ‘Mr.

Butch, Mr. Butch!’” Tigner says of the children who recognize him from story time at the library. “I’d get down on one knee and hug them.”

Though no children of his own, much like his great-aunt Cha Cha, Tigner’s heart is far from empty. “I just love being with kids,” he says. And he hasn’t let social distancing restrictions keep him out of sight. Each week, Tigner uploads a video of story time, which opens the same way as always, with a rousing round of “Story Time is Here,” sung to the tune of “The Addams Family” theme song.

“I’ve also started doing cooking videos,” he says, nodding to the appliance.

As he approaches his sixth decade, it may be safe to say Tigner is, indeed, at his appointed place. An amalgamation of teacher, entertainer and storyteller, the self-described tender-hearted man could be summed up with one word: “friend.” Especially to the littlest among us. “I just enjoy being with kids, just seeing their faces when I’m reading to them or singing along with them. I can’t think of another way to say it. They give me unconditional love; they love me, and I love them. And I think they know it.” MB

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WONDER

KIDS

Meet 11 students who have exceeded all expectations for anyone their ages.

Despite such trying times, these young men and women are the embodiment of excellence.

text by JAIMIE MANS • photos by MATTHEW COUGHLIN

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BARRY DUNNING 11th grade McGill-Toolen High School Basketball Sensation

F WHY HE ROCKS You could say that basketball runs through Barry’s veins; he has been playing for as long as he can remember. This dedication to the sport is displayed in his ability to bolster his high school team, averaging double digits in scoring and rebounding. His push for greatness has paid off; Barry is the state’s top-ranked prospect for the Class of 2022.

F OFF THE COURT Basketball aside, Barry enjoys gardening. He also likes playing video games, “Naruto” being his favorite.

F FUTURE PLANS When asked about his dream, Barry shows no hesitation: playing in the NBA. Before the NBA, he hopes to go to college to study sports medicine.

F BIGGEST INFLUENCE Barry’s grandmother plays a significant role in his success.

She attends every game, no matter how far away from home. “She always tells me to work hard. She inspires me every day.”

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LILY HOYLE 9th grade W.P. Davidson High School Documentarian

F WHY SHE ROCKS Lily embodies the adage that age is just a number. While she was attending Phillips Preparatory School, her documentary, focused on racially inspired lynchings, was screened at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. Along with filmmaking, she raises money for a school in Africa by selling painted oysters at a craft fair.

F FUTURE PLANS Lily is starting her first year at Davidson High School. Although 8th grade was one for the books, she is eager to challenge herself by joining Davidson’s IB program in the fall.

F OUTSIDE OF THE CLASSROOM When out from behind the camera, Lily continues to fight against racial inequality. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she participated in a children’s march for Black Lives Matter.

“This opened my eyes to how the world’s just not perfect.

There are so many things that need to change.”

F BIGGEST INFLUENCE Lily’s grandmother reminds her daily to “spread love.” Very active in Lily’s daily routine, her grandmother devotes her life to helping others, an attribute Lily hopes to embody herself.

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JOI WILLIAMS 11th grade MCPSS Academy of Virtual Learning Mentor and Model

F WHY SHE ROCKS From a young age, Joi knew she wanted to spread her love for reading to others, and she has done just that. Joi started Literacy 4 Life, a company that collects and distributes books to lower-income schools in the Mobile area. Her giving back to the community doesn’t stop there. Joi is also a U.S. ambassador for the Wisdom Foundation, an organization that connects children around the world through writing letters; Joi travels the globe distributing these letters to each child.

When not traveling the globe delivering letters, Joi models.

She has modeled in fashion weeks in New York City, Los Angeles, Atlanta and London.

F OUTSIDE OF MODELING Despite Joi’s busy schedule, she always makes time to read. Currently, she’s immersed herself in a fantasy land, rereading one of her favorite series, “The School for Good and Evil.”

F FUTURE PLANS Joi hopes to graduate in December of 2022. After continuing her work for the Wisdom Foundation, she plans to come back to the States to study at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York.

F BIGGEST INFLUENCE Joi’s biggest influence is her mom. “She’s been with me every step of the way … She’s one of my best friends.”

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ELSIE HARRIS Recently graduated Ben C. Rain High School Athlete

F WHY SHE ROCKS Elsie’s determination on the basketball court makes her a natural leader. Throughout her high school career, she led her team to the 5A regionals, averaging 27 points per game.

She is unstoppable; when basketball goals in her neighborhood were removed during quarantine, Elsie scoured the city, finally finding one lone hoop. It was here that she continued playing, ensuring that she kept bettering her game.

F OFF THE COURT Although she puts in hours of work for her school team, Elsie can’t help but play basketball in her free time. She says, “If [I’m] feeling down, I know I can go play basketball to help clear my mind.”

F BIGGEST INFLUENCE Elsie’s grandfather, Elijah Harris, who recently passed away, is still her motivator.

“He was fighting sickness for so long, [but] he always showed up at my games. Everything I did, I wanted to make him proud.”

F FUTURE PLANS Elsie has earned a full athletic scholarship from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. She will study nursing. After school, Elsie hopes to play in the WNBA.

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TUCKER MUSGROVE Recently graduated Mary G. Montgomery High School Baseballer

F WHY HE ROCKS Tucker’s dedication to success, both in the classroom and on the field, are what make him a role model for his peers.

Tucker served as class president during his first three years of high school, eager to make changes for the betterment of his class. He also graduated with a 4.5 GPA. F BIGGEST INFLUENCE Tucker is all about family.

When asked who gets him through the challenging times, he says, “My little brothers. They look up to me, so I have to stay straight and play for them.”

F FUTURE PLANS This fall, Tucker is continuing his baseball career at the University of Mobile. He is studying pre-health, with plans to become an orthodontist.

F OFF THE FIELD With social distancing rearing its ugly head this summer, Tucker has taken up golf.

He hopes that this activity, along with working out at the Performance Lab, will help to keep up his fitness level for the upcoming baseball season.

ALLEN BANKS 12th grade Citronelle Center for Advanced Technology SkillsUSA Leader

F WHY HE ROCKS For two years, Allen has been the secretary for Alabama’s SkillsUSA, a nonprofit organization that shapes future workforce leaders. Allen has risen to every occasion, successfully influencing others to be better leaders. When asked about how SkillsUSA has affected him, Allen discloses that the organization has helped him become a better worker, leader and more efficient with his time.

He believes that SkillsUSA is valuable to all, especially those who feel lost. For Allen, meeting and communicating with new people makes him a more well-rounded person.

F BIGGEST INFLUENCE “My mom is my biggest supporter. She has pushed me more than anyone in my whole life to strive for more. Basically, she’s the best mom ever.”

F FUTURE PLANS Allen plans to attend college after high school. He hopes to study business marketing.

F OUTSIDE OF POLITICS Like many high schoolers during the pandemic, Netflix was Allen’s best friend. When he left the house for some vitamin D, Allen headed straight to the basketball court with friends.

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STEPHEN CONRAD 11th grade St. Paul’s Episcopal School Swimming Phenom

F WHY HE ROCKS Stephen has been swimming since the age of 5, and his devotion has culminated with a No. 2 ranking in Alabama for his class.

“Swimming has taught me how to put in hard work and to never be satisfied …

I think it’s helped me understand that I’m not always going to be the best.

There’s always more work to be done.”

F OUT OF THE WATER Much like many of his teenage counterparts, Stephen enjoys playing basketball in his free time.

F FUTURE PLANS Stephen is ready to challenge himself. Due to COVID-19, he was unable to achieve his ultimate goal of competing in the 2020 Olympic Trials for swimming. However, he is ready to go for the next season!

F BIGGEST INFLUENCE Jeff Conrad, Stephen’s dad, has played a major role in Stephen’s perseverance. Jeff doesn’t just cheer on Stephen from the stands — he is a swimming official, on deck with Stephen for all of his races. “It didn’t matter what sport it was. It didn’t matter where it was. Through it all, my dad’s always been there for me.”

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VANESSA SIGGERS Recently graduated Murphy High School Science Whiz

F WHY SHE ROCKS F Not only did Vanessa graduate at the top of her class, she also earned the NOAA Sea Grant Scholarship at the Alabama Science and Engineering fair. She says, “Learning about science makes you think. It’s weird how so many phenomena occur around us, and there’s not really any direct evidence to explain everything … It’s just kind of mind-blowing.”

F BIGGEST INFLUENCE Vanessa’s mom, Valarie Farooq, is a registered nurse.

She has been the driving force in Vanessa’s career choice.

F OUTSIDE OF THE CLASSROOM Vanessa loves to watch movies. Her latest flick?

“Moonlight,” directed by Barry Jenkins.

F FUTURE PLANS Vanessa is attending the University of South Alabama this fall, where she plans to triple major in Spanish, French and biomedical science with hopes of becoming a physician.

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CLAIRE FRAZIER BOLTON Recently graduated McGill-Toolen High School Athlete and Singer

F WHY SHE ROCKS Claire Frazier is the epitome of multitalented. She began running for McGill-Toolen in 7th grade and hasn’t been able to stop since. She is a two-time national qualifier and an Alabama state record-holder in two events for track. In her time off the blacktop, Claire Frazier also sings. She released her first single in April.

F OFF THE TRACK “I love going on bike rides with my parents. We’ve done a lot of that since quarantine.”

F BIGGEST INFLUENCE McGill track coach Drew Bently is her biggest influence. Claire Frazier recounts Coach Bently’s mantra, “You have to be inspiring,” as the most impactful.

F FUTURE PLANS Claire Frazier is attending and running for the University of Virginia this fall. Due to her shortened season this past year because of the coronavirus, she plans on dedicating her races to McGill-Toolen in all of her future runs as a Cavalier.

KELSEY WHITE Recently graduated Baker High School Hurdler to Watch

F WHY SHE ROCKS Kelsey’s leaps and bounds are a trademark of her strength.

She is a phenomenal hurdler, showcasing her talent in the Alabama High School Athletic Association in 2019.

She also won the state heptathlon, which is made up of the 100-meter hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200-meter sprint, long jump, javelin and 800-meter run.

