Mobile Bay THE LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE FOR MOBILE AND BALDWIN COUNTIES
March 2021
ALTICE BOATS
SAVING THE LAST OF THE CLASSIC BAY CRAFTS
WATERSHED AWARDS
HONORING EIGHT LOCAL CHAMPIONS OF NATURE
CELEBRATE
DAUPHIN ISLAND
SEA LAB’S
AMY GREER THOMPSON PR Guru and Sportswoman
50 YEARS OF RESEARCH & EDUCATION
A NEW
KIND OF
GIRLS’ WEEKEND
FINDING ADVENTURE AND FRIENDSHIP IN THE GREAT OUTDOORS
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CONTENTS | VOLUME XXXVII / ISSUE 3
MARCH 2021 34
Right on Track Take a look at the past and present of the guardian of our coast as the Dauphin Island Sea Lab marks 50 years of research and education
MOBILE BAYKEEPER PROGRAM DIRECTOR (AND WATERSHED AWARD WINNER) CADE KISTLER. PHOTO BY MATTHEW COUGHLIN
40
Watershed Awards Raise a reusable cup to these eight champions of sustainability — the winners of our second annual Watershed Awards
50
Fly Fishing Chicks How one group of local women found fellowship and tranquility in the pursuit of trout
Located in the former Dauphin Island Annex of Brookley Air Force base, the Dauphin Island Sea Lab utilizes what used to be Air Force barracks to accommodate 160 students and scientists. Come along as we celebrate 50 years of marine research, page 34.
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CONTENTS | VOLUME XXXVII / ISSUE 3
MARCH 2021
18 ON OUR COVER THE FLY FISH CHICKS CAST A LINE ON THE CAUSEWAY JUST FOR FUN. AMY THOMPSON SHOWS THE CORRECT FORM.
24
PHOTO BY MATTHEW COUGHLIN
30 MEET THE SIMMS, FRANCIS AND MOORE FAMILIES / PHOTO BY ELIZABETH GELINEAU ALTICE BOATS ARE A FADING MOBILE MEMORY / PHOTO BY SIMONA NEWELL BACON-STUFFED DEVILED EGGS / PHOTO BY ELIZABETH GELINEAU
9 EDITOR’S NOTE 10 REACTION 12 ODDS & ENDS 15 THE DISH 16 TASTINGS Settle in for a taste of the Mediterranean at Sage Lebanese Cuisine 18 BAY TABLES Neighboring families find friendship in the aftermath of a storm
24 BITE-SIZED A recipe for baconstuffed deviled eggs that’s downright sinful
69
26 AWARENESS Learn about the threats facing six of lower Alabama’s endangered species
72 SPOTLIGHT Mike Bunn’s book “Fourteenth Colony” sheds light on the Revolutionary-era Gulf
80 ASK MCGEHEE Have Mardi Gras parades been cancelled due to a pandemic before?
76 LEGENDS Fans of the series “The Queen’s Gambit” will be fascinated to learn about this Mobile connection
82 BACK STORY There’s more than meets the eye in this historic photograph of pioneers at Camp Beckwith
30 BAY LIFE Norman Altice was the Bay Area’s original wooden boat master 66 MARCH CALENDAR
ARCHIVES Inspect a blockade runner’s Civil War speaking trumpet
78 LITERATURE Author Audrey McDonald Atkins knows that “ma’am” is more than just a word
On the campus of Spring Hill College is a statue of Paul Morphy, a legendary chess master of the 19th century. Learn more about Morphy’s life and Port City connection on page 76.
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Mobile Bay VOLUME XXXVII
No3
MAR 2021
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 Anna Pellerin
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, David Bagwell, Eleanor Inge Baker, Emmett Burnett, Jaimie Mans, Tom McGehee, David Newell, Breck Pappas, John Sledge CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS
Matthew Coughlin, Elizabeth Gelineau, Kathy Hicks, Simona Newell, Nicole Quinn, Chad Riley 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 © 2021 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.
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EXTRAS | EDITOR’S NOTE
The Ants Go Marching
DIP YOUR TOE IN THE WATER LOOKING TO PICK UP ANOTHER HOBBY? TURNS OUT FLY FISHING IS THE NEW GIRLS’ WEEKEND. YOU DON’T NEED A LOT OF FANCY GEAR, BUT A GOOD ROD IS A MUST. SAGE FLY FISHING ROD AND REEL MCCOY OUTDOOR
LOVE THIS ISSUE
I
’ve always enjoyed the great outdoors. I was the kid who climbed trees and made forts under bushes. There was too much adventure waiting to happen to worry about dirt under my fingernails. And although I now spend most of my days in high heels with my laptop, I am still drawn to nature whenever I get the opportunity. Last fall we packed up the family and headed to Cheaha State Park for a little camping and hiking excursion — a socially distanced getaway close to home for the win! Camping with three small children was guaranteed to be interesting, but with the right gear and sense of humor, I knew we would come away with memories to last a lifetime. In the end, we also came away with an entire colony of ants. When a small rock tore a microscopic hole in the floor of our tent — already scattered with toddlers and grown-ups in all manner of uncomfortable sleeping positions — the ants decided to make themselves at home, too. We all woke up in the night covered with trails of the little creatures, and no amount of squishing them under the glow of flashlights could resolve the problem. When morning came, we pulled out the trusty duct tape, but somehow the ants outsmarted us on night two and found new ways in. Although the hiking was breathtaking, the crowds scarce and the fresh air rejuvenating, as we prepared to light the campfire for night number three, my husband and I threw in the towel. There’s only so many ants this “nature girl” can handle. We put the kids in pj’s, buckled them in their car seats and turned on the Ipad while we furiously ripped down tents and threw camp chairs in the trunk. Although we drove home in the dark, I was not unhappy to see my bed waiting for me that night. Everyone has their “ants” when it comes to exploring the outdoors — it might be the heat, mosquitoes or even limited vacation days — anything that keeps them within the comfort of their own four walls. The trick (a trick I’m still learning) is to see past the ants. There is so much beauty all around us, and this Outdoors Issue begs you to celebrate it, enjoy it and protect it with everything you’ve got. Ants be damned.
EGG-CELLENT PRESENTATION I THOUGHT MY CABINETS DIDN’T NEED ONE MORE PLATTER OR BOWL ... UNTIL I SAW THIS BEAUTY. WHO KNEW EVERYONE NEEDED A PLATE JUST FOR DEVILED EGGS? ELEANOR INGE BAKER SHOWS US HOW TO MAKE THE BEST YOU HAVE TASTED. DEVILED EGGS, PAGE 24
RIDE ALONG I “WON” AT AUCTION A DAY WITH SEA LAB SCIENTISTS ON BOARD THEIR RESEARCH VESSEL. IT’S JUST ONE OF THE MANY REASONS I’M COUNTING DOWN THE DAYS UNTIL COVID IS OVER. SEA LAB 50TH ANNIVERSARY, PAGE 34
A FULL SERVING ON WEEKENDS, MY KIDS AND I RIDE BIKES TO THE FAIRHOPE JUICE COMPANY. IT’S THE PERFECT ENERGY BOOST FOR THE RIDE HOME. AND I FEEL GOOD RETURNING THE GLASS BOTTLES! WATERSHED AWARDS, PAGE 40 BEARLY AROUND PHOTOGRAPHER MATT COUGHLIN RECENTLY SAW A BLACK BEAR IN HIS GULF BREEZE BACKYARD! WHO KNEW THE BEARS WERE MAKING A COMEBACK? ENDANGERED SPECIES, PAGE 26
Maggie Lacey EXECUTIVE EDITOR
maggie@pmtpublishing.com
KNEE-DEEP IN MUD ON THE CAUSEWAY I’M ALWAYS PUSHING THE LIMITS OF A PHOTOSHOOT TO SEE WHAT PHOTOGRAPHER MATT COUGHLIN CAN DO! WE PICK THE WILD LOCATIONS, HE MAKES THE MAGIC HAPPEN. RUBBER BOOTS REQUIRED.
IN THE BAG I LOVE THESE COMPOSTABLE SANDWICH BAGS FOR SCHOOL LUNCHES. IT’S AN EASY WAY TO CUT BACK ON PLASTIC AND THE FUN PRINTS ARE A HIT WITH THE KIDS! LUNCHSKINS • $5/BOX TARGET AND WHOLEFOODS
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EXTRAS | REACTION
Tell us how you really feel ... THIS LAND IS OUR LAND
MOUNTAIN RETREAT
WHERE’S MY MAGAZINE?
On January’s feature, “Building Trust,” about the history and founders of the now-named South Alabama Land Trust, Dr. John Borom and Skipper Tonsmeire
On January’s Spotlight of hospitality entrepreneur Sandy Beall and his most recent venture, High Hampton in North Carolina
On a letter to the editor, regarding the timeliness of receiving Mobile Bay Magazine
I love and respect both of these men. They have done so much to save our land. - Pattie Adcock
I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed your article about High Hampton. My family had a house there for a while, and I really loved spending time at the inn, playing golf and hiking around the area. I haven’t seen it since Sandy Beall took over, so I am really curious to check it out. - Elizabeth Brinkley
Brilliant, hard working men!
- Ashley Sullivan
DINE ON A DIME (OR TEN)
- Andie Bender DR. JOHN BOROM AND SKIPPER TONSMEIRE / PHOTO BY MATTHEW COUGHLIN
Very informative article. South Alabama Land Trust is a great way to save this beautiful place.
I live in Beaufort, North Carolina, but grew up in Mobile with loads of family and friends there, and I treasure getting your magazine. There is always someone I know or grew up with, so it’s special. The January and December issues came last week. I’d like to get the magazine before any given month begins, not afterwards. That has happened for a long time, and it isn’t the way I’d wish.
On January’s Bay Tables featuring dietician Mary Alice Cain and the Dollar General recipe repertoire she helped develop That is so impressive! Never thought of a dollar store in that way.
Editor’s note: The holidays, pandemic and election appear to have created the perfect trifecta for wreaking havoc on the postal service. You aren’t the only one who had this happen! We take our publication schedule seriously — we’ve yet to miss a deadline. Once the printer releases the thousands of copies into the mailstream, it is unfortunately out of our control. We value our readers, so keep us updated should your subscription continue to be delayed.
- Val Faddis
- Michele Favrot Murphy
Great article! Glad these two men received the recognition they deserve.
Wonderful article! I can just imagine her watching [her mom] when she was little.
- Daisy Jones
- Louise Bixler Moore
I know John Borom from Faulkner. He posts gorgeous pics of birds, flowers, etc. [on Facebook], and I enjoy them. The Land Trust is a wonderful thing.
We are so proud of her!
MORE, PLEASE
- Lynn Calloway O’Neal
- Joyce Tuberville
On January’s History, “Bunker Hill in Miniature” by John Sledge, about an attempted sneak attack on the Eastern Shore
I’M STILL STANDING
Fabulous history, John. I hope this is a serial, and I await the next chapter.
RIDE DOWN MEMORY LANE On January’s Backstory, a breakdown of a photo from 1951, showing a city bus with a Delchamps advertisement
On January’s Ask McGehee about the history of “Cannongate,” the cannonguarded home once located on Spring Hill Avenue
… and Kayser’s.
Tom McGehee’s article on Cannongate was great, but there are still a few reminders of the estate that are extant: a small wood outbuilding, and more importantly, part of the original gardens — a brick wisteria-covered garden exedra called The Arches by the residents.
- Moo Martindale
- Douglas Kearley Sr.
You know you’re old when you remember Delchamps. - Rene Thompson Miss me some Delchamps. And Gayfers. And Hammel’s … - Deborah Marsal
- Martha Elizabeth Durant
REMNANTS OF CANNONGATE’S GARDEN / PHOTO BY DOUGLAS KEARLEY SR.
Want to share your thoughts and reactions to this issue? Email maggie@pmtpublishing.com. 10 mobilebaymag.com | march 2021
EXTRAS | ON THE WEB
More Ways to Connect We’re not just in print. Find us online, on social media and in your inbox. text by ABBY PARROTT
mobilebaymag.com
MARCH MADNESS Bracket season has arrived at Mobile Bay, but instead of basketball, our tournament is looking for the best restaurant dish in town. We’ve set up an online bracket where you can vote for your favorite dishes round after round until one wins the title and takes home the ultimate prize — bragging rights! Go online to cast your votes and share your picks.
PUT A RING ON IT Share your proposal story with us, and we’ll feature your engagement online and on social media. EXTRA, EXTRA Read an excerpt of Mike Bunn’s new novel, “Fourteenth Colony: The Forgotten Story of the Gulf South during America’s Revolutionary era.”
GARDENING GUIDE If you’re hoping to eat from the garden this summer, it’s time to get to work! Explore our spring gardening guide to find helpful month-by-month planting tips so you can take advantage of the Gulf Coast growing season and keep your backyard garden looking its best.
ERIN GO BRAGH Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with a full Irish feast. Check out our recipes for lamb chops, buttered cabbage, seafood chowder, soda bread and more. CRAWFISH GRAVY FROM R BISTRO / PHOTO BY NICOLE QUINN TOMATOES FROM THE GARDEN LAMB CHOPS & BUTTERED CABBAGE / PHOTO BY ELIZABETH GELINEAU
CURB APPEAL
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march 2021 | mobilebaymag.com 11
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EXTRAS | ODDS & ENDS
Catch Me Outside text by MB EDITORIAL STAFF
150
Acres of bayfront property were purchased by the City of Mobile and the State of Alabama in December of last year, offering public access, wetlands preservation and space for economic development.
$887 BILLION
The annual amount of consumer spending the outdoor recreation economy generates in the U.S.
“An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.” – Henry David Thoreau
2,000 Acres of land make up Historic Blakeley State Park, including 20 miles of hiking, biking and horseback riding trails. Catch up with Historic Blakeley State Park Director Mike Bunn and read about his new history book on page 72.
[MARCH 17]
ST. PATRICK’S DAY
Kiss me, I’m Irish vaccinated
Out of 50 states, Alabama ranks fourth in biodiversity and third in the number of endangered or threatened species. The black bear is on the endangered list in Alabama.
SALT WATER VS. FRESH WATER Did you know that the legal boundary between fresh water and salt water is marked by the southernmost roadway across Mobile Bay? In other words, if the Bayway or Causeway is ever south of you, you should be fishing with a freshwater license. Fly rods are also divided by saltwater and freshwater classifications. The obvious difference between the two types of rods is the fittings. Saltwater environments corrode, so the fittings are made from corrosion-resistant materials. Saltwater rods work fine in fresh water, but not the other way around. march 2021 | mobilebaymag.com 13
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FOOD | THE DISH
Bite of the Bay MB’s contributing food fanatics share their go-to local dishes.
DANIEL HUGGINS, Chief Operating Officer, Children’s Medical Group, P.A.
STEAK AT DAUPHIN’S “The team at Dauphin’s does an excellent job when it comes to the customer service, presentation and meal for the patrons. The steak by far was the best I’ve had since living in Mobile. Seasoned to perfection and truly mouthwatering — hats off to the chef. And of course, the view of the city really drives the experience home.” DAUPHIN’S • 107 ST FRANCIS ST., SUITE 3400 444-0200 • GODAUPHINS.COM
MO’BAY BEIGNET / PHOTO BY ELIZABETH GELINEAU
E. LEE WEBB III, Commercial Relationship Manager, Trustmark National Bank
MEZA MIXER AT SAGE LEBANESE CAFE “The only time my wife and I can meet up without kids during the week is for lunch, and we love to go to Sage Lebanese Cuisine & Cafe in downtown Fairhope. We split the Meza Mixer, an appetizer sampler that offers a variety of homemade tastes including hummus, grape leaves, falafel and ample pita bread. We then split an entree, usually the lamb over hummus, which comes with a salad and in-house dressing. Go for the Sriracha hummus for an extra kick!” SAGE LEBANESE CUISINE & CAFE 319 FAIRHOPE AVE., FAIRHOPE • 517-7536 SAGELEBANESECUISINE.COM
MARISSA THETFORD, Owner, Marissa Thetford Marketing
SPICY RED CURRY COCONUT CHICKEN BOWL AT DRAGONFLY “If you’re not an adventurous eater, don’t let a list of unfamiliar ingredients scare you. This is one of the best dishes in town! The combination of velvety noodles and creamy broth balances the heat from the jalapeños and Asian pesto perfectly. It’s an excellent departure from the salad and sandwich lunch routine, and you can’t beat the atmosphere. (Pro tip: Ask for it over steamed cabbage if you’re watching carbs.)”
MICHELLE PARVINROUH, Executive Director, Innovation Portal
BEIGNETS AT MO’BAY BEIGNET CO. “These beignets have an irresistible, fluffy doughiness. I almost skipped out on the homemade syrups, thinking anything topped with copious amount of powdered sugar is already overindulgent, but I couldn’t help my curiosity. The syrups are definitely decadent, but not overwhelming. I’m particularly fond of the cinnamon syrup. I highly recommend pairing these extra sweet treats with the freshly brewed pecan or chicory coffee.”
DRAGONFLY FOODBAR • 7 S CHURCH ST.,
MO’BAY BEIGNET CO. • 451 DAUPHIN ST.
FAIRHOPE • 990-5722
455-0056 • MOBAYBEIGNETCO.COM
What dishes made you drool and left you hungry for more? Share them on our Facebook page! march 2021 | mobilebaymag.com 15
FOOD | TASTINGS
Sage Lebanese Cuisine & Cafe text by AMANDA HARTIN • photos by ELIZABETH GELINEAU
CURRIED CAULIFLOWER & HUMMUS
F
rom inside the tiny restaurant along the Fairhope Avenue corridor comes a fragrant aroma so divine it tempts even the most hurried shopper to stop and smell the thyme, so to speak. A heavenly scent of spices and grilled meat hangs heavy over the patio dining tables and envelopes you upon entry into the Mediterranean-decorated cafe. Once seated, diners are tasked with making the near-impossible decision of what to order. Rest assured, there is no wrong choice or shortage of dishes to sample. Declared “Worth the Drive” by Alabama Living Magazine, Sage Lebanese Cuisine and Cafe is owned by husband and wife duo, Maritza and Nader Salibi. The Downtown eatery certainly has its share of out-of-towners, but local fans, looking to satiate their Middle Eastern cravings, keep the place running. “They used to come for my wife,” Nader, above, laughs, explaining that Maritza knows everybody. But there’s more to it, he says. “It’s our consistency. Everyone who works here cares about the food and the service.” And it’s true. Making sure guests
have the best experience is a top priority for the Salibis. Nader, who was born and raised in Lebanon, explains, “It’s not about the order in which the food is served. It’s the experience, the sharing of food, the sitting down with one another.” Ecuadorborn Maritza agrees, her hospitality evident in both her warm demeanor and exceptional pastry skills — the baklava alone deserves a place on everyone’s list of favorites. The pint-sized cafe’s mission — and their food, of course — has drawn the attention of a few big-time celebrities over the years, including Vince Vaughn, Liam Hemsworth, Jason Segel, Casey Affleck and Dakota Johnson. Mediterranean dishes vary from region to region, sometimes even family to family. Many menu items are based on Nader’s time in the kitchen as a child with his grandmother. The moussaka, for example, includes chickpeas, an ingredient not often found in other versions but one he grew up using. To those still leery to venture out of their culinary comfort zones, Nader says, “Just try it.” We know you’ll like it. MB
Sage Lebanese Cuisine & Cafe • 319 Fairhope Avenue, Fairhope • 517-7536 • sagelebanesecuisine.com Lunch: 11 a.m. - 2 p.m., Dinner: 5 - 9 p.m., Mon - Sa
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FOOD | TASTINGS
KEBAB SUPREME
[ON THE MENU ]
HUMMUS TRIO
MEZA MIXER
KEBAB SUPREME
You can’t go wrong with this crowd-pleasing favorite, featuring creamy traditional hummus, fruity Kalamata hummus and fiery hummus Sriracha. Served with warm, sumacsprinkled pita bread.
Not sure what to order? This filling appetizer sampler includes hummus, rice-stuffed grape leaves, moussaka (eggplant stew), garlic labneh (Lebanese cream cheese), falafel bites and pita bread.
A meat-lover’s delight, this over-the-top entree boasts shish kebab, chicken kebab, kafta kebab (ground beef) and lamb chops. It’s served with a house salad and homemade dressing, turmeric rice and grilled veggies.
CURRIED CAULIFLOWER & HUMMUS The superstar of this vegan dish is the herbbursting za’atar pita. The savory cauliflower and hummus sprinkled with lemony sumac deserve fame, too.
Clockwise, from left Davis Moore, 11; Hill Simms, 11; Carter Francis, 10; Hank Simms, 8
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FOOD | BAY TABLES
No Fences
Makes Good Neighbors Hurricanes and quarantines led to three Montrose families discovering friendships in their own backyard.
text by AMANDA HARTIN • photos by ELIZABETH GELINEAU
I
f you’d been standing in Abby and Bo Simmses’ backyard that autumn afternoon, you would have seen Carter Francis’ ruffled brown hair and almond-shaped eyes peeking over the top of their privacy fence. Ten-year-old Carter was on a mission, the end of which would result in far more than he — or his parents — could imagine. “Hey, Dad, there’s kids!” Mike Francis recalls of son Carter’s enthusiastic reconnaissance report. Mike and his wife, Amanda, had moved to this wooded Montrose culde-sac three years prior, and they’d been awaiting the day they’d hear news like that. Now, standing in their kitchen, the two grin as they listen to their son unfurl the details of meeting the neighbors-turned friends, who have just arrived for their daily afterschool playtime. “I was climbing the fence, and then I saw Hank,” Carter beams proudly, looking at the freckled 8-year-old. Hank nods, and big sister Hayes picks up the story. “I came out in my pajamas to see what was happening,” the 10-year-old laughs, sheepishly. Older brother Hill, eager to get a word in, interjects, “And we asked him if he knew Davis and Elliott Moore, the other two kids down the street, and he said yes!” Although they made a quick connection, it wasn’t until after Hurricane Sally that neighborhood friendships would really bloom. “When the fence fell, that’s when it sort of became one big backyard,” Abby says, now outside, nodding toward the privacy fence that once stood between her home and the Francises’.
Amanda Francis and her Lebanese spinach pie
march 2021 | mobilebaymag.com 19
As if on cue, Carter walks across the slumped wood planks, still in their post-hurricane resting position, and joins the others on the ninja line strung between two sturdy pines. “He looks forward to coming home and playing outside every day,” Amanda says, calling it “old-school play.” “Nobody old-school plays anymore.” Abby agrees. Amanda heads back to her house to finish dressing the cheesecake she’s prepared for this evening’s potluck. From the opposite direction come Davis, 11, and Elliott, 8, the aforementioned children from down the road. Late afternoon light shines on the brother and sister as they run down the magnolia- and pine-covered path adjacent the Simmses’ yard. They dash off, each shouting hellos before running to claim a hammock. Tierney and Brian Moore, their parents, aren’t far behind, she carrying a platter of oven-baked ham sandwiches, he lugging cocktail fixings. At 13, Anna Christian, the oldest of all the children, sticks with her mom as Tierney stops to chat. “When the fence came down …” she begins, a phrase used frequently this afternoon, then restarts. “The kids would have never gotten together, or maybe they would have eventually. But this just quickened the process.” Tierney’s children now travel this path from one house to another so often they were given headlamps and walkie-talkies for Christmas. “We tell them, ‘Just be home by dark.’” Between the three homes, there is no shortage of things to do, from baseball to fishing, from tiptoeing through Rock Creek to trampoline jumping. The woodsy, tucked-away area in Montrose indeed harkens to playtime of yesteryear. And Amanda has no qualms about it. “They’re outside,” she says, noting
MIKE’S BIRTHDAY CHEESECAKE
Amanda Francis says she is “ famous” for her cheesecake and thinks the almond extract is what takes it from good to great. SERVES 14 Crust 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs 6 tablespoons (3/4-stick) unsalted butter, melted 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
the importance of balancing electronics with fresh air. Abby laughs, remembering the time Carter told her, “I do have video games, but I am wanting to spend more time outdoors.” She happily obliged, sending her kids outside. It’s not always about having something to do, however. Although the kids play outside daily, the adults don’t get together as often as they’d like. But when they do, Mike says, “It’s just about hanging out.” And eating, of course. Hart, Abby’s 1-year-old son, would most likely agree if asked between devouring fistfuls of blueberries. As the families say good night, it’s clear that more than just the kids have made friends — the adults have, too. And while the phrase “Good fences make good neighbors” may be true, the toppled barrier between the friends’ yards is certainly one nobody is in a hurry to mend. MB
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9-inch springform pan. 2. In a small bowl, mix ingredients. Press into pan. 3. Bake 5 minutes. Let cool completely. Filling 4 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened 2 cups white sugar 3/4 cup whole milk 4 eggs 1 cup sour cream 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 2 (21-ounce) cans blueberry pie filling, chilled
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 2. In a mixer, mix cream cheese with sugar until smooth. Blend in milk, and then mix in the eggs one at a time, mixing just enough to incorporate. 3. Mix in sour cream, vanilla extract, almond extract and flour until smooth. Pour filling into prepared crust. 4. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour. Do not open the oven. Turn the oven off, and let cake cool in oven with the door closed for 5 - 6 hours to prevent cracking. 5. Chill in refrigerator until ready to eat, then add chilled blueberry pie filling and serve.
Top Hank Simms and his chameleon, Spike. Left Neighborhood friends spend time just “hanging” out. 20 mobilebaymag.com | march 2021
FRUIT PIZZA
Abby Simms’s mother-in-law handed down this simple and sweet kid-friendly treat. SERVES 8 1 roll sugar cookie dough 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese 1/2 cup sugar 1 tablespoon sour cream 1 teaspoon vanilla extract mixed fruit of your choice, sliced
Spread cookie dough over round pizza pan to form one large cookie. Bake per package directions. Combine cream cheese, sugar, sour cream and vanilla. Spread atop cookie base. Top with fruit.
march 2021 | mobilebaymag.com 21
LEBANESE SPINACH PIE SERVES 12
Fresh lemon and flaky layers of phyllo dough bring this savory spinach and feta pie to life. Amanda Francis says it is very similar to a Greek spanakopita, but this is her family’s Lebanese recipe. Filling 60 ounces (4 bags) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained 1 tablespoon olive oil 2 tablespoons lemon juice 16 ounces feta cheese, crumbled 16 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded 6 ounces cream cheese 4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed 1/4 teaspoon onion powder 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper salt, to taste Pastry 8 ounces butter, melted 1 twin-pack package Athenos phyllo dough, room temperature
Tip: Use a damp cloth to cover dough while brushing butter on each layer. Refer to instructions on box for more information. 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 2. Wrap thawed spinach in a clean kitchen towel and squeeze out as much water as you can. In a large pot over medium heat, add olive oil to coat the bottom. Add the squeezed spinach, lemon juice, crumbled feta, mozzarella, cream cheese, garlic, onion powder, nutmeg and cayenne pepper. Gently fold the mixture together. Taste for seasoning and add salt, if desired. Remove from heat and set mixture aside. 3. Brush melted butter lightly all over the inside of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. From the first package of phyllo, place two sheets of phyllo dough, staggering dough to cover the bottom and sides of the pan and lightly brush phyllo
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PARTY HAM SANDWICHES SERVES 6
with melted butter. Repeat two sheets at a time, brushing with butter until you have laid down at least half of the first package of phyllo. 4. Add spinach mixture and spread evenly into the pan. 5. Open second package of dough, and repeat dough layering over the top, brushing with melted butter every two layers until you have used all of the second package. 6. Using a sharp knife, cut the uncooked pie to establish your individual pieces (smaller for an appetizer, larger for main course). Cutting the pieces before you bake it will make it much easier to serve and will prevent the crispy top of the spinach pie from shattering.