F BIGGEST INFLUENCE When asked who her greatest supporter has been, Kelsey immediately says her mom, Alexis White. “She’s the strongest woman I know … She’s strong-willed, strong-minded, she doesn’t let stuff bother her easily. My mom is my biggest inspiration.”

F FUTURE PLANS Kelsey is attending Samford University on a full athletic scholarship this fall. She is majoring in psychology, with plans to become a clinical psychologist for teenagers.

F OFF THE TRACK “I watch a lot of anime.

My favorite show on Netflix is ‘Naruto.’”

ELSA ENGERISER Recently graduated Bayside Academy Avid Academic and Sailor

F WHY SHE ROCKS When not in the classroom, Elsa is traveling up and down the East Coast to uncover truths about climate change.

In 2018, Elsa was selected to study global warming in the Arctic Circle by gathering chemical data and examining bird migration patterns. When she’s not on Naval 26s, she’s sailing 420s at the Fairhope Yacht Club.

F BIGGEST INFLUENCE Elsa’s parents, Barbara and Luke Engeriser, have always encouraged her to be excellent. “They’ve always supported me and helped me. My dad introduced me to science, and my mom helped with my career path.”

F OUT OF THE WATER Elsa’s academic nature affects everything she does. During the pandemic, she found jigsaw puzzles to be a great outlet for any quarantine stir-crazies.

F FUTURE PLANS This fall, Elsa is attending the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, majoring in either electrical engineering or computer science. Her dream job?

A theoretical physicist. MB

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PIRATE’S COVE: An Oral History There’s no way to tell the whole story of the rowdy beach bar and fabled dive, but its owners, employees and longtime regulars prove that it sure is fun to try. interviews by BRECK PAPPAS

I

f you were to tell someone to meet you where Robert’s Bayou meets Arnica Bay, they’d probably ask, “Where’s that?” Tell them to meet you at Pirate’s Cove, however, and they’d ask, “What time?”

Many around here know that the legendary third-generation beach shack in Elberta has a history littered with bushwackers, cheeseburgers, sandy canines and salty regulars. But few know that the bar and restaurant wouldn’t be what it is today without Civil War privateers, a high-end Chicago hotel and a German immigrant initiative in Baldwin County.

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Operated by brothers Paul and Karl Mueller (although ownership remains in the hands of their mother Eileen), Pirate’s Cove is a living tapestry of innumerable employees, regulars and “riff raff.” This is its unlikely story — in their words.

What’s the Cove’s early history?

Paul Mueller, co-manager: The structure was built somewhere around 1935 as part of the Intracoastal Waterway project. It was a CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) work camp. There were cottages along the beach that were housing for the officers, and there

was a bunkhouse for enlisted personnel. So they lived here, and the restaurant was a general store. So it was just the supply spot.

The name Pirate’s Cove has to do with Admiral Semmes and this area being a haven for [Civil War-era] privateers. The legend is that the privateers knew how to get in and out of Perdido Pass and survive. They would use really small ships — I mean 40 or 50 feet long. They were very shallow-draft, and they could come in on high tide where, Above A rare, quiet evening at Pirate’s Cove.

PHOTO BY CHAD EDWARDS / MCE PHOTOGRAPHY

if they were being pursued, larger ships couldn’t get in. You’ve got to remember, there was no Intracoastal Waterway. So the passageway between here and Big Lagoon was super shallow.

Eileen Mueller, owner: What [Semmes] really was, was a pirate. And he used to come up into Robert’s Bayou. There’s a little crook in it, and you can hide back there. If I’ve got a sailboat, you can’t see the mast. You can’t see anything. And so it was his little hidey hole after he pirated somebody. But that is actually a fact because I talked to a college professor who taught at UWF, and he had documentation of that.

Karl Mueller, co-manager: Raphael Semmes actually had a house at the head of the Bayou. They say that you can find the fireplace foundation for his house back in the woods, but I’ve never seen it.

of Baldwin County and they would sell the farmland off to immigrants so they could get started in the United States. So that was their connection with the area.

Eileen Mueller: I have to say, the reason this place is here is because of the stubbornness of [my mother-in-law] Elsa because they moved down here in the winter of ’56 and her husband died either in January or February, six or eight weeks after they moved here. And so she had it by herself with a 14-year-old boy, and she kept it together, and it was nothing like this. There were no people here. I mean, there would be days when the total take would be $15. She was a very determined woman.

Jeanette Bornholt, patron and Foley Librarian: Shortly after the purchase, Mr. Mueller died and his wife Elsa, known to all as “Miss Kitty,” with her young son man-

aged it through the years. Miss Kitty was a most unique, very intelligent woman from what we Southern folks would call “upper crust” society. A number of years ago, I was fortunate to be invited to one of Miss Kitty’s rare but always memorable dinners where all the best dining service was used to serve about 12 young women of the area, with Eileen assisting her mother-in-law. Miss Kitty did the cooking herself, and let me tell you, my memory of that delicious meal still serves me.

Paul Mueller: She upscaled the food because she was taught how to cook in those [hotel] kitchens, you know? Really high-end food. She would cook whatever she felt like cooking. From what I understood, if you requested something, you were guaranteed not to get it — just a tough German lady.

My grandmother passed away in 1980.

Paul Mueller: It’s been operating under the name Pirate’s Cove for a really long time — before my family owned it. In fact, that building has two roofs on it. The original roof is still there underneath the tall roof, and it has Pirate’s Cove painted on the roof so the Navy pilots could read it as they were flying over, because Wolf Field was active.

Karl Mueller: Our grandparents bought Pirate’s Cove in December of ’56. My grandfather (Paul Helmuth) actually owned a newspaper in Chicago. The Abendpost.

Eileen Mueller: That was my father-inlaw. Readership started going off, more and more people were just speaking English, and the paper just failed, so they had to find some other way to make a living.

Paul Mueller: My grandmother Elsa’s family owned the Bismarck Hotel in Chicago in the 1920s and ‘30s. So she grew up in a very fancy hotel.

Karl Mueller: So to come here, from Chicago and a nice neighborhood, to superrural Alabama and live in a little cottage — I can’t imagine the culture shock that had to happen. My great-grandfather had been part of the Baldwin County Colonization Board … that group owned a huge chunk

Above The elder Paul Mueller (left) and Tom Hutchings at Pirate’s Cove, 1986. PHOTO FROM PRESS-REGISTER FILE

Left Pirate’s Cove, pictured in the late 1970s. PHOTO COURTESY PIRATE’S COVE

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My father at that point was basically running this place, as he did until he died of cancer in 1996. As for me, I didn’t expect to pick up the reins when I was 26 years old, but life intervened.

What about all the dogs?

Paul Mueller: We had a lot of dogs as kids around here. I mean, at one point I think we had five or six. Because we had dogs, then other people would just bring theirs or people that were living in the marina would have a dog on their boat and that dog would be here. I don’t know, it just happened.

Eileen Mueller: The most famous dog was Tiki.

Karl Mueller: Or Riff Raff. He was named after a derogatory comment that somebody made about our customers (laughs).

Eileen Mueller: But Tiki was an English Mastiff. She was enormous. We’ve just always had dogs. Our dogs kind of look askance at ones that are on leashes. They don’t know what to think about that.

Paul Mueller: Tiki could eat a cheeseburger in 1.6 seconds. I think that was her record.

And not drop anything.

Rick Cheatwood, longtime employee: We’ve had some beautiful dogs. When I die, I want to come back as a dog at Pirate’s Cove.

I got here June 6, I think, of ’87. I’m from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, right outside of Tulsa. My sister lived here, and they had a boat here. I was living in Colorado and hating the cold. So I got in a car and drove all the way here.

I started out bartending, cooking, just about everything. I worked from 8 in the

“DOGS ARE FAMILY. WOULD YOU CHAIN YOUR GRANDMA OUTSIDE?” – A one-time sign at Pirate’s Cove

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morning ’til midnight sometimes … then I bought a camper and parked it right here.

It’s been here since then. Well, three different ones.

I left Oklahoma when I was 19, so I’ve been here for basically my whole life. One of my favorite memories — it was right around Christmas, and it was about 5 or 6 degrees. We got into the cooler because it was warmer in there than it was in the restaurant. [Paul’s] dad walked in and looked, and he started laughing. He says, “Tell them to finish their beers, and we’re just going to close it up.”

Their father once told me that as long as I worked from April to September, I could take the winter off and still have a job, so I’ve done that. I go to Mexico every year, Central America, then I come back and go to work. I’ve been doing that for 30 years.

I used to keep my money in the safe. I wouldn’t hardly spend any of it. And Paul’s dad would hand me my envelope the day before I left.

One time, my mother was in the doctor’s office in Tulsa. And a nurse there said that they took a vacation to the Gulf Coast of Alabama. And my mom said, “Oh really?

Where’d you go?”

And the lady said, “A place called Pirate’s Cove.”

“Really? Did you see a guy there that was tall behind the bar?”

And that the nurse says, “You mean Rick?”

So it’s a small world (laughs).

Karl Mueller: You’ll want to talk to [bartender] Lucia, but Lucia’s stories are sometimes less than factual. If she doesn’t remember a detail, she just makes up a new one.

Lucia Wills, longtime employee: I’ve worked here a long time, and I love it. It’s part of my world. I grew up in Lillian, on Soldier Creek. I lived on the same street as a boy who worked here. I was picking tomatoes at a local farm, and he said, “Come work at the Cove,” so I did. That was in 1988. I’ve had other jobs, I did other things, but this was always my weekend job. Eventually, we had a bartender retire, and Karl let me have the job. That was about 20 years ago, and I’ve done this full-time since.

As a 13-year-old, it seemed like a different

planet. And as I’ve grown older I realize it is, and it was. We had a huge marina, so there were always these people from all over the world sitting right at the bar telling all these wild stories about their sailing lives. We’re from a small town, so even having someone here like Rick Cheatwood; he’s a stellar human and he’s also an against-the-grain kind of guy. So to have him here was even megainteresting.

As for how it’s changed over my time here, we’ve gotten really busy, and we’ve become a very hot spot. We get a lot of tourists who have never been to the area. Back in the day, you knew everyone that came in here, where they lived, who their mama was, who their kids were. Kids ran around wild because there were just 100 people here instead of 1,000. When we first switched to our computer system, we had ... a file box from A to Z, and it had people’s names in it, with all these pieces of paper. And that’s how you ran a tab. So kids would just come in and they’d be like, “Put it on my parents’ tab,” and without even a name, because we knew all these children. And at the end of every season, they would bill these guys.