Tierney Moore’s sliders always go fast! Brown sugar and horseradish provide a surprisingly sweet kick. 1 (12-count) package King’s Hawaiian Rolls 3 tablespoons creamy horseradish sauce, divided 3/4-pound thinly sliced Black Forest ham 8 slices white American cheese 6 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons brown sugar 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 2. Split each dinner roll. Spread a small amount of creamy horseradish sauce on the bottom of each roll. Layer ham and cheese, then replace top of roll. Arrange the sandwiches in a 9-by-13-inch pan.
7. When finished assembling, bake for 45 minutes, checking the top occasionally for over-browning. If it starts to get too brown, lay a piece of foil over top while baking.
3. In a small saucepan, combine butter, brown sugar, remaining 1 tablespoon horseradish sauce, Worcestershire and poppy seeds. Bring to a boil and pour over sandwiches.
8. Remove from oven and let set for 15 minutes. Recut through existing cut lines and serve.
4. Bake for 20 - 30 minutes, or until the tops are brown and crispy.
CREAMY BACON MAC ‘N’ CHEESE SERVES 12
Who says mac ‘n’ cheese is just for kids? The Francises use bacon to add a smoky flair to their comfort food. 1 pound large elbow macaroni, uncooked 1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided 3/4 cup fresh breadcrumbs 2 ounces (about 1/2 cup) Parmesan cheese, shredded or grated 6 thick-cut bacon slices, cooked, crumbled and divided 1/3 cup all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon black pepper 1 teaspoon dry mustard 3 cups whole milk 1 cup whole buttermilk 1/3 cup unsalted butter, plus more for greasing dish 12 ounces (about 3 cups) extrasharp cheddar cheese, shredded 4 ounces (about 1 cup) Monterey Jack, provolone or mozzarella cheese, shredded 2 large eggs, well-beaten
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bring 3 quarts water to a boil over high heat in a large stockpot. Stir in pasta
and 1 tablespoon of the salt and return to a boil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until pasta is tender but still firm, about 6 minutes. Reserve and set aside 2 cups cooking water, and then drain the pasta. Return pasta to pot and remove from heat. Cover to keep warm. 2. Generously grease a 9-by-13inch baking dish and set aside. Toss together breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, and half of the cooked, crumbled bacon in a bowl, and set aside. Stir together flour, pepper, mustard, and remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons salt in a small bowl. Heat milk and buttermilk in a medium saucepan over medium heat, undisturbed, until barely steaming but not boiling, 4 - 5 minutes. Set aside. 3. Melt butter in a large, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Add flour mixture. Cook, whisking often, until mixture is smooth and thick and has a delicate golden color and toasted aroma, about 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in warm milk mixture. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cook,
stirring often, until thickened to the texture of cream, about 3 minutes. 4. Stir shredded cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses into milk mixture and remove from heat. Stir in beaten eggs until mixture forms a smooth sauce. 5. Uncover cooked pasta and stir. (If pasta sticks together, stir in reserved warm cooking water, and drain again.) Stir cheese mixture and remaining bacon into drained pasta in stockpot. 6. Transfer pasta mixture to prepared baking dish. Sprinkle evenly with breadcrumb mixture. Bake in preheated oven until firm, puffed up and lightly browned, 35 - 40 minutes. Serve hot or warm.
Above, left to right Amanda Francis’s Lebanese spinach pie. Friends Elliott Moore, 8, and Hayes Simms, 10. Mouthwatering poppy seed-sprinkled ham sandwich. Tierney Moore and Abby Simms. Piping hot creamy bacon mac ‘n’ cheese is gooey goodness.
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FOOD | BITE-SIZED
My Best Offering The addition of bacon can turn a despised appetizer into a fail-proof party treat. Eleanor Inge Baker cracks open the perfect deviled egg. text by ELEANOR INGE BAKER • photos by ELIZABETH GELINEAU
My dear friend and neighbor Jennifer Steed, who is the best cook I’ve ever known, first suggested I make deviled eggs stuffed with bacon. I had been complaining to her that, although I hated them, I’d been tasked with making the dish for some event. The deviled eggs I grew up with were made by my grandmother from Greenville, Alabama. The texture of her stuffing was smooth, and they had a pale yellow color flecked with minimal paprika and sweet pickled relish. I thought they were disgusting and saved room instead for her heavenly, sevenlayer caramel cake whenever I could get away with it. Upon Jennifer’s advice, I Googled “bacon-stuffed deviled eggs,” read four or five recipes, then jotted down the ingredients that sounded best to me. This recipe has changed over the years, but it’s set in stone now. I could make these devils in my sleep.
Deviled eggs have been a staple of American picnics and parties since the mid-20th century. They date back as far as Ancient Rome, where eggs were boiled, seasoned with spicy sauces and then served at the beginning of a meal. The word “deviled” can be traced to the 1700s. The British culinary term originally meant to cook something with spicy condiments and seasonings — usually mustard and cayenne pepper. I love to entertain. In fact, the only reason I ever learned how to cook or clean was so that I could have my friends over. My favorite recipes tend to be the ones I serve most at parties. These bacon-stuffed deviled eggs are my go-to for baby showers, hospitality hour at church, “rosé all day” with my girlfriends and early Sunday suppers with my sweet in-laws. They seem especially fit for daytime fetes, and there are rarely any left standing on the plate!
“If you want to serve a low-calorie appetizer, do not serve bacon-stuffed deviled eggs. You will make everybody miserable if you try to make something heavy low-cal. If you use low fat mayo as a substitute, everyone will know what you did — and they will never forgive you.”
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Bacon-Stuffed Deviled Eggs INGREDIENTS 12 eggs 5 - 6 pieces crisply fried bacon, chopped 3 - 4 green onions, chopped, green parts only 3 - 4 heavy-handed shakes Crystal Hot Sauce 3 - 4 heaping tablespoons Hellman’s Real Mayo 2 - 3 tablespoons Zatarain’s Creole mustard garlic salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste paprika, to taste
1. Add eggs to a large pot and fill with cold water to cover by an inch. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from boiling water and place in a bowl of cold water until eggs are completely cool. Place in refrigerator overnight. (See tips, right). 2. Slice eggs in half and scoop out yolk into a bowl. Place egg whites on a deviled egg plate. 3. Set aside 1 tablespoon each of bacon and green onions for garnish. Mash egg yolks, remaining bacon and green onions, hot sauce, mayo and mustard with a fork until mixed well. Add garlic salt and pepper to taste. 4. Scoop stuffing into a ziptop bag. Cut corner off bag and use to pipe stuffing into egg whites. 5. Garnish plated eggs with reserved onion and bacon. Sprinkle with paprika immediately before serving.
Eleanor Breaks it Down Just Chill Ever had a hard time peeling your boiled eggs? Me, too. After you boil your eggs, soak them in cold water until they are no longer warm. Store them in the fridge overnight. Tell me this trick doesn’t help make peeling those eggs easier!
Bacon Bacon can be cumbersome to fry in a pan. I’ve found it much easier to fry it on a cookie sheet in the oven. Preheat at 400 degrees and then cook for 8 - 10 minutes until crispy. Be sure to remove the bacon immediately from the hot pan or it will stick.
Flavor Crystal Hot Sauce is my favorite because of its high vinegar content. I don’t want my food just to be spicy — I want it to be more flavorful.
No Substituting Never ever substitute low fat mayo for real mayo. That trash has tons of sugar and will ruin any recipe. I prefer Hellman’s Real Mayo, but if you must blaspheme this and other heavy mayo-laden recipes, try sour cream or Greek yogurt. You may need to add more vinegar for the yummy tang you’re bound to lose.
Best Mustard Zatarain’s Creole Mustard costs about $2 and is the best brown, coarsely ground mustard I have found. I substitute it for any and every mustard ever called for in a recipe.
GUMBO | AWARENESS
On the Brink Meet six of the most vulnerable species among us and the experts fighting to preserve them. text by EMMETT BURNETT
Turtles, and plovers, and bears, oh my!
Loggerhead Sea Turtle
Nature’s odds are against sea turtles. One in a thousand surThey are the coastal critters who live among us and need our vive to adulthood. Chances are you will never see one, but assistance. Indeed, we are taking great strides to coexist with it’s quite a sight. The mother buries her eggs on the beaches our unique, vulnerable wildlife neighbors. of Gulf Shores, Dauphin Island Here are six such animals. Each and other coastal areas. When is either endangered, threatened, hatched, palm-size turtles burand/or a protected species as row out from the sand at night designated by the U.S. federal and race to the water. Most government, the state of Alawon’t make it. They fall victim bama or both. They range from to predators and beach lights. the meek, such as a mouse that “Turtles are programmed fits in the palm of your hand, to follow light,” says Sara to the mighty — black bears Johnson, director of Share that are stronger than you the Beach, an organization (don’t make them prove it). devoted to helping baby sea Regardless of size, temturtles see the light — the perament, fur, scales or correct one — reflected feathers, the animals in from moon-lit ocean jeopardy attribute their waves. “Beach lighting troubles to common defrom buildings, elecnominators: loss of habitat, trical poles and other encroachment and envisources confuses them. ronmental disruptions. Babies will run towards Before exploring creaartificial lights on shore tures in need, a disclaimer and to their doom. is in order. Though each is “We work with comcute, huggable, and petmunities in establishing able — don’t. It is best light ordinances and ento let them do their own courage property owners thing and you do yours. It Above This original work of art by Gulf Coast artist to use tinted beachfront is also the law. With that, Cherilyn Ramsey shows a number of the most windows. Amber or red meet the Southern six significant endangered species in the state of spectrum lighting is best Alabama. It was commissioned by Red Beard’s and discover what is beOutfitter and is available on stickers and T-shirts. for turtles,” she notes. ing done to protect them.
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A species is considered endangered when it is under threat of extinction in at least a significant portion of its range. When a species is likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future, it is listed as threatened.
“They are not attracted to those colors like they are to white lights.” Once in the surf, baby turtles swim thousands of miles into the Atlantic Ocean until reaching sargassum mats, their new home of floating seaweed. Male turtles will never touch land again. But in a few years, females swim back to the spot where they were born. They build a nest, lays eggs and the circle of life continues.
Red-Bellied Turtle Though not as well traveled as loggerheads, red-bellied turtles populate Mobile Bay, the tributaries of Mobile and Baldwin counties, a few sections of coastal Mississippi and nowhere else on earth. “It is a ‘big-river’ species,” says Evan Collins, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist. “It prefers fresh water but will occasionally live in brackish.” Life is good in water but dangerous on land. “Red-bellied turtles must come on land to breed,” Collins notes. “This
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Alabama is third in the nation for endangered or threatened species under the Endangered Species Act, following only California and Hawaii, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
makes them vulnerable to terrestrial predators and human activity.” Natural threats include raccoons, opossums and feral hogs. Human threats include a deadly, unintentional foe — roads. “Females are attracted to elevated areas to lay eggs,” Collins adds. “The Causeway is one such elevated place that attracts them. It is a prime spot for egg laying and to be crushed in traffic.” About a decade ago, knee-high turtle fences were constructed along the Causeway and are still in place. “It has been effective,” the turtle specialist says. “Fencing drastically reduced turtle crossings on the Causeway.” He adds that the Fish and Wildlife service provides recommendations and project reviews for potential building, roadway and pipeline projects. The work can be
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done without harming turtles. “One thing the red-bellied turtle has going for it,” Evans notes, “is that it lives in our Delta, which overall is still a wild, untouched place, affording a good deal of protection for the species.”
Alabama Beach Mouse Chances are good that you will never see a beach mouse because it’s nocturnal, but you will likely see its home. It lives in sand dunes. “Historically, the mice were first found on Ono Island,” recalls Bill Lynn, recovery and permitting lead for the Alabama beach mouse, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “Today, it is an isolated population at Gulf State Park, between Gulf Shores and Orange Beach and the west side of Little Lagoon Pass to the tip of Ft. Morgan.” Those same areas are also prime real estate, and therein lies the problem. Early land development fragmented and destroyed the beach mouse’s habitat. “Today, we ask people to develop with the needs of the mouse in mind,” Lynn explains. “We want developers to use native landscaping — coastal plant species found on our coastline — and also leave areas in the building plans for the mouse’s habitat.”
Perdido Key Beach Mouse Similar to the Alabama beach mouse, the Perdido Key beach mouse lives in — you guessed it — Perdido Key. It is a different species with different environmental concerns. “Perdido Key mice live in a more precarious state of being than their Alabama counterpart,” Lynn notes. “Perdido Key is flatter and more susceptible to storm damage and washout. The Perdido Key beach mouse has less habitat than the Alabama beach mouse.” Both live in a series of tunnels buried in sand dunes. The mouse family resides in an underground den with at least one main entrance, an exit tunnel and a secret escape route. The emergency exit remains
sealed until needed. If a predator digs into the entrance, the mice race through the emergency tunnel, breach the surface and run to safety. “We want people to minimize predators by controlling their pets,” Lynn adds, “especially free-roaming cats.”
Piping Plover Unlike others on our list, piping plovers are commonly sighted, but the birds are often mistaken for similar feathered beachcombers. Many wading birds are in the plover family, and most of us call them all sandpipers. They are not. “The piping plover winters down here but does not nest,” says Roger Clay, wildlife biologist for the Non-game Wildlife Program with the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. The little surf-dwellers scurry along the beach in search of small bits of seafood during November through February. “The plover population is stabilized,” the biologist adds, “but we keep it on the endangered species list because of the shoreline competition with people and loss of habitat. We encourage people to keep away from breeding grounds and other areas as much as possible.”