My earliest dog memories are of Toby and Riff Raff, and those were both the Muellers’ dogs. Toby was a big Great Dane lab mix and Riff Raff, I think, was probably a yellow lab of some sort. We’ve always had dogs, and they’ve always been awesome. They’ve become part of Pirate’s Cove’s charms. Customers, when they come now and they don’t see dogs, want to know where the dogs are.

Paul Mueller: We had another dog named Ink Spot. His favorite place to lay was behind the bar, right under the bartender’s feet. And you could step on him and he didn’t care.

Lucia Wills: Several years ago, a box washed up on this beach that had dog ashes in it that these people had put off to sea. And this box belonged to people that had a boat here at one time. We had the box, and it was at the bar, and they recognized it as theirs!

Of course, there was the legendary Tiki, and she was really our first Cove dog that was more obsessed with hanging at the Cove than any other dog. Tiki just loved the deck and the people and the burgers and the at-

tention. She was a very notable dog, not to mention she was a 200-pound gentle giant.

I love this place, and I take as much charge as I can. I do whatever is needed.

I’m cool as a cucumber now. Certainly in my early 30s a super-stressful day was not as easy to manage. Now I’m of the mindset that everyone is here to have a good time.

People only want drinks and food — neither of those things are stressful. The job is very active, it’s very engaging, but the stress is all up to Paul and Karl.

Bushwackers and cheeseburgers Paul Mueller: On super busy days, we’ll serve 3,000 bushwackers. And I was totally against us buying the machine to make those things ... because I thought it cost too much money. Oh, was I so wrong (laughs).

We’re now the number one Malibu independent retailer in the country. Like, we became a topic of conversation at their board meetings because all of a sudden, there’s this anomaly that shows up: What is this place?

Why are they on this list?

Jack Nenstiel, patron: I’ve been going to Pirate’s Cove since I was a little kid. When I was 12, I got my boating license, and that was the same year I got Lana, my golden retriever, for Christmas. I didn’t start going by myself until I was 15 or 16, but when we went, Lana had free reign at the Cove. When I was ready to

leave, I’d just whistle and she’d come around a corner, eating someone’s cheeseburgers or pizza. She was a beggar from day one.

When Lana was about 14, she got sick several times.

Thinking the end was near, every Saturday or Sunday we’d take her to the Cove and get her a cheeseburger. That was her weekly thing. She hung on for another two years (laughs).

I guess she had something to live for every week.

I wouldn’t call it the little hole-in-the-wall dive bar any more. I don’t remember people knowing what it was when I was a kid. I don’t even remember if they had T-shirts. Paul and Karl have adapted and done great. They handle the crowds and all that.

Emily, a patron from Louisiana: We’ve been coming here for at least 10 years. In fact, one of our dog’s ashes are here because this was her favorite place to come. Her name was Sadie. She would just lay right there, and the waves would just wash over her.

It’s definitely gotten more popular, so there’s way more people than when we first came … the people are just friendly. There’s no uppity pinky-in-the-air people here.

Top left An aerial view of Pirate’s Cove, situated at the mouth of Robert’s Bayou. PHOTO BY MICDESIGNS, MICDESIGNS.COM

Top right Golden retriever Lana Nenstiel lived two of her happiest years on a diet of Pirate’s Cove cheeseburgers. PHOTO COURTESY JACK NENSTIEL

Above The one-of-a-kind eclectic interior of Pirate’s Cove. PHOTO COURTESY PIRATE’S COVE

august 2020 | mobilebaymag.com 61

Cathe Steele, former music manager and employee: The first time I visited Pirate’s Cove was in 1992. There would be people from all over the world ... there were so many people who — you weren’t really sure if the name they gave you was their real name. There was Bankrobber Tony, who was actually a real bankrobber, hiding out at Pirate’s Cove. There were about three different Bills: Ponytailed Bill, Wild Bill, Shorttailed Bill.

Karl Mueller: The marina probably drew in the most interesting characters. We had Willie Lipe, who quit his job as a tugboat captain to make a living playing harmonica (laughs). I mean, there’s been so many.

Cathe Steele: I became their music manager in 2004, and I would organize music and songwriter events. After about a year, they gave me a bar job.

We had a special night in 2006 where it really kind of all broke lose. It was my 50th birthday in the middle of January. It was probably 20- or 30-knot winds outside and 24 degrees. And the wind was ripping and freezing cold. Well, then you could smoke in the bar, and the room would fill up with smoke. So 250 people showed up for this, and we fit 250 people in that bar. People were dancing on the bar, dancing on the tables. And every once in a while when the room would get too full of smoke, somebody would yell that they were going to open the door. And we’d open the windward side of the bar doors and the leeward side of the bar doors. And the wind would whip through and whip all the smoke out.

Then we’d slam the doors and just go on.

There was a guy that night who had a fake leg, so he would walk around in the middle of the room … and he would take tips in his wooden leg. It was incredible.

At one point during the night, there were three ladies up on the bar where Lucia was. Lucia was working that night, sitting there smoking a cigarette, listening to the music. There was an elderly lady who was dancing on the bar … and Lucia saw her tipping backward. I’m standing there thinking, “This lady’s going to crack her skull.” Lucia puts her cigarette down, sets her drink down, just reaches up there and shoves her

62 mobilebaymag.com | august 2020

back up on the bar, and she just kept on dancing.

I worked as a bartender there from 2004 to 2011 … You would get people from all walks of life and all over the world. The conversations that you would hear ran the gamut from stories to tall-tales to half-lies and half-truths. But I had more fun, I will tell you, in my years of working as a bartender at Pirate’s Cove than I have had in my whole life … It was a joy to be able to experience this wide variety of human nature that came from everywhere or came just passing through.

Karl Mueller: You’ll have the garbage man right next to the heart surgeon, and they’re talking about the same stuff. It just goes to show that people are really the same.

Cathe Steele: There was a rhythm to being a bartender at Pirate’s Cove that was almost like a community. And there were people who got it, folks who would get the Cove, and people who did not get the Cove. You would tell people, “You’re going to have to wait for a while, because it takes a while to cook these burgers” … there were those who would complain and not come back, and there were those who realized what it was and became regulars.

Lucia Wills: I could not pick my favorite regular customers, that’s almost impossible to say. I love all the people who love the fact that Pirate’s Cove has changed but they’re not mad about it. Those are the people I like. And the people that, when they come to the Cove, they’re not just coming for a bushwacker and a burger. They’re coming because this is something they’ve always done — their parents did it, and their grandparents did it. We have a lot of customers who — I remember bringing food out to their parents when I was a kid!

Karl Mueller: It’s always changing. It’s almost like a living thing.

Eileen Mueller: You just can’t be very stuck on yourself if you come here. You have to just accept the whole world as it is. MB

Some interview excerpts were edited for clarity and brevity.

august 2020 | mobilebaymag.com 63

LEADERS

IN HEALTH IN THE FOLLOWING PAGES, MEET DISTINGUISHED HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS FROM MOBILE AND BALDWIN COUNTIES WHO HAVE POSITIONED THEMSELVES AS INDUSTRY LEADERS.

THESE PROVIDERS HELP PUT THE BAY AREA ON THE MAP AS A REGIONAL HUB FOR TOP-NOTCH MEDICAL CARE, WITH A FOCUS ON CREATING A HAPPIER, HEALTHIER SOUTH ALABAMA.

64 mobilebaymag.com | august 2020

PHOTO BY CHAD RILEY

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION | LEADERS IN HEALTH

ADHD Medical Clinic DR. ALMAND WESTBROOK AND DR. KIMBERLY WESTBROOK ARE DEDICATED TO PROVIDING QUALITY CARE TO ADULTS AND ADOLESCENTS WITH ADHD IN MOBILE AND BALDWIN COUNTIES.

What is your mission?

Our goal is to help our patients achieve success by providing individualized care in a relaxed yet professional environment.

How do you make sure patients get the best care/results?

We combine state of the art testing and clinical interviews to obtain an accurate diagnosis. ADHD symptoms can vary greatly between individuals and can change throughout the lifespan. By customizing treatment plans and taking the time to listen to our patients’ concerns, we are

able to minimize the effects that their symptoms have on their everyday lives.

What contributes to your success?

When diagnosing and treating our patients, we learn about them as people, not just as our patients. We want each patient to feel understood, and we take pride in helping them achieve success in their careers and/ or education.

What sets your practice apart?

require time and attention that is often difficult to provide in a primary care practice.

By spending time getting to know our patients’ unique lifestyles, we can determine the best treatment plan for each individual person.

How has your business grown or changed and where are you going from here?

Many of our patients are from Baldwin County, and in the spring of 2019, we opened an office in Fairhope.

Due to the nature of ADHD, our patients

Mobile: 2651 Old Shell Road • 251-243-7058 • Fairhope: 101 Lottie Lane, Unit 6 • 251-990-1980 • ADHD-Medical.com august 2020 | mobilebaymag.com 65

PHOTO BY CHAD RILEY

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION | LEADERS IN HEALTH

Alabama Medical Group, P.C. Lisa Burch, M.D., Internal Medicine Deepak Kumar, M.D., Rheumatology

ALABAMA MEDICAL GROUP’S BOARD OF DIRECTORS OPERATES TO FURTHER ITS MISSION TO IMPROVE THE HEALTH OF THOSE THEY SERVE

BY BLENDING MODERN MEDICINE WITH THE TIME-HONORED VALUES OF COMPASSION, EMPATHY AND RESPECT. LEARN MORE ABOUT THE LEADERSHIP ROLES OF PRESIDENT, DEEPAK KUMAR, M.D., AND SECRETARY/TREASURER, LISA BURCH, M.D. AND WHAT SETS A MULTISPECIALTY, PHYSICIAN-OWNED PRACTICE LIKE ALABAMA MEDICAL GROUP APART FROM OTHER AREA MEDICAL GROUPS IN OUR AREA.

What sets your practice apart?

What contributes to your success?

As the largest physician-owned, multispecialty practice in our area, the healthcare team at Alabama Medical Group (AMG) has the unique ability to represent physician partnerships and integration of practice management with patient care. By maintaining practice ownership, this enables our physicians to make decisions based strictly on patient benefit, such as equipment purchases and treatment offerings, which improves the quality and cost-effectiveness of our patients’ health care.

In the field of medicine, it’s all about patient care. At AMG, our clinical staff works in tandem with one another. When a practice has a supportive atmosphere, personnel look forward to coming to work, which positively affects how they interact with patients.

We believe this type of work environment enhances professional relationships and fosters camaraderie, which leads to positive patient experiences. The COVID-19 pandemic has served as a reminder that we are all part of one community that is stronger when we are working together.

How has your practice changed, and where are you going from here?

Alabama Medical Group first began caring for members of the community in 1946. A lot has changed in society and in medicine, but some things will never change — our commitment to care. With a devotion to excellence in all that we do, our vision is to transform the healthcare experience through a culture of caring, quality, innovation and excellence.

Our goal is to be recognized by our employees, physicians, patients and the community as the best place to receive medical care, best place to work and the best place to practice medicine.

101 Memorial Hospital Drive, Suite 200 • 251-414-5900 • AlabamaMedicalGroup.com 66 mobilebaymag.com | august 2020

PHOTO BY CHAD RILEY

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION | LEADERS IN HEALTH

AltaPointe Health

J. Tuerk Schlesinger, CEO SCHLESINGER IS THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF ALTAPOINTE HEALTH, ALABAMA’S LARGEST HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES ORGANIZATION SERVING MORE THAN 35,000 PEOPLE EACH YEAR.

What is your mission?

AltaPointe’s mission is to improve the health and wellness of people living with mental illness, intellectual disabilities and substance use disorders across seven counties.

What sets your practice apart?

We are fortunate to have 1,550 staff members across seven counties who demonstrate the ability to add value to everything we are doing with their dedication, creativity, and resourcefulness.

How do you make sure patients get the best care/results?

In today’s healthcare landscape, patients expect hospitals and health systems to provide high-quality care. What sets

providers apart is the ability to offer a personalized patient experience. Each day, AltaPointe’s leadership team and staff strive to create and sustain a “culture of quality.”

We hope to exceed patient expectations, whether in person or via telehealth.

What contributes to your success?

We have been able to build a leadership team that consists of the region’s brightest minds in psychiatry, management, technology and quality control. They and our employees are the key to our success now and in the future.

How has your business changed, and where are you going from here?

AltaPointe Health recognizes the need

to transform its core healthcare model to navigate the path ahead. We are redefining success by tackling the obstacle of timely and appropriate access to both behavioral and primary care. We continue to implement best practices while adopting new technologies and strategies to increase our focus on wholeperson care. Just as our predecessors met challenges that enhanced the care they provided, we must continually face and conquer challenges for the mental and physical well-being of people living with mental health issues, intellectual disabilities and substance use disorders. Past experiences have proven our resilience, and collectively we will get through this unprecedented time.

5750-A Southland Drive • 251-450-2211 • altapointe.org august 2020 | mobilebaymag.com 67

PHOTO BY CHAD RILEY

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION | LEADERS IN HEALTH

Baldwin Bone & Joint, P.C. BALDWIN BONE & JOINT IS A GROUP OF BOARD CERTIFIED, FELLOWSHIP-TRAINED ORTHOPAEDIC SPECIALISTS WITH OFFICE LOCATIONS IN DAPHNE, BAY MINETTE, ORANGE BEACH AND FOLEY. THESE PHYSICIANS INCLUDE DOCTORS ANDY HARCOURT, CHARLES GORDON, WILLIAM PARK IV, RHETT HUBLEY, DREW CORBETT, MICHAEL CHAMBLEE, JOHN TODD, PAUL CANALE, MATTHEW GOLDMAN (ABOVE, LEFT TO RIGHT).

What is your mission?

At Baldwin Bone and Joint, our mission is to provide compassionate, comprehensive orthopaedic care to help our patients get “back in the game” of an active, healthy lifestyle, free from pain and limitations.

What sets your practice apart?

For more than 30 years, our team of fellowship-trained, boardcertified surgeons and experienced clinical staff have been committed to providing each patient with leading-edge orthopaedic care in an environment where each individual and their family members are given time to ask questions and discuss their concerns.

In addition, with patient-centered care and convenience in mind, we offer on-site MRI and digital X-ray service, physical therapy services, as well as telehealth appointments.

At Baldwin Bone and Joint, our goal is that our patients and their families will notice the difference the moment they walk through our doors.

How has your business grown, and where are you going from here?

Our practice was founded in 1989. Our current medical team includes nine orthopaedic physicians and six nurse practitioners and physician assistants. We have grown to also include specialized clinics of The Spine Institute at Baldwin Bone & Joint, The Center for Sports Medicine and The Shoulder Center at Baldwin Bone & Joint.

Our vision for the future is to continue to build our practice with a team of sub-specialty trained surgeons who provide multi-specialty orthopaedic services covering all facets of orthopaedic care—allowing our fellow residents of the Eastern Shore, Baldwin County and Mobile County to receive quality care near home.

1505 Daphne Avenue, Daphne • 251-625-2663 • baldwinboneandjoint.com 68 mobilebaymag.com | august 2020

PHOTO BY CHAD RILEY

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION | LEADERS IN HEALTH

Dr. William I. Park, IV DR. PARK HAS RECENTLY JOINED THE TEAM OF ORTHOPAEDIC SPECIALISTS AT BALDWIN BONE & JOINT, EXPANDING HIS PRACTICE TO THE EASTERN SHORE WHERE HE BRINGS 20 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN GENERAL ORTHOPOEDICS, SPECIALIZING IN FOOT AND ANKLE RECONSTRUCTION.

How did you get into your field?

As a second-generation orthopaedic surgeon, there’s no doubt that my father’s medical career had an impact on my decision to pursue my own. I earned a bachelor’s degree in zoology from Duke University with a goal to maximize my exposure to anatomy and biomechanics, which transitioned into my passion for orthopaedics. I graduated from medical school at the University of Alabama and completed my residency and fellowship training in foot and ankle surgery at the University of Tennessee’s Campbell Clinic in Memphis.

What sets your practice apart?

Through more than two decades of orthopaedic practice, I’ve worked with patients of all ages, ranging from athletes and weekend warriors to those with average levels of activity, treating everything from bunions and hammertoes to tendon reconstructions, ankle and foot fractures to arthroscopic knee surgeries and knee replacements.

In addition, my fellowship training took place at the worldrenowned Campbell Clinic where the textbook for orthopaedic surgery was written, allowing me to work alongside the top surgeons in the field.

How do you make sure patients get the best care/ results?

The most important lesson I have learned about patient care is that orthopaedic issues must be managed within the context of each patient as an individual. That is why I’m committed to spending the necessary time with each and every patient determining the correct diagnosis and maximizing conservative treatment while being fully proficient in state-of-the-art arthroscopic, minimally invasive, and complex reconstructive techniques that may be required to speed along that patient’s recovery, optimize their function and return them to a healthy, active lifestyle.

1505 Daphne Avenue, Daphne • 251-625-2663 • baldwinboneandjoint.com august 2020 | mobilebaymag.com 69

PHOTO BY CHAD RILEY

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION | LEADERS IN HEALTH

Carillon Oaks Mobile STUART COLEMAN IS CO-OWNER AND OPERATOR OF CARILLON OAKS MOBILE, THE FIRST FEMALE-ONLY MEMORY CARE COMMUNITY IN THE STATE. STUART HAS 14 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE DEVELOPING AND OPERATING SENIOR HOUSING COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE SOUTHERN UNITED STATES.

What sets your senior living community apart from others?

Our 32,000-square-foot community is the first and only senior campus devoted exclusively to female dementia and Alzheimer’s residents. This gives our residents freedom to enjoy our entire campus, without being segregated in separate units or wings, as is sometimes the case in other facilities. The decision to make Carillon Oaks Mobile a female-only memory care campus came from my experience in the industry and the comfort this gives residents and their families.

Our location is unique because it offers convenience — located one block south of I-10, off Highway 90, just minutes from Downtown, Spring Hill and West Mobile — and provides a serene atmosphere with large outdoor spaces. It was important to

us that our residents be able to enjoy the outdoors and beautiful vistas while still being close to family.

How do you ensure the best quality of life for your residents?

This starts with the physical campus, which we specifically built based on research and my industry experience. Residents are able to meaningfully engage in activities, like gardening in our vegetable and butterfly gardens; cooking at our cooking demonstration area; enjoying our large beauty salon; relaxing outdoors on our expansive screened-in porch; visiting life stations around the campus; and taking scenic tours in our new buses. This active engagement in a secure environment, coupled with 24-hour sincere care by our handpicked staff, ensures the best quality of life for our residents.

What contributes to your success?

We consider each resident family. I have been through these decisions with my own loved ones. I know how I want my mother and relatives to be treated, as well as the quality of life I want for them. I designed our campus, operate our building and manage staff with that sentiment at the forefront.

What’s next for you?

My partner, Jerry Lathan, and I are opening a senior living campus in Heflin, Alabama, later this summer. Carillon Oaks Heflin, which will be the only assisted living community and memory care campus in the county, was a historic renovation of a beautiful high school built in the 1930s. We are expanding into both smaller and larger markets in Alabama, with the goal that family members can achieve quality care for their loved ones close to home.

5461 Kooiman Road • 251-287-6300 • carillonoaks.com 70 mobilebaymag.com | august 2020

PHOTO BY CHAD RILEY

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION | LEADERS IN HEALTH

Fedok Plastic Surgery and Laser Center FEDOK PLASTIC SURGERY IS DEDICATED TO EXCELLENT PATIENT EXPERIENCES AND EXCEPTIONAL OUTCOMES THROUGH AN INDIVIDUALIZED APPROACH THAT RESULTS IN HIGH LEVELS OF PATIENT SATISFACTION.