Alabama ranks second nationally for number of species per acre. Black Bear According to wildlife officials, “Lumbering, foreboding and misunderstood” are words that describe the black bear. Weighing up to 300 pounds, they are in our neighborhoods. Over the years, they have migrated to coastal Alabama from the north due to habitat encroachment. “The ones you see walking down the street are probably juvenile males,” notes Alabama Division, Wildlife and Freshwater Fisher-
Estimates suggest that nearly 100 species have become extinct in Alabama since colonial times. ies biologist Thomas Harms, speaking at a Satsuma, Alabama, bear seminar. “Female bear cubs never venture far from home, but juvenile male bears are kicked out of the den forever. The boys are young, dumb, don’t know what they are doing, or where they are going. They don’t understand your neighborhoods or humans.” But they do understand food and will eat anything you eat — and more. Harms recommends not leaving pet food out overnight in bear-prone areas and securing garbage cans. In a recent Saraland City Council meeting, Mayor Dr. Howard Rubenstein reported bears transformed his garbage cans into an all-you-can-eat buffet, twice in a month. Oh, and that hibernation thing does not apply. “It’s too warm down here for bears to hibernate in the winter,” Harms says. “They don’t do that in south Alabama.” The good news is, you have a better chance of being struck by lightning than being bear brunch. “Their first instinct when seeing you is to run away,” Harms says. “Give them space.” No problem. MB
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PEOPLE | BAY LIFE
Memory of a Boat Builder Norman Altice isn’t the best-known wooden boat builder to churn out vessels in the Mobile Bay area, but his boats, and his memory, just beg for preservation. text by DAVID NEWELL • color photos by SIMONA NEWELL
M
ost people would guess that Lawrence Stauter was the first successful recreational boat builder in Mobile. It’s a reasonable assumption, but the truth is, as Stauter was beginning his fledgling business on the Mobile Causeway in 1946, there was another noteworthy career winding down. Norman Altice established Altice Marine Ways on the Mobile River after the first World War, constructing pleasure cruisers and recreational fishing boats for a mostly local clientele. His boats were beautiful and competed for buyers alongside nationally known manufacturers such as Hacker-Craft, Chris-Craft and Gar Wood. Unfortunately, most of his boats have succumbed to the ravages of time, and lost along with them was the memory of the man who built them. Resting against an old ramshackle fish camp on the Escatawpa River is one of the last remaining boats built by Altice. In this case, the boat is known as a “dragover” skiff because it was constructed light enough for the fisherman to drag it from the river into nearby oxbow lakes where the larger fish lay. If it weren’t for this rare survivor, I may have never discovered the story of Altice boats. David Bagwell, a retired judge and noted local historian, had restored the skiff back in the 1970s and regaled me with stories of the camp from its early years. It was because of his talent as a storyteller that the name of the man who built the boat stuck with me. A few years after first hearing of the Escatawpa River skiff, friend and preservationist Chan Flowers called to tell me of his latest acquisition … a 13-foot flat bottom “duck” skiff built in the 1930s. It was constructed of solid cypress — cross planked on the bottom — with double bench seats, mahogany gunwales and its original hardware. He had purchased the boat from the McPhillips family
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who kept the boat at their Alabama River camp. One of the stories passed along with the boat was that, when the family left for the season, they would tie the boat to a tree near camp and sink it to prevent its loss to high water or theft. Still sound as the day it was built, it was another Altice skiff. With two solid references, my interest was piqued, and I began to do a little research, hoping to shed more light on the man and his craft. Through a bit of luck, I was able to contact his granddaughter who shared an old photo of Altice in one of his large “gulf ” cabin cruisers, proudly displaying a tarpon caught in Mobile Bay. The photo captures a bygone era reminiscent of the sepia-toned sporting images of Zane Grey or Ernest Hemingway. Like the waters we fish, the story is murky. Born in 1896, Altice was the grandson of Martin Horst, a successful businessman and Reconstruction-era mayor of Mobile. It is possibly through this family connection that he managed to establish his boat-building business, Altice Marine Ways, on the industrial canal near Three Mile Creek. No doubt experiencing success with the growing leisure class of the 1920s, he added a showroom on Washington Avenue in what was a prime location just south of the Oakdale Community. A 1934 article in the Southern Democrat gave credit to Altice Marine Ways march 2021 | mobilebaymag.com 31
“THE PHOTO CAPTURES A BYGONE ERA REMINISCENT OF THE SEPIATONED SPORTING IMAGES OF ZANE GREY OR ERNEST HEMINGWAY.”
for constructing the best yachts and pleasure cruisers in Mobile waters. His talent is evident in the plan view of a 16-foot runabout advertised in the 1930 issue of the Buccaneer Breeze magazine. In addition to his skills as a craftsman, Altice also had a positive influence on the younger generation of boat builders. According to Eddie Negus, his father Rone Negus first learned the craft while working for Altice before setting off on his own successful career building Negus Boats. Altice’s career spanned several decades, and even in retirement, could be seen by neighbors in the garage at his home in Florence Place building small boats and even carving a few duck decoys. Before the city’s storm drainage improvements, one neighbor recalls Altice poling down the oak-lined avenue after a summer storm aboard one of his newly built skiffs. There are probably not more than a dozen boats constructed before 1950, from any builder, that are still afloat in the Mobile Bay area. For this reason, it is important that we document those that remain and, when possible, their history. Maybe one or two could even find a home at the GulfQuest National Maritime Museum someday. For now, the search continues. Out there somewhere is an Altice Silver Streak, just waiting to be discovered. MB David Newell is a professional engineer dedicated to the preservation of Mobile’s cultural heritage. Above all, however, he enjoys exploring our backwaters and bays with his family in their Stauter-Built boat.
Above, top to bottom Norman Altice in one of his “gulf” cabin cruisers. PHOTO COURTESY PATRICIA DALTON. A pristine Altice, ready to tackle duck hunting. PHOTO BY SIMONA NEWELL. Advertisement from a 1930 issue of the Buccaneer Breeze. PHOTO COURTESY BUCCANEER YACHT CLUB.
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text by BRECK PAPPAS
THE DAUPHIN ISLAND SEA LAB
Right On Track At the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, the collaboration between scientists, students and the public is the culmination of a lofty vision put in place 50 years ago.
5O YEARS OF THE SEA LAB 1971: Marine Environmental Sciences Consortium (MESC) created by state legislature 1972: MESC acquires
former U.S. Air Force Base
1972: Dr. Bob Shipp named Acting Director 1975: Discovery Hall Programs initiated 1977: Dr. George Crozier named Executive Director 1979: Hurricane
Frederic cuts off Dauphin Island from the mainland
1994: Education Center opens to the public as the initial public aquarium
W
hen it comes to implanting an acoustic tracker into the abdomen of a live fish, there’s no substitute for practice. Step one: Run water over the gills to keep the fish alive. Step two: Make a small incision on the belly. Step three: Insert tiny, battery-operated tracker. Step four: Make a quick suture. Released back into the water, that fish, thanks to its new accessory, can be tracked as it moves throughout the Bay and surrounding waterways. That’s because the implant emits a specific sound signature that can be detected by a network of 56 hydrophones strategically placed throughout the waters of Lower Alabama. These black, cylindrical containers are installed every summer by scientists from the Dauphin Island Sea Lab (DISL) as part of its Coastal Alabama Acoustic Monitoring Program (CAAMP). “We’ve done this with redfish, speckled trout and now with flounder,” says Dr. Sean Powers, professor and department head of marine sciences at the University of South Alabama and a senior marine scientist at DISL. “It’s the same technology that they use in submarine warfare.” The project is just one of the many initiatives pursued by Powers and his team of scientists with the Fisheries Ecology Lab. A wealth of information can be obtained through the tagging of fish, and the goals of researchers vary from species to species. “With flounder, one of the things we want to know is when do they go offshore to spawn?” Powers explains. “The state has restricted harvest in November to allow those fish to move offshore. We want to see if that’s the correct assumption.”
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TIMELINE (CONT’D) 1998: The Estuarium opens to the public
2001: DISL assumes
administrative sponsorship of the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program
2006: Marine Science Hall addition named Wiese Hall in honor of longtime supporter of the Marine Science Program at the University of South Alabama 2009: The Shelby Center
for Ecosystem-based Fisheries Management and Mesocosm completed
2010: Alabama Center for
Ecological Resilience formed in response to Deepwater Horizon oil spill
2011: Dr. John Valentine
named Executive Director
Above An aerial look at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab campus, 1974.
2011: Marine Mammal
Research Program begins
2012: DISL Foundation hosts the first Marine Environmental Awards Luncheon 2015: Marine Mammal Research Center opens
2017: Estuarium opens the 2,000-square-foot exhibit Windows to the Sea
2018: DISL creates a
development office to assist the DISL Foundation with fundraising activities
2019: DISL Foundation awards first Jenny Cook Memorial Scholarship 2020: DISL graduate student dorm (the Albatross building) and portions of Marine Science Hall impacted by more than $3.5 million in damages from Hurricane Sally 2021: DISL marks its 50th anniversary
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Powers discovered marine science in the same way that most of his students have — on earlymorning fishing adventures and in the orange glow of a rising sun. Raised in New Orleans, he recounts fishing trips with his dad to places like Hopedale and Delocroix, Louisiana. After earning his Ph.D. from Texas A&M and working at a coastal lab for UNC Chapel Hill, he took a job with the University of South Alabama in 2003 and was promptly stationed at Dauphin Island.
The Right Place
“IN MANY COASTAL STATES, A MULTITUDE OF LABS CONSTANTLY BATTLE ONE ANOTHER FOR FUNDING. THAT’S NOT THE CASE IN ALABAMA.”
Understanding the relationship between DISL and the University of South Alabama is key to understanding the founding vision behind the Sea Lab — a vision that was conceived exactly 50 years ago. In 1971, the Alabama Legislature established the Marine Environmental Sciences Consortium (MESC) “to provide educational programs in Marine Sciences on both the undergraduate and graduate levels; to promote and encourage pure and applied research in Marine Sciences and related areas and to promote and encourage communication and dialogue among those interested in marine sciences.” A new creation, the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, would serve as the administrative home of the consortium. The following year, the lab was established on the east end of Dauphin Island, in the former Dauphin Island annex of Brookley Air Force Base. Situated at the junction of Mobile Bay, the Gulf of Mexico and the
Mississippi Sound, the Sea Lab occupies a commanding position over the water. (At least, it was commanding enough for the United States military; the historic Fort Gaines sits just across the street.) Today, the consortium is comprised of 23 public and private colleges and universities, allowing the state’s marine science students the opportunity to attend classes and perform laboratory- and field-based research on the barrier island. “So the legislature, very wisely in my opinion, decided there should only be one marine lab,” Powers explains. In many coastal states, a multitude of labs constantly battle one another for funding. That’s not the case in Alabama. “In the charter for the Sea Lab, it essentially said, ‘You’re being organized to serve the education and research needs of all member universities.’” Thanks to the campus’s military past, students, faculty and staff can live in what once served as Air Force barracks; graduate students reside on campus year-round, and undergraduate students arrive for classes in the summer. The result is a sense of scientific community — a unity forged in the day-to-day submersion into marine pursuits. The scope of the lab’s research is mind-boggling: coral reefs, fisheries, seagrass, marine mammals, ocean acidification, tidal marsh ecology, marine toxins, the list goes on. For Lower Alabama residents, DISL couldn’t be in a better place. In 1995, the Environmental Protection Agency designated Mobile Bay an estuary of national significance, making it one of 28 estuaries identified as requiring preservation. Long before that designation, the Sea Lab began doing its part.
The Right Time Dr. John Valentine, executive director of the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, is no backroom figurehead; since arriving at DISL, the senior marine scientist has written or co-authored over 95 grant proposals for research. To Valentine, marking the lab’s half-century anniversary is an opportunity for reflection and reinvigoration. “For over 50 years now, scientists and
From top to bottom Dr. Sean Powers, a senior marine scientist at DISL. Researchers with the Fisheries Ecology Lab tag a bull shark. PHOTO BY DAVID HAY JONES
DISL’s floating classroom, the 65-foot R/V Alabama Discovery. Opening photograph Graduate student Dylan Kiene, left, and intern Christian Walker equip a greater amberjack with an acoustic tag.
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students from throughout the state of Alabama have been blessed to have the opportunity to study the ecology of the Gulf of Mexico at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab,” he says. “Here, because we are located at the Gulf’s doorstep, students and scientists are provided with the unique opportunity to easily immerse themselves in the remarkable ecology of the region. It is our goal to continue this tradition for the next 50 years.” Such sentiment is common at DISL, where there’s always another challenge, another hurdle, another puzzle to solve. While the Sea Lab has plans to officially mark the occasion with a celebration this September, nobody on the eastern tip of Dauphin Island is resting on their laurels; there’s just too much work to do. Powers and his team of five research assistants, seven graduate students and four interns at the Fisheries Ecology Lab know this all too well. Although just one facet of the day-to-day operations at DISL, fisheries ecology (or as Powers likes to describe it, “ecology you can eat”) often draws the most public attention and participation. “One of the reasons I like working on fisheries, besides liking fish, is because it’s something the public values and recognizes,” he says. “Ultimately, we want to do science that matters, and, in this region for sure, marine fisheries management matters.” His team’s goal, Powers summarizes, is essentially to provide science for sustainable management. “A lot of our work is focused on providing population abundances to the state,” he says. “We handle the science behind that and tell them what the results would be if they chose a different management scheme, but we don’t choose the management scheme.” In the past, this has meant studying the populations of everything from red snapper to amberjack, triggerfish to speckled trout. “There are about 20 or so projects running concurrently each year,” adds Crystal Hightower, the Fishery Ecology Lab’s senior research lab manager.