Dr. Fedok’s practice focuses on cosmetic and reconstructive surgery of the face and neck, including nonsurgical techniques using lasers, radiofrequency, chemical peels and fillers. Dr. Fedok has special expertise in face lift procedures and cosmetic and functional rhinoplasty, as well as many other techniques in facial rejuvenation surgery and fat grafting. The office has now expanded into the realm of non-invasive body toning and contouring to further our continuing dedication to patient self-improvement.

Using his expertise and experience, Dr. Fedok provides great results in a comfortable environment. Every member of the care team is devoted to delivering an ultimate experience. Dr. Fedok takes his time to educate patients about their specific needs and goals and believes that effective communication is of key importance. The most up-to-date methods and technologies are consistently incorporated to maximize results for each patient.

Dr. Fedok is board certified by the American Board of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and the American Board of Otolaryngology — Head and Neck Surgery. He is the Past President of the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. He is actively involved as a member on several national committees and lectures on the national and international level. He has published numerous articles and book chapters on facial plastic and reconstructive surgery, as well as a surgical textbook on minimally-invasive and office-based cosmetic surgery procedures.

We have loved watching the practice grow since relocating to Foley in 2016 and have enjoyed welcoming everyone into our office family.

113 E Fern Avenue, Foley • 251-943-6003 • fedokplasticsurgery.com august 2020 | mobilebaymag.com 71

PHOTO BY CHAD RILEY

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION | LEADERS IN HEALTH

LEFT TO RIGHT: MEGAN TURNER, MS, ALC, NCC; RACHEL MORRISON, MS, ALC, NCC; DIANA STURM, MS, ALC; MELINDA RADER, MS, LPC-S; SHIVANI BHAKTA, MS, ALC; PORSCHE FRYE, MS, ALC, NCC

The Hope Center for Healing Melinda Rader, MS, LPC-S

AT THE HOPE CENTER FOR HEALING, SERVICES ARE PERSONALIZED AND INCLUDE PSYCHOTHERAPY METHODS USED TO INSTILL SELF-UNDERSTANDING AND ENCOURAGE NEW ATTITUDES AND FEELINGS TOWARD LIFE SITUATIONS.

Why or how did you get into your field?

How do you make sure clients get the best care?

How has your business grown, and where are you going from here?

I’ve always enjoyed listening to people talk about their life stories and experiences.

This led me to work with a college counselor while studying psychology as an undergraduate. Education coupled with my own experience with change and growth awakened me to my calling: counseling.

Additionally, I find joy in leading and supervising associate counselors and graduatelevel counseling interns. Supervision of associate counselors has become an integral part of my practice and helps me grow as a counselor myself.

I provide a safe space for individuals to remove shame and regret, enabling them to unpack baggage and move forward toward a healthier more meaningful life. Between my extensive training and experience, and the diversity of training that my associates have, individuals and couples will find a great therapeutic match within our office.

I utilize EMDR, Experiential Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to assist patients with long-term results. S’mores, my therapy dog, is a big part of my practice, too, and is important to my patients.

With appointments offered virtually and in our offices in Mobile and Fairhope, we are able to meet the needs of a broad range of demographics. This year, I was able to expand my practice to include patients in Mississippi.

In the upcoming year, I look forward to being trained in Brain-Spotting, which will further my skills in assisting individuals who have experienced trauma.

Over the last 15 years, community word of mouth has helped my practice expand and be successful. I believe people find understanding and acceptance in our offices.

6348 Piccadilly Square Drive, Suite 205, Mobile • 7 South Summit Street, Fairhope 251-554-6611 • thehopecenterforhealing.com 72 mobilebaymag.com | august 2020

PHOTO BY CHAD RILEY

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION | LEADERS IN HEALTH

Infirmary Cancer Care Furhan Yunus, M.D.

FURHAN YUNUS, M.D., IS A BOARD-CERTIFIED HEMATOLOGIST ONCOLOGIST, LEADING THE INFIRMARY CANCER CARE PROGRAM SINCE 2017. NOW, HE SERVES AS INFIRMARY CANCER CARE’S CANCER CENTER DIRECTOR, DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH AND CHIEF OF HEMATOLOGY ONCOLOGY.

Why did you get into your field?

During my residency training at Methodist Hospital in Memphis, TN, my attendings influenced my decision to pursue Medical Oncology. I have a desire to make a difference in hopeless situations.

What is your mission?

At Infirmary Health, my mission is to help develop the highest quality and widely recognized multidisciplinary cancer program in the Gulf South region. As a physician, my mission is to practice evidence- and value-based cancer care for my patients.

How do you make sure patients get the best care/results?

How has your business grown, and where are you going from here?

I am committed to ensuring my patients receive the best treatment through providing care based on national guidelines with a heavy emphasis on clinical research.

In order to provide the best, most innovative treatment options, our team is committed to staying abreast of the latest clinical research. Infirmary Cancer Care provides a full spectrum of comprehensive cancer care, from prevention to treatment and beyond.

I joined Infirmary Health in 2017, and since then, Infirmary Cancer Care has grown significantly to better serve our patients and community. Now, we are challenged with navigating the COVID-19 pandemic for our cancer patients and helping contribute to the fight against the virus through research of convalescent plasma and other cutting edge treatment options.

5 Mobile Infirmary Circle • 251-435-CARE • Infirmarycancercare.org august 2020 | mobilebaymag.com 73

PHOTO BY CHAD RILEY

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION | LEADERS IN HEALTH

The Park Clinic Ryan Rebowe, M.D.

TO FOSTER HIS COMMITMENT TO OFFERING THE BEST IN PLASTIC SURGERY, DR. CHRISTOPHER PARK HAS PARTNERED WITH DR. RYAN REBOWE.

Why did you get into your field?

Simply put, I thought this was the most fulfilling way to make a change in people’s lives. As plastic surgeons, we have the ability to make a tangible difference in the way people interact with the world. We work from head to toe on people of all ages, transforming a result on the operating room table to a positive difference that you can see from the moment the patient wakes up.

What is your mission?

My personal mission is to help as many people as I can on a daily basis and to continuously challenge myself to be a better surgeon. In my reconstructive pursuits, I focus on cancer and trauma victims: repairing faces, salvaging limbs and performing reconstruction on breast cancer patients. As for my cosmetic practice, I try to focus on surgical and non-facial rejuvenation, rhinoplasty and body contouring.

How do you make sure patients get the best care/results?

A big part of all of our patient’s success is the seamless teamwork that Dr. Park and I are able to provide on a regular basis. Chris and I consult each other on a daily basis and even work together in the operating room on tough surgical cases. This allows us to perform surgeries that are not offered by other plastic surgeons in Mobile, such as the “DIEP Flap” procedure for breast cancer reconstruction candidates.

What contributes to your success?

The biggest contributor to our success is our continual focus on patient safety and optimizing outcomes for each patient on an individual level. What drew me specifically to this practice and Dr. Park was his overwhelming commitment to his patients and ensuring that they received the best

in plastic surgery. I truly share in this commitment, and I’m honored to be a part of a team that puts people and outcomes first.

How has your practice grown?

Adding another surgeon has allowed us to be more available to our existing patients and to the greater Mobile area, including Baldwin County, Gulfport and Pensacola.

What may be less noticeable is the improved scope of practice we are able to offer as a team. Having a two-surgeon team allows us to perform many larger cosmetic and reconstructive procedures with more efficiency.

We routinely help each other on more common cases, such as breast reductions or cosmetic breast procedures, in order to decrease anesthesia time and provide optimal outcomes for our patients, which results in safer patient outcomes.

3153 Dauphin Street, Mobile • 411 North Section Street, Fairhope • 251-340-6600 • mprsd.com 74 mobilebaymag.com | august 2020

PHOTO BY CHAD RILEY

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION | LEADERS IN HEALTH

SOUTHERN CANCER CENTER’S BALDWIN COUNTY PROVIDERS, LEFT TO RIGHT: DR. CURRY MCEVOY; SKYLER MARTIN, CRNP; BETHANY KING, CRNP; AND DR. REECE JONES

Southern Cancer Center SOUTHERN CANCER CENTER IS THE AREA’S ONLY COMMUNITY-BASED MEDICAL ONCOLOGY PRACTICE, COMPRISED OF 15 PROVIDERS AND FIVE CLINIC LOCATIONS. THROUGH AN INTEGRATED, TEAM-BASED APPROACH, WE OFFER PATIENTS THE MOST ADVANCED THERAPIES AND INNOVATIVE TREATMENT OPTIONS AVAILABLE.

What sets Southern Cancer Center apart?

We treat the whole patient, not just the disease. Patients need more than medicine; they need collaborative support in every aspect of their cancer care. That’s why we offer drug, disease and dietary education, social services and support groups for patients and caregivers.

We also have a certified genetic counseling and high-risk cancer assessment program, an in-house specialty pharmacy, advanced laboratory services and access to cuttingedge clinical trials through our partnership with The US Oncology Network. We believe it’s important to work closely with

our patients and their families to create personalized treatment plans that address both physical and emotional health.

How do you make sure patients get the best care?

Simply put, our patients come first. It’s our mission and our culture. They become a part of our family and we strive to make them feel welcomed and safe.

As a private practice, our physicians and staff focus their attention solely on patient care, navigating patients through every step of their treatment journey. A provider is always available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

What’s next for your practice in Baldwin County?

On July 1, we were extremely excited to relocate our Foley clinic to a new stateof-the-art facility. We are now able to provide patients with all the comforts they deserve. Our upgraded amenities include an increased number of exam rooms and a more spacious chemotherapy infusion suite to provide patients and their caregivers with a comfortable and supportive environment.

As the needs of our community grow and evolve, Southern Cancer Center remains committed to our patients and to the continued delivery of excellence.

5 locations in Mobile and Baldwin counties • 251-625-6896 • SouthernCancerCenter.com august 2020 | mobilebaymag.com 75

PHOTO BY CHAD RILEY

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION | LEADERS IN HEALTH

LEFT TO RIGHT: BRENT FAIRCLOTH, M.D.; DONALD TYLER, II, M.D.; KEVIN DONAHOE, M.D.; TIM REVELS, M.D.