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Above Many local youngsters are introduced to our coastal environment by DISL. Right Sea lab researchers, 1974.
The Right People
“It kind of opened up a new opportunity for me there,” he says. “People have a Captain Richard Rutland of Coldblooded different purpose to go fishing versus just Fishing charters has found himself in a keeping fish.” position he never would have imagined 12 According to Scott Bannon, director years ago. That position is number one. of the Marine Resources Division of “I’ve actually been named the top the Alabama Department of Conservatagger for the state of Alabama for four tion and Natural Resources, “The Sea years in a row,” says the fishing guide and Lab is an invaluable tool to the state of Mobile native. Alabama and the Gulf of Mexico. They Rutland first developed a relationship provide tremendous data from inshore with Sea Lab scientists at the Alabama and offshore research to the state that Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo. The event is an allows managers to make informed unmatched opportunity for researchers to decisions. With Sea Lab assistance, study and catalogue more than 1,000 fish the state of Alabama has developed over the three-day fishing tournament. the world’s largest and best managed Rutland volunteered to take Sea Lab artificial reef zone, and that scientists on an excursion to reef zone and their research catch and tag redfish, and has led to the successful before too long, DISL was rebuilding of species such as regularly hiring the fisherman. years of red snapper.” For the past four years, Rutland education and Powers is always prepared to estimates the Sea Lab books his research at the talk red snapper. “The project services about 40 days a year. DISL that I get the most questions The story is just one example about, without a doubt, is of DISL’s efforts to harness the the red snapper work that we knowledge and manpower of member do with the state,” he says. the public. institutions that “We consider Richard part partner with DISL As part of The Great Red of our fish family,” Hightower to provide studies Snapper Count, a federally says. “We really learned to rely to undergraduate funded two-year research and graduate project, the Sea Lab teamed on the knowledge of the local students up with 12 institutions of charter captains. We might higher learning in order to know the physiology of the estimate the abundance of red fish, the behavior of the fish snapper in the Gulf of Mexico. — we may have read all this acres make up literature, but our ideas may not the DISL campus Preliminary findings from the project indicate that the work on the ground. So I think Gulf contains perhaps three the practicality of Richard’s times as much red snapper as knowledge after being out previously believed. there every single day is unmatched.” “This idea of not relying on models, Now, the TAG Alabama Program, that you can get an absolute abundance a partnership between DISL, Coastal through direct observations, seems so Conservation Association Alabama and the simple,” Powers says, “but it’s not how University of South Alabama Department fisheries management has been done. of Marine Sciences, allows recreational And it really started at the Sea Lab. We’ve fishermen the opportunity to participate in been doing absolute abundance estimates fish tagging. And Rutland has discovered for our state for about 10 years.” a new wrinkle to his business — taking For many of us, it seems like the Sea customers on the water who want to do Lab has always been here, as much a nothing but catch and tag fish.
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part of the landscape as the plants and animals it seeks to protect. As a child, you might have been introduced to the facility through the Discovery Hall Programs and the lab’s K-12 education and outreach initiative. Or your parents might have taken you to the Estuarium, the lab’s public aquarium, to see a starfish up close or to touch a stingray. But the true value of the Dauphin Island Sea Lab lies in the way it touches our lives every day — in ways unseen. “People want to come to Alabama to study marine science,” Powers says. “That shows you the reputation of the Sea Lab. The fact that it’s internationally known, operating from a small piece of barrier island off Alabama, is pretty amazing. And it’s happened over these 50 years.” MB
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“THE SEA LAB IS AN INVALUABLE TOOL TO THE STATE OF ALABAMA AND THE GULF OF MEXICO. THEY PROVIDE TREMENDOUS DATA FROM INSHORE AND OFFSHORE RESEARCH TO THE STATE THAT ALLOWS MANAGERS TO MAKE INFORMED DECISIONS.” – Scott Bannon, director of the Marine Resources Division of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
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text by JAIMIE MANS • opening photo by MATTHEW COUGHLIN
MOBILE BAY’S ANNUAL HONORS RECOGNIZE THE ENVIRONMENTAL GUARDIANS OF OUR COMMUNITIES.
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rom sun-kissed shores to centuries-old oaks, the Bay area is graced with a remarkable ecosystem, and many Mobilians are taking action to preserve and revitalize the outdoors around us. From managing stormwater in our rainy towns to focusing on the climate crisis, these environmental activists are doing their part. But the crusade to maintain our ever-changing habitat doesn’t stop with them. These leaders in conservation
encourage each and every one of us to start small and go from there — even saving rainwater for everyday use goes a long way. For the second year, MB salutes 8 leaders who show us how to care for this beautiful place we call home. All it takes is a little commitment and a lot of love for our part of this world. These are the recipients of Mobile Bay Magazine’s 2021 Watershed Awards.
Rosemary Ginn: Trash Talking As an assistant city engineer for the City of Mobile for almost 8 years, Rosemary Ginn’s main concern is litter and how it affects stormwater systems in the rainiest city in America. “When litter is thrown down on the side of a wet road, it flows right into an inlet or ditch, which makes its way into a waterway and then Mobile Bay,” Ginn says. “Now, who wants to swim or fish in that?” Recently, Mobile was awarded the Trash Free Waters grant,
enabling the city to place devices in our water inlets to decrease the debris that enters the stormwater system. Good news for us! But not all litter can be stopped this way. When asked what we can do to help, Ginn urges everyone to join or support clean-up efforts, to pick up trash whenever it’s encountered and to view the entire Bay area as our collective front yard.
Sam St. John: The Viewer
Rosemary Ginn
Picture this — aerial photographs of some of the Bay’s most incredible and impactful sites, such as the uninhabited end of Dauphin Island or the aftermath of Hurricane Sally. In addition to co-owning Logical Computer Solutions Inc., Sam St. John soars high above Mobile for the not-forprofit FlyTheCoast.com to highlight the beautiful sensitivity of our coastal environment. St. John’s flight path is over coastal marshes, barrier islands, and shorelines, documenting hard-to-see areas and sea life that need attention. These photos are sent to organizations such as the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Mobile Baykeeper, Alabama Coastal Foundation, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Port of Mobile and tourism and economic development groups. The visuals point out treasures, some of which may be in trouble. Although it may seem like a dream to fly every day,
ON PREVIOUS PAGE, LEFT TO RIGHT: 1) Sam St. John, Photographer, FlyTheCoast.com 2) Lorie Ward, Owner, Fairhope Juice Company 3) Caine O’Rear, Communications Director, Mobile Baykeeper 4) Daniel Galbraith, Director of Operations, Tonsmeire Properties; Board of Directors, South Alabama Land Trust 5) Casi Callaway, Executive Director and Baykeeper, Mobile Baykeeper 6) Cade Kistler, Program Director, Mobile Baykeeper 7) Richard Nisbett, Anthropologist, Gulf Coast Creation Care 8) Kim Burmeister, Planning and Zoning Code Enforcement Officer, City of Fairhope 9) Rev. Bob Donnell, All Saints Episcopal, Gulf Coast Creation Care. (Not pictured: Rosemary Ginn, Assistant City Engineer, City of Mobile; Major Joe Womack, Preservationist, Africatown)
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“NOT EVERYONE IS ABLE TO SEE WHAT I SEE DURING A COASTAL FLIGHT; IT’S MY GOAL TO PROVIDE AWARENESS OF OUR VALUABLE COASTAL RESOURCES, ALL WHILE ENSURING OUR ENVIRONMENT IS PROTECTED IN THE
Sam St. John
PROCESS.”
- Sam St. John
St. John expresses how tangible his contribution is: “Not everyone is able to see what I see during a coastal flight; it’s my goal to provide awareness of our valuable coastal resources, all while ensuring our environment is protected in the process.”
Cade Kistler: Show and Tell As program director for multifaceted Mobile Baykeeper, Cade Kistler never has a dull moment. Some days, he educates high school students through the Strategic Watershed Awareness and Monitoring Program (SWAMP), taking them to local streams to test water quality. On others, he stands waist-deep in the Bay taking samples for the Swim Where It’s Monitored (SWIM) program, ensuring that our waters are safe. But he’s not the only one who has all the fun! Another one of his responsibilities is helping to coordinate the many volunteers Mobile Baykeeper counts on, instructing them to become certified testers of water quality or arranging dates and supplies for litter pickups. When he and other Baykeeper staff, like Executive Director Casi Callaway or Communications Director Caine O’Rear, talk to groups, they share that making changes at home can go a long way when working to protect the environment: “I know we all want that perfect green lawn,
Cade Kistler
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“WE HAVE TO FIND THAT BALANCE BETWEEN LOVE OF SUCCESS AND GRATITUDE FOR WHAT’S ALREADY HERE. WHAT WE TRULY LOVE, WE WILL CHERISH FOREVER.”
PHOTO COURTESY KATHY HICKS
- Rhoda Vanderhart
but think about all of the pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers that contaminate our water. If anything, start by picking up after your pets. Everything may seem small in isolated instances, but they add up in a big way. By being mindful of our own actions, we can have a massive positive impact on our waterways. It all starts with you!” Visit MobileBaykeeper.org to learn more.
Gulf Coast Creation Care: New Faith In the summer of 2019, All Saints Episcopal and Open Table United Church of Christ cracked open Jim Antal’s book “Climate Church, Climate World.” After extensive discussion and inner reflection, Gulf Coast Creation Care (GCCC) was born. The faith-based climate action alliance grew to include Jewish, Muslim and Christian congregations. Recently, in partnership with Interfaith Power and Light, a national organization of churches to raise awareness and mitigate the effects of climate change, GCCC created a 40-Day Creation Care Challenge. This challenge provides daily solutions to help conserve water, lessen pollution and reduce the carbon footprint. The mission of the all-volunteer GCCC group is to provide a voice for those whom faith and the environment are entwined. It encourages all of us to reconnect to one another and the natural world through recognizing that everything we do affects the people and world around us. “We have to find that balance between love of success and gratitude for what’s already here,” says team member Rhoda Vanderhart. “What we truly love, we will cherish forever.”
Daniel Galbraith: Developing Trust For Daniel Galbraith at Tonsmeire Properties, the number one priority is to make positive environmental impacts while housing a growing population. As director of operations, Galbraith implements green spaces at rental communities (in the form of gardens and small fruit orchards), installs
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solar panels in each unit, replaces lightbulbs with LED lighting and places recycling bins on all properties, in hopes of making as little of an environmental impact as possible. Galbraith’s environmental advocacy doesn’t stop there. He’s also on the board of directors for the South Alabama Land Trust (SALT), formerly known as the Weeks Bay Foundation. Over the past 14 months, SALT has protected over 1,650 acres of land bordering Oyster Bay, acquiring over two miles of shoreline on the Bon Secour River. After obtaining new land, SALT works to protect the habitats on every property while increasing public access to these beautiful areas. SALT consults with Gulf Coast residents about tax incentives for donating property. They also, of course, accept monetary contributions. Galbraith says another way to contribute is to remember, “No matter where you go, you are within a watershed. Remember, small decisions upstream have big consequences downstream.”
Kim Burmeister: Standard Bearer The delicate balance between helping property owners understand their rights while enforcing city codes is Kim Burmeister’s forte. As planning and zoning code enforcement Kim Burmeister officer for the City of Fairhope for over 14 years, Burmeister knows what it means to be seen as the “bad guy” when what she wants is to save the environment. Burmeister ensures the city meets or exceeds the minimum control measures set forth each year by the Stormwater Management Program Plan. This is accomplished through outreach and education on stormwater, construction site inspections, illicit discharge monitoring and post-construction stormwater management. During inspections, Burmeister gets up close and personal with Eastern Shore gulley systems and ravines. “At the end of the day, I think all of us want the same thing,” she says. “Clean water to drink and to play in and creeks that remain wild and beautiful.”
Lorie Ward: Better Bottles Previously immersed in the pharmaceutical world, Lorie Ward is now a defender of the environment through her utilization of reusable bottles at her business, Fairhope Juice Company. Ward opened her doors a year and a half ago with the goal of reducing single-use plastic waste. At her store on Scenic 98, every drink comes in a reusable glass bottle. But the recycling doesn’t stop there; even the march 2021 | mobilebaymag.com 47
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pulp is reused, making its way to either End of the Road Farm for composting and animal consumption or to a soap company called No Soap. Ward also plans on creating vegan products with truly compostable and safe packaging, something that’s proving more difficult than it may seem. A constant innovator herself, Ward challenges everyone to think beyond recycling. “Recycling isn’t the answer. Sure, we should still recycle, but plastic is plastic, no matter how tiny it’s broken down. Instead of settling for recycling, try to completely avoid plastic bags, straws and bottles. When in doubt, choose reusables!” To learn more about Lorie Ward and the Fairhope Juice Company, visit www.fairhopejuicecompany.com.
RECYCLING, TRY TO COMPLETELY AVOID PLASTIC BAGS, STRAWS AND BOTTLES. WHEN IN DOUBT, CHOOSE PHOTO BY KATHY HICKS
REUSABLES!”
- Lorie Ward
PHOTO BY KATHY HICKS
Joe Womack’s mission is the preservation and beautification of his hometown. Such an undertaking is noble by anyone’s standards — but it’s important to note that Womack was raised in a town unlike any other. Africatown, the historic settlement just north of Mobile, was founded by the survivors of the Clotilda, the last-known slave ship to arrive in America. Thanks to the efforts of advocates such as Womack, and the 2019 discovery of the abandoned vessel, Africatown is Joe Womack finally receiving its rightful recognition as a site of national importance. Having gotten the community listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012, Womack knows there is always more work to be done. In 2017, he established C.H.E.S.S., an organization designated to protect the rights of the Africatown community. Per Womack, “Africatown-C.H.E.S.S. exists to ensure that the Africatown community is ‘Clean, Healthy, Educated, Safe and Sustainable.’” Currently, Womack is working to protect Africatown from industrial incursion. “I want to prevent big corporations and industries from infiltrating our space; those industries have poisoned both the people and the environment,” he argues. Womack plans to beautify Africatown’s streets and homes, produce quality living standards, preserve the community’s first public school for African-Americans and maintain the culture and heritage of a nearly forgotten people. When asked what others can do, Womack responds, “You can donate money or your time. Africatown isn’t one of the higherfunded communities, so all we need is a little compassion to make our home just as safe and sustainable as anywhere else.” MB
SETTLING FOR
PHOTO BY MEG PARKER
Major Joe Womack
“INSTEAD OF
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A GROUP OF SOUTH ALABAMA WOMEN HEAD TO THE MONTANA MOUNTAINS FOR THE TRIP OF A LIFETIME, FINDING ADVENTURE THAT FEEDS THE SOUL.
FLY FISH CHICKS text by MAGGIE LACEY • photo this page by MATTHEW COUGHLIN
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he rain clouds moved in fast, and the bottom opened up. In a matter of minutes, you couldn’t see from one side of the Causeway to the other. The forecast had called for this, but there is always hope that the unpredictable weather along the coast will surprise you and offer a reprieve. Not this time. Six ladies, each wearing chest waders or knee-high mud boats, were sent scampering this way and that, diving into cars to get out of the torrent. The gathering of the Fly Fish Chicks ended about as quickly as it started, and yet all of them left smiling and waving, throwing kisses and letting out laughs through their sopping wet hats and face masks. It takes more than rain to dampen these spirits.
Casting an Invitation Back in 2009, Ginna Inge had no idea that a single invitation to go fishing would give birth to these lifelong friendships. She just knew there were amazing, successful, spiritual, giving women that she crossed paths with every day in our community — women she wanted to get to know better. So she issued the invitation. More than 20 women were emailed asking if they wanted to go fly fishing in Montana. Previous experience not required. And the first eight to respond in the affirmative would get an opening. Anna Luce was one of the lucky ones who snagged a spot. “I had never fly fished before,” she remembers about accepting that initial invitation, “but that’s what’s so fun about it. It introduced me to a whole new world.” If angling experience is not required for this group, then a willingness to step out of your comfort zone is. Bunking at out-of-the-way cabins, drifting down mountain streams in tiny boats, enduring wild weather and wrangling wiggling fish are just a few of the activities on the agenda for this gal-time. That first trip has since grown to more than six fishing 52 mobilebaymag.com | march 2021
excursions across the country, although most of them unfold the same way: devotionals as the sun rises over majestic mountain peaks, high-adventure days on the river or in the woods, and evenings spent with wine and laughter, sharing life experiences and troubles, and sometimes even a little dancing. “We’ve had some deep conversations at night, sitting outside under those Montana stars,” explains Inge. “Hearing Anna Luce talk about having a child with Rett syndrome and crying with her … our bonding time is a powerful thing. But having it centered around an activity where we learn something new and come together as friends is so enjoyable.” She argues that men so often have hunting camps as a way to come together and bond, and she celebrates women also getting that chance in the great outdoors, doing healthy things, learning from one another and appreciating one another’s company. “We’ve had the chance to do things we might never have done if we had not experienced that growth together, that support and encouragement.” And there is something else unique to fishing as a women-only team — no competitiveness. “We get so excited about every fish caught, and everybody wants to come check it out,” Inge
Top Ashley Jones proudly shows her catch. Above A local guide floats Robin Minton and Ashley Jones on Labor Day 2015. Opposite Amy Thompson casting on the first trip to Montana in 2009. Previous spread Ginna Inge gears up. Eugenia Foster ties a fly.
“NO MAN WOULD EVER POSE WITH ANOTHER MAN’S FISH.” – Ginna Inge
laughs. “Men get competitive. They want to know what fly he used, where he caught it, how can I find one bigger. If one of us catches a fish, we all drop our rods and run over and get a picture. No man would ever pose with another man’s fish.” And then comes the dancing. The ladies reminisce about evenings spent kicking up their heels in the tiny cabin-turned-honky-tonk on the Inges’ property in Dillon, Montana, where a number of these fishing trips have taken place. Or turning up the volume at hole-in-the-wall restaurants or lodges when the fishing poles have been put away for the day. With this crowd of fun-loving women, it’s easy to see how the days end like that. Amy Thompson explains it with the perfect analogy. “This group runs like a river,” she says. “We run shallow and we run deep.” You need a little of both in life to keep the right balance, and these chicks aren’t thrown off course easily.
The One That Got Away Despite being a close-knit group, the Fly Fish Chicks promise they never set out to be exclusive. “We have had people come in that have been a blessing to get to know,” Inge insists. “The
group can grow and change, it still has that free-flowing nature.” But the core group of ladies remains constant, no matter who decides to dip their rods in the water now and then. Texas native Christine Warren saw Inge’s email invite for that first trip in 2009 and jumped at the chance. The experienced fly fisher had recently begun dating a Mobilian, and, after being introduced to Inge while in town for a Mardi Gras function, was eager to meet new people in the area. She rolled off the plane in Montana with fly rod in hand as the voicemail messages appeared on her phone — delayed flights from Atlanta meant Warren would have to play host. As she approached several women she had never met, disembarking their planes, she confidently led them to the Inges’
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“WE ENDED UP BEING A BAND OF SISTERS. SOME OF US LOVE FISHING, AND SOME DON’T, BUT WE JUST HAVE SO MUCH FUN.” – Amy Thompson
waiting Suburban where a key had been stashed on the front left tire in preparation for their arrival. As Warren charged down a Montana highway with a carload of strangers, hoping she had made a good first impression, it became clear they had commandeered the wrong vehicle. Apparently, leaving keys on tires is pretty common in Montana, and the group of ladies returned the stolen vehicle to airport parking after a few fits of uncontrolled laughter. Grand theft auto, it seems, is a great way to make new acquaintances.
Just Keep Fishing If you were to meet any of these women in the city, you might not realize their pluck. All are fashionably smart looking, to be sure. They have lived comfortable lives, by and large, and would say at the start that they have truly been blessed. But each one has shown a grit and determination time and time again through these trips that underscores their substance, and never more so than one fateful day in June on the legendary Big Hole River. As each woman paired off with another and climbed into small drift boats to begin their day of casting, the weather started to deteriorate. “When we set out that morning, it was a blue bird day,” remembers Luce, who was wearing Capri pants in the 55-degree temperatures. The fishing guides quickly grabbed any extra waders, jackets or gloves they could find hiding underneath truck seats just in case, and the party pushed off the bank. Before they had landed even one fish, however, the sky began to sleet and the temperatures quickly shifted into the teens. The fishers were completely unprepared — and underdressed. They tried to keep moving to stay warm as much as possible inside the tiny boats. Luce recalls watching her fishing partner begin to lean to the right as she just about went into shock. “I started calling to Ginna, asking ‘Are you alright?’ She was almost frozen — she was lethargic and couldn’t remember what was happening!” Everyone quickly realized it was time to throw in the towel. Everyone that is, except one pair who had drifted a little further down the river Top A local guide helps Robin Minton with her cast. Left Eugenia Foster shows her rainbow trout. Opposite Ashley Jones, Ginna Inge, Eugenia Foster, Christine Warren, Amy Thompson, Anna Luce, and Robin Minton on their first trip to Montana in 2009.
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and didn’t realize the others had made for camp and the large crackling fire that awaited. Thompson and Eugenia Foster, who had been boat buddies for the day, were determined to hang tough. By the end of their experience, Foster was wrapped in a tarp in the fetal position on the bottom of the boat. A shivering Thompson continued casting her line, to stay warm if nothing else, as Foster called out from the bottom of the boat, “Cast on, Sistah! Cast on.” “There was so much relevance to life in those words,” Thompson remembers, and she soon had the saying emblazoned on hats and shirts for the group. In times of trouble or hardship, the goal for Inge and crew is to keep encouraging one another to cast on.
Best Catch of All Six of the eight or so Fly Fish Chicks made the trek to the Causeway this winter to teach MB how to cast, show off their hand-tied flies and regale with tales of the big rivers. Mother Nature might not have cooperated that day, but they cherish the chance to gather together in any environment and are able to take a rainshower in stride. “I had a blast going to the Causeway to see everyone, but I wasn’t busting to throw a line,” Luce admits. Whether in Montana, Wyoming, North Carolina or the shallow shores of the Causeway, Luce argues it’s really all about time well spent, spent together. MB
Christine Warren was the more experienced angler when the group took their first fishing trip together, even writing a popular blog on the topic, but she never wanted “guide” to be her role within the group.“I was just trying to make friends, and fly fishing was the backdrop.” Nevertheless, here she shares some tips for women looking to get out on the water.
Made for Women
Fly fishing is a great sport for women because you don’t need brute strength to get in the game. It’s an activity that blends art and science and taps into one’s patience, intuition and curiosity.
Grab a Friend
Since it is a male dominated sport it can be intimidating for women to get started. Grab a friend and learn together. Confidence in numbers!
Stop by a Shop
If you want to get your feet wet, spend some time at a local fly shop. Anyone who works at an outdoor store would love to talk fishing and help you get started. No expensive purchase required.
Lean on the Internet
There are countless videos, articles, and discussion groups with excellent information, and fly fishing clubs tend to be very inclusive to newcomers.
Don’t Count Fish
If you’re counting fish you’re missing the spirit of the sport. You either caught zero or one. After one, stop counting and just keep fishing.
Keep it Light
Women tend to bring less ego and more humor to fishing—which often leads to better days on the water.
Respect the Fish
It’s wonderful to snap that photo of your big catch, but learn to handle the fish with care and get it back to the water as quickly as possible.
Work on Your Cast
Don’t wait for your next vacation. Spend a day in a parking lot, park, or any open place. Then videotape your cast so you can see what you’re doing and try to make it better.
Any Water Will Work
Find the nearest water. You don’t need a big trip to make it happen.
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[ MOBILE BAY MAGAZINE PRESENTS]
FACES OF FINANCE WITHIN EVERY ORGANIZATION ARE LEADERS, THOSE WHO GO THE EXTRA MILE TO GIVE CUSTOMERS PEACE OF MIND FOR THE FUTURE. THE FOLLOWING PAGES INCLUDE THOSE SUCH PEOPLE, SOME OF THE BEST FINANCIAL PROFESSIONALS IN MOBILE AND BALDWIN COUNTIES.
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SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION | FACES OF FINANCE
Leavell Investment Management
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LEAVELL INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT IS ONE OF ALABAMA’S LARGEST REGISTERED INVESTMENT ADVISORS — WE LOOK FORWARD TO SERVING YOU.
What services do you provide? Founded in Mobile over 41 years ago, Leavell is one of the largest registered investment advisors in Alabama. Leavell provides investment portfolio management for a variety of clients, including individuals, families, 401(k)s, trusts, foundations and endowments.
What sets your firm apart? Recognized nationally by CNBC as one of the nation’s top advisory firms, Leavell takes great pride in its Alabama roots. Being based in Mobile sets us apart from many in the industry that have branches or offices in the area but are headquartered out of state. Truly being local means that our clients receive the personal attention they deserve and expect. Additionally, we contribute and invest in Mobile and the Eastern Shore’s growth as it’s our home, too.
How do you make sure your clients get the best results? Customized service is delivered by the firm’s highly skilled team members whose sole focus is our clients’ needs. That singular focus is achieved because the firm is independent, employee owned, and always serving as a fiduciary. This allows the firm to work alongside, and not in conflict with, our clients’ other professionals, such as their estate planning attorneys and CPAs. To maintain the highest level of professional competence, Leavell challenges and encourages its team members to pursue accreditation in his or her area of expertise. Currently, we have professionals with advanced industry credentials, including Certified Financial Planner professionals (CFP®), Chartered Financial Analysts (CFA®), Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA®), as well as multiple JDs, MBAs and CPAs. DALTON NIX, LEIGH MORTON, RICHARD STIMPSON, HOLLY ALVES, NENA SMITH, JOHN WADE THERRELL, JANET HAYES, LAURI BRYANT, ASHLEY KICK, MARY SHANNON HOPE, MIKE HOFTO, TARA DUNCAN, ROBIN HANES, ANGIE DEESE, ANDREW GRINSTEAD PHOTO BY CHAD RILEY
210 St. Joseph Street • 251-433-3709 leavellinvestments.com
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SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION | FACES OF FINANCE
United Bank
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“AT THE END OF THE DAY, IF YOU KNOW YOU HAVE MADE A DIFFERENCE AND FEEL GOOD ABOUT YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS, THAT’S SUCCESS.” — ROBERT R. JONES, CEO
Why did you get into your field? An opportunity presented itself to join the bank. I was at a career transition and evaluating options, and banking was a field that had interested me due to the professional challenges and unique impact that banks can have on communities. Having been in senior leadership in agribusiness and logistics, I came to banking with a customer perspective. This was valuable experience as I moved along to become CEO of the bank.
What is United Bank’s mission? Building strong communities by empowering employee owners to deliver responsive and innovative products and services that promote healthy and resilient businesses and families, with an emphasis on underserved and economically distressed communities within our diverse footprint.
What sets your bank apart? Banking is a diverse business, however, the public may not discern the differences between one organization and another. As a transaction entity, all banks can process their customers’ funds and make loans. Beyond those basic transactions, there is a vast difference between banks. What sets us apart is: 1. Longevity — we have been in business since 1904. This long success validates the resilience of the company and its history of adapting to changes in the economy and business model. 2. We are a multi-bottom line company. We focus on three equally important objectives: financial performance, community and economic development. These are reinforced by having been certified as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI ). 3. Through our corporate structure we provide traditional community banking services with a high level of personal attention joined with best-of-breed technology. This is enhanced with powerful community and economic services through UB Community Development. We are the first and only Community Development Entity (CDE) located in Alabama to manage these programs. 4. Our holding company, United Bancorporation of Alabama, is publicly traded under the stock ticker OTCQX UBAB. This allows us to attract equity from a diverse investor base to leverage those resources into our business model and communities across the Southeast.