Springhill Medical Center SPRINGHILL MEDICAL CENTER IS A 263-BED ACUTE CARE HOSPITAL. SINCE 1975, SPRINGHILL’S GROWTH IN SOUTHWEST ALABAMA IS FOREMOST IN SURGICAL AND COMPREHENSIVE DIAGNOSTIC CAPABILITIES. SMC’S SURGICAL CAPABILITIES INCLUDE: OPEN-HEART, GENERAL AND ORTHOPAEDIC ROBOTIC SURGERY, AND NOW THE FIRST FOR SPINE SURGICAL ROBOTIC PROCEDURES.

Springhill Medical Center, regional leader in the field of robotic surgery, is excited to bring hope and relief to people suffering with chronic back pain with the introduction of new spine surgery technology. The ExcelsiusGPS® innovative guidance and navigation platform for spinal procedures is the first of its kind in Alabama and only available at Springhill.

Designed to improve safety and accuracy, ExcelsiusGPS® provides improved visualization of patient anatomy to optimize patient treatment. The system is designed to streamline the surgical workflow and reduce radiation exposure to surgeons and staff.

This revolutionary robotic navigation platform is the world’s first technology to combine a rigid robotic arm and full navigation capabilities into one adaptable platform for accurate trajectory alignment in spine surgery. The advanced technology is designed to enhance safety and improve efficiency for patients, staff, and surgeons in the operating room.

“Springhill Medical Center is known for being first in bringing these innovative systems to the Mobile/Baldwin communities,” said CEO/President Mr. Jeff St. Clair. “We listened to our surgeons and chose ExcelsiusGPS® because it was a win-win for the patient.

Shorter procedure time means less anesthesia for the patient and puts them on the road to recovery quicker. We are excited to expand our robotic surgery program and continue to offer our patients the best care in the area!”

The system is utilized for a variety of spinal surgery procedures. Surgeons in the program include Dr. Kevin Donahoe and Dr. Tim Revels of Alabama Orthopaedic Clinic, and Dr. W. Brent Faircloth and Dr. Donald R. Tyler, II, of Coastal Neurological Institute.

3719 Dauphin Street • 251-344-9630 • springhillmedicalcenter.com 76 mobilebaymag.com | august 2020

PHOTO BY CHAD RILEY

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION | LEADERS IN HEALTH

SYNERGY HomeCare SYNERGY HOMECARE’S NO. 1 PRIORITY HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE SAFETY AND WELL-BEING OF CLIENTS AND CAREGIVERS. ANDY LUEDECKE, PRESIDENT AND CO-OWNER OF SYNERGY HOMECARE DAPHNE (PICTURED ABOVE, FOREGROUND), TELLS HOW IT’S DONE DURING A PANDEMIC.

How has COVID-19 affected your company or practice?

It has affected our business much like many others, causing us to rethink many of our processes and delivery methods.

We have streamlined our PPE process to ensure improved protection for clients and caregivers. We have been fortunate we have not been impacted from the personnel side.

While we have, like many other businesses, felt the economic impact, the future is very encouraging. The COVID experience has created a greater appreciation for personal and professional relationships. As we all say, “We will come through this together.”

We strive to build a family atmosphere within our agency, supporting and loving both our clients and our caregivers. Our caregivers have a really tough job, as they work in homes, so it is important they know the lengths we will go to support them and keep them safe.

We also try to stay very active supporting the local communities that we live in and serve. Building relationships with various leadership and community organizations has been personally rewarding for us, and I think it has been a big part of building the Synergy HomeCare brand to what it is today.

What contributes to your success?

What has your company done differently due to COVID-19?

I think our success is due to building great relationships in all aspects of our business.

PPE and health and safety protocols are the new normal. We have now distributed

thermometers to all our caregivers, and they are recording their temperatures before each shift. Anything over 100 means they can’t work and must follow our Back to Work protocols. We have masks for all our caregivers, clients and their guests. We branded them with our logo so our clients know that it is a Synergy worker coming to their door. We have distributed antibacterial gel to all homes and for all caregiver cars. We have distributed gloves to all homes and are now extremely focused on the frequent cleaning of heavily touched items in the home, like door knobs, light switches, etc. We are practicing social distancing whenever possible with our clients and have educational guides for guests that enter the home so they can do their part to stay safe and healthy.

1048 Stanton Road, Suite D, Daphne • 251-621-1900 • synergyhomecare.com august 2020 | mobilebaymag.com 77

PHOTO BY CHAD RILEY

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION | LEADERS IN HEALTH

Surgical Association of Mobile, P.A. SINCE 1973, SURGICAL ASSOCIATION OF MOBILE, P.A., HAS PROVIDED THE BEST SURGICAL CARE THROUGH CUTTING EDGE TECHNOLOGY.

Consisting of seven surgeons and three nurse practitioners with 171 cumulative years’ experience, Surgical Association of Mobile, P.A. (SAMPA), is one of the largest independent private practice surgical groups in the area. SAMPA specializes in general and bariatric surgery, and also provides breast and colorectal surgery.

SAMPA’s history reflects its pursuit of leading-edge technology. In 1977, SAMPA performed its first bariatric operation for weight loss, having now completed over 9,400 to date. Our surgeons began using laparoscopy for bariatric surgery in 2001 and later applied robotics to this field. In 2017, SAMPA launched the Gulf Coast Bariatric Institute, the first in the area.

In April 1989, SAMPA surgeons performed the first laparoscopic gallbladder removal in Alabama. What at the time was thought to be a fringe procedure is now recognized as the standard.

In 1991, SAMPA began using laparoscopy for colon resections and have now added robotic surgery. Since 1991, SAMPA surgeons have performed more than 1,600 laparoscopic or robotic colon resections, totalling more than 3,500 colon resections since 1973.

Also in 1991, Dr. Lamar Snow, the now-retired founder of SAMPA, performed the world’s first laparoscopic removal of an adrenal gland.

In early 2013, SAMPA adopted robotic surgery, and we have done over 2,300 robotic operations using the technology for a variety of indications including colon and small intestine, weight loss, stomach, acid reflux, gallbladder and hernia, among others.

3 Mobile Infirmary Circle, Suite 212 • 251-433-2609 • sampadocs.com 78 mobilebaymag.com | august 2020

PHOTO BY CHAD RILEY

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION | LEADERS IN HEALTH

Westminster Village Health Services WESTMINSTER VILLAGE IS A PREMIER SENIOR LIVING COMMUNITY ON THE PICTURESQUE EASTERN SHORE OF MOBILE BAY THAT PROVIDES AN EXTENSIVE RANGE OF SERVICES, FROM ACTIVE, INDEPENDENT LIVING TO SENIOR HEALTH SERVICES THAT ARE TRULY LIFE ENHANCING. AND YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE A RESIDENT TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF MANY OF THE HEALTHCARE SERVICES.

What sets your healthcare services apart?

As an Acts Retirement-Life Community, Westminster Village serves residents with Loving-Kindness and conveniently provides a full range of healthcare services on one campus: short-term rehabilitation, home health, assisted living, memory care, long-term skilled care and even respite care.

Residents have access to a full-time nurse practitioner with advanced clinical training and vast knowledge of senior care, plus physical, occupational and speech therapists who have specialized certifications.

Accredited by CARF international, Westminster Village holds the highest available accreditation for a continuing care senior living community.

What other features are available?

OakBridge Terrace Assisted Living provides newly renovated private suites and support to help residents remain as active as possible, while WillowBrooke Court, the community’s skilled care center, provides 24-hour nursing care. Both centers deliver a variety of daily activities for engagement and socialization and fitness and brain health programs. The Acts Signature Care experience also gives residents and their loved ones the freedom to participate fully in care decisions.

As part of Acts Retirement-Life Communities, Westminster Village is backed by nearly 50 years of senior living experience, and as a not-for-profit, its top priority is residents’ well-being in the spirit of Loving-Kindness.

500 Spanish Fort Boulevard, Spanish Fort • 251-309-1883 • AboutActs.com/MobileBay august 2020 | mobilebaymag.com 79

EXTRAS | CALENDAR OF EVENTS

“DAMN THE TORPEDOES” PADDLEBOARD RACE / PHOTO BY PETE GLESZER

August is hot, hot, hot!

WEEKENDS THRU AUGUST 23

AUGUST 2, 4

AUGUST 8

“BEAUTY AND THE BEAST” 7:30 p.m. F / Sa. 2:30 p.m. Su. Enjoy an original music production. Tickets: $15.

SIP ‘N’ SEA 2 p.m. Su. 10 a.m. and 6:15 p.m. Tu. Design your own glass crafted over a Mobile Bay nautical map.

“DAMN THE TORPEDOES” PADDLEBOARD RACE Races include 200-meter sprints, 1.5 miles and 3 miles.

COASTAL MAKERS • MOBILEBAYKEEPER.ORG

FAIRHOPE • PADDLEGURU.COM/RACES/DAMNTHETORPEDOES

THE PLAYHOUSE IN THE PARK PLAYHOUSEINTHEPARK.ORG

AUGUST 1 CARIBBEAN DAY Sway to the sounds of the steel drums and more at this free event.

OWA • VISITOWA.COM

AUGUST 1 156TH BATTLE OF MOBILE BAY COMMEMORATIVE DAY 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. A day highlighting Fort Gaines’ integral role in the battle.

FORT GAINES • DAUPHINISLAND.ORG

AUGUST 1 COMMEMORATION OF THE BATTLE OF MOBILE BAY 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. The historic battle at Fort Morgan comes to life via reenactors.

FORT MORGAN • FORT-MORGAN.ORG

AUGUST 3 SPARKS AFTER DARK FIREWORKS 8:45 p.m. Catch the high-flying flickers and dance to the beat from the DJ. THE WHARF • ALWHARF.COM

AUGUST 6 FOUNDER’S DAY In honor of Mr. Bellingrath’s birthday, admission to the gardens and home is free to Mobile and Baldwin County residents.

BELLINGRATH GARDENS AND HOME BELLINGRATH.ORG

AUGUST 9 DARCI LYNNE FARMER NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” winner impresses audiences with her talent.

SAENGER THEATRE • MOBILESAENGER.COM

AUGUST 9 BRIDES JUST WANNA HAVE FUN 1 - 4 p.m. Come find everything you need to plan your perfect wedding.

THE BATTLE HOUSE RENAISSANCE MOBILE HOTEL EVENTBRITE.COM

AUGUST 7

AUGUST 15

DOWNTOWN ON TAP This fun event features free samplings of Alabama-brewed beers.

MOBILE CHOCOLATE FESTIVAL 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. Enjoy all things chocolate.

DOWNTOWN OWA • VISITOWA.COM

THE GROUNDS MOBILECHOCOLATEFESTIVAL.COM

 To have your event included in the online or print edition of Mobile Bay Magazine, email calendar@pmtpublishing.com.

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2020 Summer Movie Series AUGUST 15 THE CHILDREN’S CUP REGATTA Spectators are welcome at this rain-orshine event, featuring silent auction, cash bar and more.

FAIRHOPE YACHT CLUB GIVE.CHILDRENSAL.ORG/REGATTA2020

AUGUST 15 MOBILE WINGS & BEER FESTIVAL 6 - 9 p.m. Enjoy wings, craft beer samples and a souvenir tasting glass. Ages 21+ only.

USS ALABAMA • MOBILEWINGSANDBEER.COM

AUGUST 22 23RD ANNUAL DAUPHIN STREET BEER FESTIVAL 6 - 9 p.m. Grab your friends, grab your mug and get ready to taste a bevy of craft brews!

SUNDAY, AUGUST 2 - 3 PM FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF THURSDAY, AUGUST 6 - 7 PM THE BIG CHILL SUNDAY, AUGUST 9 - 3 PM FROZEN THURSDAY, AUGUST 13 - 7 PM MUSCLE SHOALS SUNDAY, AUGUST 16 - 3 PM FOOTLOOSE

THURSDAY, AUGUST 20 - 7 PM PRETTY WOMAN SUNDAY, AUGUST 23 - 3 PM THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI THURSDAY, AUGUST 27 - 7 PM GHOST SUNDAY, AUGUST 30 - 3 PM JAILHOUSE ROCK

SUNDAY MOVIES - BOX OFFICE OPENS AT 12:30. DOORS OPEN AT 2:30.

THURSDAY MOVIES - BOX OFFICE OPENS AT 10 AM. DOORS OPEN AT 6:30.

FOR TICKET INFORMATION, VISIT MOBILESAENGER.COM

DAUPHIN STREET • BEERFESTMOBILE.COM

AUGUST 22 COMMUNITY SAFETY DAY A hands-on experience with the brave professionals who keep our community safe.

OWA • VISITOWA.COM

AUGUST 28 - 30 VINTAGE MARKET DAYS OF MOBILE 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. F, Sa. 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Su. This upscale vintage-inspired market features original art, antiques and more.

THE GROUNDS VINTAGEMARKETDAYS.COM/MARKET/MOBILE

AUGUST 29 - 30 208TH ANNIVERSARY OF FORT MIMS The weekend commemorate the battle between Creek Indians and settlers.

FORT MIMS • FORTMIMS.ORG

* Check event websites for most current status.

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HISTORY | LEGENDS

Eugene B. Sledge and Mobile: 75 Years After “The War” Mobilian Eugene Sledge is recognized the world over as a USMC combat veteran of World War II, but there is even more to know, and admire, about “Ugin” of Georgia Cottage. text by A ARON TREHUB • photos courtesy AUBURN UNIVERSITY LIBR ARIES

E

Above Eugene Sledge on his rack after the battle of Okinawa, summer 1945.

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xactly 75 years ago this spring, in May and June 1945, Mobile native and U.S. Marine Corps PFC Eugene Bondurant Sledge was fighting on Okinawa as a mortarman with Company K, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment of the 1st Marine Division. Sledge was already a combat veteran by this time, having received his baptism of fire on Peleliu in September and October 1944.

He was 21 years old.

Years later, Sledge described the fighting on Okinawa in mid-May 1945 and the recurring nightmares that it inspired. “The increasing dread of going back into action obsessed me,” he wrote. “It became the subject of the most tortuous and persistent of all the ghastly war nightmares that have haunted me for many, many years. The dream is always the same, going back up to the lines during the bloody, muddy month of May on Okinawa. It remains blurred and vague, but occasionally still comes, even after the nightmares about the shock and violence of Peleliu have faded and been lifted from me like a curse.”

Nightmares haunted Sledge for decades after the war: as a combat veteran and student attending Alabama Polytechnic Institute (Auburn University) on the G.I. Bill in the late 1940s; as a young husband and father pursuing graduate degrees at API and the University of Florida in the late 1950s; and as a professor of biology at the University of Montevallo from the 1960s through the 1980s.

Over time, Sledge discovered four things that helped to keep the nightmares at bay: classical music, especially Mozart; literature, especially 20th-century English poetry; scientific research; and the close observation of the natural world and its creatures, which he shared with generations of students at Montevallo.

And writing. During his division’s rest period on the island of Pavuvu after the battle of Peleliu, Sledge began putting together notes he had kept in a pocket copy of the New Testament. Thirty years later, at his wife Jeanne’s suggestion, Sledge used those notes and notes he took during the battle of Okinawa to write “With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa,” his now-famous memoir of the Pacific war. First

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ABOUT “WITH THE OLD BREED: AT PELELIU AND OKINAWA” It took Eugene Sledge over 30 years to write “With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa,” his memoir of the Pacific War. Sledge kept clandestine handwritten notes during the fighting on Peleliu and Okinawa in the margins of a pocket edition of the New Testament that he had been issued during his stateside training. He began organizing his notes in late 1944, while in a reararea rest camp between battles. By 1946, he had drawn up an outline of what would eventually become “With the Old Breed.” He put these materials aside to focus on marriage, family and career, but returned to them in the late 1970s. An early typescript shows that the book’s original working title was “Into the Abyss” — an accurate description of its contents. According to his son, John, Sledge wrote “With the Old Breed” at high speed, as if he were “taking dictation,” and would get up in the middle of the night to work on it.

“With the Old Breed” was published by the Presidio Press in 1981. It soon came to the attention of British military historian John Keegan, who referred to it as “one of the most arresting documents in war literature.”

Other plaudits followed. In the almost 40 years since its publication, “With the Old Breed” has become an American classic. What distinguishes “With the Old Breed” from dozens of other war memoirs is its clinical honesty and the author’s sensitivity. As Dwight Garner put it in a 2017 appreciation for The New York Times, Sledge “is a gentle man who learns to comprehend hatred.” The result is a uniquely affecting testament to what Dwight Eisenhower called “the horror and the lingering sadness of war.”

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published in 1981 by a small scholarly press specializing in military history, “WTOB” is recognized today as an American classic. It inspired a Ken Burns documentary on World War II, as well as an HBO miniseries, and has been praised by military historians and literary scholars from John Keegan and Victor Davis Hanson to Paul Fussell. Sledge’s second memoir, “China Marine,” was published in 2002, the year after his death. It describes Sledge’s postwar occupation duty in Beijing, China, and his difficult return to civilian life in Mobile. In addition to nightmares, the war left Sledge with an aversion to violence and killing (a crack shot as a boy, he gave up hunting after the war) and a jaundiced view of overseas military entanglements.

If Peleliu was the dividing line in Sledge’s life, Mobile was its lodestone. Born in 1923, Sledge was the younger son of Dr. Edward Simmons Sledge and Mary Frank Sturdivant Sledge. Sledge’s father was a prominent Mobile physician who was elected president of the Medical Association of the State of Alabama in the late 1930s. Sledge’s mother was from an influential Selma family; his maternal grandmother, Ellen Rush Sturdivant, was the dean of women at Huntingdon College in Montgomery. Sledge grew up in Georgia Cottage, an 1840 Greek Revival house on Springhill Avenue previously occupied by 19th-century novelist Augusta Evans Wilson. By Depression standards, Sledge and his friends enjoyed a privileged life of fathers with professional jobs in the city, mothers who presided over comfortable upper-middle-class homes in the leafy neighborhoods off Government and Dauphin streets,

Above, top Eugene Sledge and Sid Phillips, Spanish Fort, 1941.

Above, middle Eugene Sledge and his mother, Mary Frank Sturdivant Sledge, at Georgia Cottage, 1949.

Opposite Eugene Sledge in his laboratory at the University of Montevallo, 1963.

African-American servants and family retainers, and pastimes that included deer and dove hunting on private estates in the MobileTensaw Delta and squirrel hunting in Baldwin County.

The Mobile of Sledge’s boyhood was a small port city of fewer than 80,000 inhabitants. Young Eugene’s world revolved around his home at Georgia Cottage, the family’s dogs — Deacon, Captain and Lady — and his horse, Cricket, his circle of friends at Murphy High School, and the maze of creeks and tributaries in the estuary country around the Mobile River and Mobile Bay, the area described by his son John in his book “The Mobile River.” Two of Sledge’s greatgrandfathers had served as Confederate officers during the Civil War. Like many Southern boys, Sledge was fascinated by that conflict. He collected Civil War-era firearms and uniforms, which he kept in a “treasure room” at Georgia Cottage and used in Civil War reenactments with his friends. His favorite pastime was hunting for Civil War relics — Minié balls, shell fragments, buckles and other kit — on the 1865 battlefields at Blakeley and Spanish Fort.

To his father, young Eugene was “Fritz.” To his friends and classmates at Murphy High School — W. O. Brown, George W. Edgar (“Cigar”), Nicholas Holmes Jr., “Chibby” Smith and others — he

was “Slag.” To his best friend Sidney Phillips, who grew up on Monterey Place and whose father became the principal of Murphy High the year Eugene graduated, he was “Ugin.” That changed to “Cobber Ugin” after Phillips returned to Mobile from the Pacific in August 1944 after serving with the 1st Marine Division at Guadalcanal and Cape Gloucester and picking up Australian military slang. Back home, Phillips tried to keep his best friend’s spirits up by sending him packets of heavily annotated photos of Georgia Cottage, Ashland Place, the old Cochrane Bridge and their favorite Civil War hunting grounds. Recalling one of their prospecting expeditions on a photo from February 1945, Phillips wrote: “We will have to make up for lost time Cob. The old Land seemed to me to be glad to see me and every stump asked where is Ugin. I told em you’re a comin.” Phillips also touched on the difficulty of explaining to family members what life on the front line was like. On the back of a photo from August 1944, Phillips wrote: “As I was saying about the letters, Ugin, I think even my family used to get a little mad when I didn’t write, but [I] explained it over and over to your folks how the shooting is short and furious, but the shit is long and hard.” Filled with in-group lingo and references to their days at Murphy High, Phillips’ 1944-1945 photos of Mobile and its environs testify to the importance of home and prewar landmarks and pastimes to these young combat veterans of the Pacific war.