How has your business changed? Our business model completely changed following our certification as a CDFI in 2010. We have evolved from a local, traditional bank into a publicly traded, financial services company delivering unique community development capabilities to markets in Alabama, Florida and adjoining states. We have organically grown our company to $1 billion in assets.
ROBERT R. JONES, CEO / PHOTO BY CHAD RILEY
unitedbank.com
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SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION | FACES OF FINANCE
MICHAEL HOLLAND, RENA’ DAVIS, ANDREW ODOM / PHOTO BY CHAD RILEY
Bryant Bank
BRYANT BANK IS AN ALABAMA, FAMILY-OWNED COMMUNITY BANK THAT PROVIDES BUSINESS, PERSONAL, PRIVATE AND MORTGAGE BANKING SERVICES.
What sets your bank apart? Bryant Bank is so much more than just a place to make financial transactions. It is a community that greets you by name and treats you like family. Simply put, Bryant Bankers care because Alabama is our home, too. Bryant Bank is the largest family-owned community bank in Alabama whose sole focus is on serving the needs of Alabamians. We are committed to serving our state for the long haul.
How do you make sure customers get the best service? Bryant Bank provides unbeatable customer service by sticking to the basics of community banking, like building personal relationships with our customers and their families. And while we have grown, Bryant Bank continues to serve our customers and our communities at the local level. When a customer needs to talk to their banker, they have a local number and a local person to reach out to, no operator involved, which leads to quicker decision-making.
How has your business grown, and where are you going from here? Bryant Bank has been incredibly blessed in its 15 years of existence. Since we opened our first location in Tuscaloosa, Bryant Bank has expanded its footprint to five of Alabama’s largest markets, with 17 branches and one additional loan production office in Athens. While Bryant Bank will always strive to remain true to the qualities of a community bank, we also believe in the importance of innovation. We have embraced that innovation and are proud of our digital banking offerings, which ranges from online banking and mobile check deposit, to instant debit cards and complete control of one’s debit card with the click of a button. As we embark on our next 15 years, Bryant Bank looks forward to continued growth, especially through our digital offerings. Our goal is to meet the varying needs of Alabamians, and we recognize that some continue to value and appreciate the traditional way of banking, while others gravitate more to digital and banking on the go.
6151 Airport Boulevard • 251-264-6575 • BryantBank.com 62 mobilebaymag.com | march 2021
SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION | FACES OF FINANCE
Peters Financial
PETE PETERS AND LEE PETERS / PHOTO BY CHAD RILEY
PETERS FINANCIAL IS A FULL-SERVICE WEALTH MANAGEMENT AND FINANCIAL PLANNING FIRM WITH OFFICES IN MOBILE AND FAIRHOPE. WE PROVIDE INVESTMENT SERVICES, RETIREMENT & ESTATE PLANNING, LIFE, DISABILITY, AND LONG-TERM CARE INSURANCE.
What is your mission? Our mission is to be there to guide our clients financially through all the important transitions of life. Both the good — birth of a child, saving for college, weddings, retirement, and beginning social security — or the more difficult — sickness, disability, a lapse in employment, or death of a spouse.
How much of my income should I be saving for retirement? This is a question to which investors are often unable to find a clear answer. As you may have guessed, this is because the answer varies significantly individual to individual. Put simply, there are three primary factors at play: 1. Amount of Contributions; 2. Time; 3. Rate of return on your investment. Reasonable estimates for these three factors could be contributing 15% of income, over 40 years, with a 7% rate of return. You may have heard of the 15% rule that says, if an average investor saves 15% of their pre-tax income from ages 25 to 65, then he or she will likely have enough income to retire comfortably. What can be
confusing when determining how much to set aside, is that investors often do not start contributing heavily to their 401k or IRA until later into their careers, at ages 30, 35, or 40. Unsurprisingly, a delay in time will likely require an increase in contributions. There are many retirement calculators available online that can be very helpful, but a good rule of thumb would be for every year of delay from age 25, add 1% to the 15% contribution. For someone who waits until the age of 30, a contribution of 20% to their 401k or IRA would not be unreasonable, and 30% at age 40 with no retirement savings. Keep in mind that many employers match somewhere between 3% and 5% of an employee’s contribution. This will reduce the amount that you will need to contribute to reach your goal
How can Peters Financial help? Whether you are just beginning your investment journey, planning for retirement, or have entered your golden years, Peters Financial has an experienced staff that can help guide you financially into your next chapter in life.
Securities offered through Kestra Investment Services, LLC (Kestra IS), member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Kestra Advisory Services, LLC (Kestra AS), an affiliate of Kestra IS. Kestra IS and Kestra AS are not affiliated with Peters Financial. Investor Disclosures https://bit.ly/KF-Disclosure
153 West I-65 Service Road North, Mobile • 251-342-4874 • PetersFinancial.us march 2021 | mobilebaymag.com 63
SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION | FACES OF FINANCE
JOHN ERWIN, MARKET PRESIDENT, MOBILE & WASHINGTON COUNTY; MARCIA STABLER, ALABAMA REGIONAL RETAIL MANAGER; GEORGE NOONAN, ALABAMA REGIONAL PRESIDENT; J.J. FLETCHER, MARKET PRESIDENT, BALDWIN COUNTY / PHOTO BY CHAD RILEY
The First
A National Banking Association At The First, a deep commitment to building strong and lasting relationships with our customers is one of the many goals our leadership team and employees share. With every encounter, we strive for a consistently high level of personalized customer service and the delivery of superior banking products and services. With 16 branch offices across Mobile, Baldwin and Washington counties, you’re never far away from The First. Our retail bankers, commercial banking officers, treasury management professionals, residential mortgage lenders and private bankers work in unison to meet and exceed the needs of our local businesses and residents. Giving back to our community is vitally important to our banking team. Through programs such as conducting financial education classes and seminars, volunteering and participating in numerous civic and philanthropic organizations, affordable housing initiatives, and loan programs to help create local job growth, The First is always a leader in community development efforts in the markets we serve.
We frequently hear from our business customers that among the things that make The First their bank of choice is the fact that decisions are made locally and swiftly by longtime local bankers with deep financial expertise and who are committed to taking the time to listen and learn about their businesses. We believe this brings great value to the overall banking experience for our clients. The same can be said of our team of over 20 retail and mortgage bankers when it comes to consumer loans, residential mortgage products, and a complete offering of deposit products and services for every need across all stages of life. This commitment to personal banking for all of our customers is one reason The First has been one of the fastest growing, highest performing banks in the Gulf South. But, while we have over 83 locations across five states, we’ve never lost sight of the fact that most of the time, our most important customer is right around the corner. The First, just the bank for you!
1207 North McKenzie Street • Foley • 251-970-8029 • TheFirstBank.com 64 mobilebaymag.com | march 2021
SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION | FACES OF FINANCE
FORREST D. THRASHER, CPA / PHOTO BY CHAD RILEY
The Thrasher Company, LLC What is your mission? Our mission is to provide structured
How do you make sure clients get the best service?
guidance to clients, helping them accomplish their financial goals. We are passionate about our commitment to small business, and we seek daily to make a difference for the clients we serve.
Relationships are built on trust, open communication and transparency. Our team prides itself on providing a professional, service-driven process designed to advise clients on the best financial decision for them. We work efficiently to ensure that the service they receive leaves not only an impression, but also a lasting legacy.
What sets your firm apart? Through relentless hard work, we have earned the respect of both the business and financial communities. Our diverse talents, dedication and ability to respond quickly to any financial situation that may arise is what has helped us garner that respect.
What contributes to your success? Firstly, my family; to them I owe all my success. My wife, Maggie, my daughter, Eva Katherine, 8, and my son, Forrest, 5. Secondly, my amazing clients. Over the years I have developed lasting relationships with clients whom I now call friends.
How has your business grown or changed and where are you going from here? Our firm is ever-evolving to meet the needs of our clients. As our clients’ needs change, so do we. We adapt to economic changes, staying competitive in an industry focused on financial guidance. Today, we guide clients who are dealing with the impacts of COVID-19 and its effect on small business, personalized income tax strategies, and cash flow management.
713 Belrose Avenue • Daphne • 251-625-4784 • thethrashercompany.com march 2021 | mobilebaymag.com 65
EXTRAS | CALENDAR OF EVENTS
March into Spring MARCH 12 - 13 FESTIVAL OF FLOWERS 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Spend the day touring life-sized sculptures made entirely of plants and based on the theme, “All Creatures Great and Small.” CATHEDRAL SQUARE, DOWNTOWN MOBILE FESTIVALOFFLOWERS.COM
MARCH 13 BBQ & BLUES COOK-OFF 11 a.m. Sample some of the best barbecue around and sway to cool blues tunes at this annual outdoor music festival. HERITAGE PARK, DOWNTOWN FOLEY FOLEYBBQANDBLUES.NET
MARCH 13
MARCH 5
MARCH 6
JERMAINE “FUNNYMAINE” JOHNSON 7:30 p.m. Laugh along with the noted Bama fan and standup comedian.
CHICKASAW FARMERS MARKET 9 a.m. - Noon. Shop fresh produce, hand crafted goods and homemade items.
MOBILE SAENGER THEATRE MOBILESAENGER.COM
MILLER’S PARK, CHICKASAW CITYOFCHICKASAW.ORG
MARCH 6
MARCH 10
OFF ROAD’N FUN RUN 9 a.m. This 5K cross country-style race is half grass, half wooded adventure.
SWAMP FEST 8:30 a.m. Proceeds from the concerts, vendors and car show support Satsuma City Schools.
BALDWIN COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL TEAMSIDELINE.COM/SITES/BAYMINETTE
SATSUMA HIGH SCHOOL FACEBOOK.COM/EVENTS/445222416653709
MARCH 6
MARCH 11
BELLINGRATH’S BEERS AND BLOOMS Noon - 6 p.m. This all-day craft beer festival and concert series will be held on the Great Lawn.
THE WOMEN’S RESOURCE CENTER SPRING GALA 6 p.m. A fundraising gala celebrating life and the Women’s Resource Center.
BELLINGRATH GARDENS AND HOME BELLINGRATH.ORG
MOBILE CONVENTION CENTER FACEBOOK.COM/WRCMOBILE/EVENTS
TFCF CHARITY CLAY SHOOT 7:30 a.m. - 6 p.m. This family-friendly event provides good food and safe competition. TAYLOR CREEK SPORTING CLAYS STAYHAPPENING.COM/E/TFCF-CHARITY-CLAYSHOOT-E2ISTEVYLF5
MARCH 14 BRIDES JUST WANNA HAVE FUN 10TH ANNUAL BRIDAL EXPO 1 p.m. Brides, bring your bridesmaids and friends to meet vendors, win prizes and scout fashion. BATTLE HOUSE RENAISSANCE HOTEL & SPA FACEBOOK.COM/BRIDES-JUST-WANNAHAVE-FUN-BRIDAL-EXPOS-379768305446497
MARCH 14 2021 MOBILE DIABETES WALK FOR CAMP SEALE HARRIS 2 - 5 p.m. Join this free event with music, food and fun for the whole family! USS ALABAMA BATTLESHIP MEMORIAL PARK CAMPSEALEHARRIS.ORG
To have your event included in the online or print edition of Mobile Bay Magazine, email calendar@pmtpublishing.com. 66 mobilebaymag.com | march 2021
MARCH 19 - 21 OUTDOOR ART SHOW 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Stroll and peruse showpieces from various artists. EASTERN SHORE ART CENTER, FAIRHOPE ESARTCENTER.ORG
MARCH 26 ONE CITY WORLD TOUR Expect a baseball game unlike anything you’ve ever witnessed — a unique style of the game called BananaBall. HANK AARON STADIUM THESAVANNAHBANANAS.COM
MARCH 27 CAMP GRACE YELLOW DAY AND CAR SHOW 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Yellow Day and Camp Grace’s 2nd annual car show includes a wide variety of free activities. CAMP GRACE, MOBILE FACEBOOK.COM/EVENTS/129144488529522
MARCH 27 BELLINGRATH’S EASTER EGG HUNT ON THE GREAT LAWN 9 a.m. - Noon. Thousands of Easter eggs will decorate the lawn for children to scurry and collect. BELLINGRATH GARDENS AND HOME BELLINGRATH.ORG
MARCH 27 - 28 MOBILE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA MUSIC AROUND THE WORLD 6 p.m. & 8:30 p.m. Sa. 1 p.m. & 3:30 p.m. Su. Take a musical flight around the world, with masterworks from Russia, France, Austria and the USA. MOBILE SAENGER THEATRE MOBILESYMPHONY.ORG/EVENT/MUSICAROUND-THE-WORLD
* Check event websites for most current status.
march 2021 | mobilebaymag.com 67
HISTORY | ARCHIVES
A History of Mobile in 22 Objects This month’s artifact from the History Museum of Mobile — a blockade runner’s speaking trumpet — played a fascinating role in the Civil War.
photos courtesy HISTORY MUSEUM OF MOBILE
CIVIL WAR SPEAKING TRUMPET by JOHN S. SLEDGE
A
s speaking trumpets go, it isn’t much to look at. A silver bagatelle — tarnished, battered and only six inches long. In fact, if its owner’s wartime portrait may be believed, it was almost completely engulfed by his hand. Yet this little device, meant to project authority across a crowded deck or roiling seas, saw two years of steady service on board the CSS Florida, one of the Confederacy’s most successful commerce raiders. The speaking trumpet was invented in the late seventeenth century by Sir Samuel Morland (1625 - 1695), an English diplomat, mathematician, and tinkerer. In his 14page study, “Tuba Stentoro-Phonica: An Instrument of
excellent use, as well at Sea, as at Land (1671),” Morland shared the results of his experiments with differently sized and shaped speaking trumpets. One 20-foot-long model projected a man’s voice up to a mile in foul weather, or so Morland claimed. He even went so far as to assert that, “sufficiently enlarged” and given a “favorable wind,” a speaking trumpet might be effective at eight or 10 miles! Despite his obvious enchantment with the invention’s reach, Morland also explained its utility at closer range. “In a Storm, it is of great use in a single Ship,” he elaborated, “that one mans Voice giving orders for governing and steering the Vessel, may be heard distinctly by all Mariners.”