Leafing through the letters, photographs and family memorabilia in the Eugene B. Sledge Papers at the Auburn University Libraries is an elegiac experience. World War II has faded from the national memory. The men and women who fought it on the front lines and endured it on the home front are almost entirely gone.

Eugene Sledge died in 2001; Sid Phillips in 2015; Nick Holmes Jr. in 2016; and George W. Edgar in 2017. The world they grew up in vanished a long time ago. The world they built for themselves and their children in the decades after the war has been replaced by a world of greater mobility and personal freedom, but also weakened connections to family and place.

Eugene Sledge is famous today as a combat Marine, but that was only part of who he was. It may not have been the most important part. In his son John’s words, Sledge was “a simple scientist with a love of the natural world, who had endured something unspeakable and wanted to convey that to later times and other people.” In a 2014 piece for this magazine, John described how his father started writing a memoir about his Port City boyhood and love of natural history shortly before he died. The unfinished manuscript was entitled “Recollections of a Zoologist.” At the end of his life, fighting the cancer that eventually claimed him, Sledge turned away from his memories of carnage and cruelty in far-off places and returned to the Mobile of his boyhood and its gentle inhabitants, including the common English Sparrow. The naturalist and teacher had the last say. MB Aaron Trehub is the assistant dean for technology and research support at the Auburn University Libraries.

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THE ARTS | LITERATURE

Back to School Sometimes the most memorable lessons happen outside the school walls.

excerpt from the book THEY CALL ME OR ANGE JUICE

by AUDREY MCDONALD ATKINS

T

he first day of school. New clothes, binders, pencils, and paper. New hope for a better year, nice friends, and teachers that aren’t too hard. A chance to reinvent yourself for the year. Find your niche.

Make your mark. Change the world. The possibilities stretch out before you like the line in the cafeteria.

Even though I am no longer in school, I still get as excited about the first day as I did when I was four and started my educational pursuits at Mrs. Jones’s kindergarten. Our school was a long, low cinder-block building behind Mrs. Jones’s house on Lebaron Avenue. Every day started with the Pledge of Allegiance recited with our hands held over our hearts (I thought it was “with liberty and justice for Aud”) and the National Anthem sung in earnest enthusiasm. We were young patriots during a seemingly never-ending, mysterious foreign conflict our parents called Vietnam. Thirty years later, my son would start his days the exact same way, war and all.

We spent most mornings sitting at round tables in groups of five or six. There were stories and sing-alongs and art projects. Then there was lunch, which everyone brought in little metal lunch boxes or paper sacks. A cheese, pickle and mayonnaise sandwich on light bread for me, thank you very much. No one cared if their sandwich wasn’t in the shape of a star or if there was a peanut on the premises. We just ate whatever our mamas sent or traded it for some delicacy a friend’s mama had made, like a bologna sandwich or a piece

of cold fried chicken. We brought Kool-Aid in a thermos or drank from the water fountain.

After lunch we had a short nap on plastic mats that always seemed vaguely sandy, and then, it was playtime! Glorious freedom to run and scream and cut capers. There was a big swing set, a merry-go-round, and what was probably the most popular piece of playground equipment ever — a rusted-out junk car sitting on blocks. We swarmed its frame like ants, crawling under, over, and all around it. I remember climbing inside and sitting through the bottom of the enormous steering wheel while my friends rocked me from side to side.

Red Rover; duck, duck, goose; crack the whip. We learned how to divide ourselves into teams, how to cope if you weren’t picked, how to lead, how to follow, and how to win or lose graciously, for Mrs. Jones would have it no other way. We learned that, if chased, Frankie could run just as fast with crutches and a cast as he could without. We learned that if you pick up a snake and bring it into the classroom, the teachers would scream bloody murder, even if it is just a little one. I learned that if you kick the mean boy in the ankle just as hard as you can, he’ll tell on you, and you will get paddled. Hard.

We learned so many lessons on that playground where there was no soft mat to cushion our falls, no hand sanitizer, and no time out. So many more lessons than are found between the covers of a book. So many lessons that have made so many things possible. MB

 Born and raised in Citronelle, Atkins shares stories about growing up and living in the South in her book, “They Call Me Orange Juice,” and at her blog audreyatkinswriter.com.

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HISTORY | ASK MCGEHEE

What caused a bay boat to explode at Point Clear in the summer of 1871? text by TOM MCGEHEE

The Ocean Wave was an oddly named freight vessel plying Mobile Bay and dated to 1854. In 1871, her boiler exploded as she sat in front of what is today the Grand Hotel. Men, women and children were drowned or badly injured, and the story of this catastrophe made the front page of every major newspaper from New York to San Francisco.

Long before the opening of the Causeway in 1927, the only method to move people and freight between Mobile and Baldwin counties was by steam-powered bay boats.

During the week, these vessels moved freight and the daily mail, but on summer evenings and weekends, they became pleasure boats that could be rented out for parties and excursions.

An Outing and Unplanned Stop August 27, 1871, was a typical summer Sunday: sunny, humid and hot. At least 200 Mobilians boarded the Ocean Wave at 10 a.m. for an excursion to Fish River and Bon Secour. Everyone was having such a good time that they convinced Captain William Eaton to make an unplanned stop at the Point Clear Hotel, despite his objections. It was 5 p.m.

Most of the passengers strolled the hotel’s grounds, and some men stopped in for refreshments at the bar in the resort’s “Texas.”

Others walked along the beach, dipping their toes in the Bay water. After about 30 minutes, the captain sounded the whistle, and folks made their way up the gangplank.

A guest at the hotel was sitting on the verandah and noticed a young girl dawdling along the path to the dock and thought to himself that she might miss the boat. As

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Above The only known image of the ill-fated Ocean Wave was drawn by Marian Acker Macpherson and appeared in a volume celebrating the 75th anniversary of the First National Bank of Mobile in 1940.

that last little passenger approached the gangplank, survivors recalled hearing an odd hissing sound coming from the engine room followed by one — some say two — earsplitting explosions. That little girl was thrown to the ground but survived.

Fragments of the boat — timbers and the metal of the boiler — were blown in all directions along with a number of unlucky passengers. The forward section of the cabin was carried away, and the smokestack collapsed, crushing the aft cabin. The vessel sank almost immediately in about seven feet of water.

Frantic cries filled the air as survivors called out for missing children, wives, husbands, parents, brothers and sisters. Capt. Eaton was spotted struggling in the water. Both of his legs were broken, and he vanished in the murky water before he could be rescued.

Death Toll Unknown Hotel guests and Point Clear residents rushed to assist those in the water. Many dove in and pulled women and children to shore, and a number of boats attempted to aid those thrashing about in the water. For most, the help came too late. Nineteen bodies were recovered that day, and the Bay was dragged afterwards, recovering dozens more. The death count was later estimated to be as high as 100, and residents recalled the sad sight of children’s hats and bonnets washing ashore for days.

Twenty-eight wounded passengers were taken into the hotel, which became a makeshift hospital. Others had cuts, scrapes and burns from the explosion. Two summer residents, Dr. James Grey Thomas and Dr. Kirk Reynolds, who practiced in Mobile, came to assist. The two physicians were

overwhelmed by the number of injured but worked until two steamers from Mobile arrived to take the wounded to hospitals a little after 8 p.m.

The scene at the dock in Mobile was bedlam as relatives of the passengers rushed the vessels looking for their loved ones. The Register reported, “The accident has cast a gloom over the whole city and universal sadness prevails.” Mobilians demanded an investigation.

According to information on file within the Local History and Genealogy Division of the Mobile Public Library, the fault was placed on the boat’s owners, engineers, a safety inspector and the men who had chartered her. The Ocean Wave had been converted to haul freight and did not have the proper permit to carry passengers.

The bar on board had arranged for the trip to take longer than planned in order to sell more refreshments, and witnesses stated they had seen the captain and the ship’s engineer drinking whisky that day. One of the owners who had planned to be on board was so drunk he missed the 10 a.m. sailing.

A Bad Repair and a Need for Speed The boiler on the Ocean Wave had been salvaged from a sunken bay boat and had been underwater for at least six months.

Although it was refitted and termed safe, the explosion was blamed on a patch that gave way that afternoon. Just who placed that fatal patch was apparently never determined.

Because of the slow cruising speed and an unplanned stop, it is possible that the captain was worried the crossing would conclude well after nightfall. He knew there was no moon, and the darkness would severely limit his sight in the Bay. As a result, it is suspected he called for full steam, and the increased pressure caused the old boiler’s patch to give way.

Unfortunately, the library’s files do not reveal what punishment was given to the various guilty parties, but the tragedy surely made future inspections of boilers aboard vessels far more stringent so that such an event would never occur again in Mobile Bay. MB

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END PIECE | IN LIVING COLOR

Toulminville Soda Fountain, 1948 Photo courtesy Erik Overbey Collection, The Doy Leale McCall Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of South Alabama • Colorization by Dynamichrome Limited

By 1920, nearly every pharmacy in America had a soda fountain, at the center of which was a tremendous counter flanked by swivel stools, soda spigots and ice cream galore. At this particular fount, located inside Toulminville Drug Store, two soda jerks look on as three girls, possibly sisters, polish off their ice cream cones, treats that would have set them back 5 cents apiece.

The girls’ outfits — crop-tops and play shorts — are indicative of 1940s fashion, and their bare feet are a true nod to summers in the South. The hot, lingering season lent itself well to many a child’s shoeless jaunt to stores or even school. While some kids chose to forego footwear, others, however, may not have had a choice. In 1948, shoes were still seen as status symbols, as not all families could afford to keep up with their children’s ever-growing soles.

Do you know the girls in this photograph or have memories of the Toulminville Drug Store? Let us know! Email ahartin@pmtpublishing.com.

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