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This, we may be sure, is how Lt. Stone employed his trumpet on the Florida (depicted below in hot pursuit). Sardine Graham Stone Jr. was born at Bladen Springs, Alabama, on February 4, 1841, the son of a steamboat captain with the same salty moniker. Stone Jr. entered the U.S. Naval Academy in 1857, but the Civil War prompted him to resign and return South. Alabama Governor Andrew B. Moore appointed him a first lieutenant in the state’s Revenue Cutter Service (essentially an early coast guard), and shortly thereafter Confederate President Jefferson Davis made him a midshipman in the embryonic Rebel navy. Stone had served on several vessels, including the ram Baltic in Mobile Bay, before being assigned to the commerce raider Florida in November 1862. This sleek steam vessel, with her raked masts and twin smokestacks, had brazenly dashed into Alabama waters a few months earlier amid a rain of Federal shot, to Rebel joy and Yankee embarrassment. When Stone boarded her, she was undergoing repairs, provisioning, and arming prior to an escape attempt. Stone was welcomed by the Florida’s captain, John Newland Maffitt, a seasoned and fearless sailor whose cap sat at a perpetually jaunty tilt. Maffitt sized up his new officer and immediately approved. “Mr. Stone has joined,” he wrote to his daughter. “He is intelligent and will make an admirable officer.” Lt. Stone served as navigating officer. It was
in this capacity that the little silver speaking trumpet would have been invaluable, constantly in Stone’s grip and frequently at his lips as he bellowed instructions regarding ropes, sails, and steam. Fully crewed and provisioned, the Florida ran out during the wee hours of January 16, 1863. It had been a squally night with big rollers, but by 2 a.m., skies were clearing, and a light mist clung to the sea surface. Maffitt determined that it was time, and the Florida edged toward
have been critical at this time as he traversed the deck shouting orders and assessing their execution with an eagle eye. The ship positively bolted out of Mobile Bay, “off like a deer,” in the words of one crewman. The Florida subsequently went on to an extraordinarily successful career: She captured and destroyed 37 United States merchant ships, costing American mercantile interests millions of dollars. Her daring run out of Mobile Bay was one of the war’s most dramatic episodes, and the little silver speaking trumpet carried by its oddly named owner played a most important part. MB
John S. Sledge is senior architectural historian with the Mobile Historic Development Commission and a member of the National Book Critics Circle. He is the author of “The Gulf of Mexico: A Maritime History.”
the pass, burning coke that left no telltale smoke. Men were positioned aloft, ready to release the sails at a moment’s notice, and at the deck guns, should any blockader be so bold as to intercept them. Maffitt stood at the rail, Stone nearby, his speaking trumpet almost certainly clasped tightly at his side. As Florida glided silently through the scattered blockading fleet, one of her sailor’s likened her to a “phantom ship, manned by spectres.” At that critical moment, the coke gave out, and the engineer switched to coal, showering sparks from the funnels. Union signal lights instantly flashed the alarm, and Maffitt ordered all sail and full speed ahead. Stone’s services would
“A History of Mobile in 22 Objects” by various authors. Available for purchase at the History Museum of Mobile, $25 Released in conjunction with the History Museum of Mobile exhibit, this photoheavy compendium delves into the city’s history through the analysis of 22 artifacts by Mobile’s leading researchers.
Stay tuned each month as we continue to delve into the history of objects from this fascinating exhibit. 70 mobilebaymag.com | march 2021
march 2021 | mobilebaymag.com 71
PEOPLE | SPOTLIGHT
Fourteenth Colony In his new book, Mike Bunn — historian and director of Historic Blakeley State Park — peels back the curtain on the “forgotten story of the Gulf South during America’s Revolutionary era.”
interview by BRECK PAPPAS • portrait by MATTHEW COUGHLIN
Congratulations, Mike, on another beautifully written and produced work. You call this a “forgotten story” in the book’s title. Why do you think the history of our region during the Revolutionary era has been overlooked? I think there are several reasons we have overlooked the British colonial period in Gulf Coast history, chief among them being our obsessive focus on developments in the 13 colonies in this period. This of course led to the formation of the United States, and that foundational story is rightfully front and center in any interpretation of our nation’s past. But in the process of celebrating the nation’s origins, I think we have forgotten there was an America beyond the Atlantic seaboard in 1776. I chose the title “Fourteenth Colony” specifically to communicate how extraneous anything beyond the number 13 can seem in American colonial history and to communicate the point that there is more to the story. In simplest terms, we have forgotten our history during the Revolutionary era because West Florida did not rebel against the British government. But that doesn’t mean it was
72 mobilebaymag.com | march 2021
overtly loyal, however. It just means there is a compelling story yet to be told that will be entirely new to most readers. Tell us about your path to becoming the director of Historic Blakeley State Park, and did that role lead you in any way to your interest in this subject? I grew up in east Alabama just outside of Columbus, Georgia. That area has a rich history that includes it being the heart of Creek Indian country. It also has a colorful antebellum past and was the site of a significant Civil War battle. That early fascination with the past led me to pursue my passion for history in college — I earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history — and in my career. I’ve worked with historical societies, museums, commissions and parks, the common denominator being they all allowed me opportunities to research, write, interpret and educate people about history. I came to Blakeley through my connection with former director Jo Ann Flirt, whom I met while working to encourage better state funding for Alabama’s precious historic
sites. I had always been intrigued with the Gulf Coast’s unique history, and moving here allowed me to pursue it as never before. Stories like that of West Florida suddenly became no longer just intriguing history, but local history, and that is always an important distinction in my opinion. How long did you work on this project, and what was the research process like? Well, I came to this project having spent a little time investigating the Gulf Coast’s colonial era in general, so I had a bit of a head start. Still, I spent over a year of research focused solely on this time period before I had enough material that would allow me to begin writing. My process during the research phase was to familiarize myself with everything on the topic — every book, article, thesis, dissertation and original sources I could find. West Florida existed for only a short while and has a relatively thin historiography compared to some subjects in regional history. I spent about a solid year trying to transform all my notes into a narrative account of the history of West Florida.
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PEOPLE | SPOTLIGHT
Were there any surprises or magical moments along the way? Yes, there were several things I discovered that I did not know much about previously. I found the inner workings of the representative government the British attempted to establish here to be fascinating. From a purely local perspective, I was really intrigued to learn about some of the details of the settlement of the Mobile Bay area, particularly the Eastern Shore, during the time period. It gave me a new perspective on the really deep roots of this area’s history. I found the stories of the immigrants who came here to settle to be at turns entertaining and tragic, but always enlightening. I would say that what stands out to me more than anything, though, was getting the opportunity to piece together all of the details of the dramatic military campaigns, which swept over the region during the Revolutionary War. We forget that the Gulf Coast was a theater of operations for war between Spain and Great Britain during our nation’s struggle for independence, and the story of those campaigns are some of the most colorful and poignant in our region’s rich past. There are some wonderful firsthand accounts of Mobile scattered throughout these pages. One naturalist in 1765 described the streams of present-day Montrose as “the finest water I have seen in this country.” Another observer described the entrance to Mobile Bay as “one of the most dangerous parts on the whole coast.” What other treats can a Mobile Bay-area reader expect to find in this book? Yes, the Mobile area gets significant treatment in the book, as it was one of only two major urban centers in the colony and a primary center of activity throughout the years of British dominion. I offer both the accounts of William Bartram, whose visit to Mobile led him to celebrate the area’s natural beauty in raptur-
Mike Bunn
Since this is our Outdoors Issue, what advice can you give our readers about exploring the outdoors at Historic Blakeley State Park?
ing, as well as cabins and camping shelters, all on one of the most unique historic sites in Alabama. We offer over 20 miles of hiking, biking, and horseback riding trails, enabling visitors to explore layers of history from the prehistoric past to the colonial era and of course the Civil War — we are Alabama’s largest Civil War battlefield. But one of the best ways the park offers opportunities for visitors to connect with the environment is on board one of our cruises into the scenic Mobile-Tensaw Delta. We are the Delta’s longest-running cruise operator and take multiple themed cruises into the waters of this natural wonder 12 months a year. To see all of our amenities and events, just check our website, blakeleypark.com. MB
Forgive my shameless plug, but Historic Blakeley State Park is a premier regional destination for anyone interested in outdoor recreation on the Gulf Coast. We have RV, tent, and improved tent camp-
Historian Mike Bunn has served as director of Historic Blakeley State Park since 2017. He is the author or co-author of several books, including “Early Alabama” and “Battle for the Southern Frontier.”
ous prose, and the depictions of dejected British officers such as Robert Farmar, whose first impression of the city led him to suppose it a squalid, disease-ridden backwater place. Beauty is always in the eye of the beholder, I suppose! I try to let those I write about in the book speak for themselves about what they saw worth celebrating or decrying in the new environment they would call home. I think it is a unique and honest portrait of a time and place.
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HISTORY | LEGENDS
Mobile’s King of Chess Dig into Mobile’s connection to “The Queen’s Gambit” through the story of legendary player Paul Morphy. text by DAVID BAGWELL
F
ortunately, viewers of the Netflix series “The Queen’s Gambit,” the story of a young, troubled orphan girl who becomes a chess master, don’t need to know much about the game to enjoy the show. But aficionados have noticed the high accuracy of the chess portrayed — and of chess history. Little noticed and unmentioned is the show’s glancing involvement of Mobile’s history from the late 1850s. The dead hand of Paul Morphy is surprisingly hidden in the series. Who was Paul Morphy? He was maybe the best chess player ever. Born in New Orleans in 1837, Morphy entered Mobile’s Jesuit Spring Hill College in 1850 at age 13, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1854. He was considered enough of a Mobilian that local historian Erwin Craighead included a whole chapter about him in his well-regarded histories of Mobile. Craighead notes that, at Spring Hill, Morphy not only played chess but also placed first in Latin, Greek, and English, and second in Christian doctrine, French and math. He was president of the Thespian Society and prefect of the Sodality of the Blessed Virgin Mary. He was in the military cadet company, drilled by Robert Martin Sands (the first white man born in Tampa) who later commanded the Mobile Cadets in the Civil War and whose portrait — now in a local museum — was slashed by the saber of a Union officer when
Mobile was captured. After graduating from Spring Hill, Morphy became a lawyer but, too young to practice law, he played chess and went on to become the second unofficial world chess champion in 1858 – 1860. Over those years, in London and Paris, he played and defeated the best chess masters.
In Paris in 1858, Morphy twice played French chess master Jules Arnous de Riviere, each winning a game. Riviere, oddly enough, also had a Mobile connection. His brother Henri Guillaume Marie Arnous de Riviere is famous in Mobile history as “the Baron” in the 1951 book by Harnett T. Kane, “Gentle-
men, Swords and Pistols.” Riviere, the brother, was a French Legion of Honor veteran in the Crimean War. While in Mobile, he ran afoul of Harry Maury, no doubt the most swashbuckling soldier, sailor and adventurer in Mobile’s history. It was said that Mobile was not big enough for the egos of both men, and they fought a famous 1858 duel, allegedly over a young Emily James Blount, daughter of a Mobile lawyer. Harry’s cousin Gen. Dabney Maury said that all of Mobile wanted “to go see Harry shoot the Frenchman.” Harry shot Riviere, who was wounded and cared for by the Blount family until he eloped with both young Emily and her mother to New York, where, for the summer of 1858, the lawyerly efforts of Emily’s father to sue to get them both back was the biggest news in The New York Times. Whether Morphy and Jules de Riviere knew of their odd Mobile connection is not known. In a Paris banquet in Morphy’s honor in 1859, he was given a bust of himself with a laurel wreath and declared “the best chess player who ever lived.” That year in London, he was named “the champion of the world” and was invited to an audience with Queen Victoria. At a banquet in Boston, Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes toasted “Paul Morphy, the World Chess Champion.” With the coming of the Civil War, Morphy turned his back on chess. His Civil War career was checkered, spending a little of it in uniform but part of it in Havana and Paris.
To read more about the famous elopement of the Baron de Riviere from our Sept. 2018 issue, go to mobilebaymag.com/riviere. 76 mobilebaymag.com | march 2021
After the War, he went home to New Orleans to practice law but found that most of his clients really wanted to talk chess instead of legal problems. He gave up law and lived on his family money, avoiding chess, and sadly died in 1884 at age 47. Morphy is still a chess legend. The “Oxford Companion to Chess” lists 1,327 named chess moves, and two are named after Morphy: “The Morphy Defense to the Ruy Lopez” and “The Morphy Gambit of the French Defence,” but please forgive me if I cannot explain them. Not just moves, but whole chess games are named for Morphy. In Paris at the Italian Opera House, he played both The Duke of Brunswick and Count Isouard in a game so famous that today it is known by chess experts as “The Morphy Opera Game,” and its moves are studied and copied. The website Chess. com has an entry called “The Opera Game,” saying it might be the most famous chess game of all time, though the site’s staff voted it number two. The website says that the The Morphy Opera Game “is important because it is one of the best illustrations of attacking chess” and “shows how important the roles of development, time, sacrifices and combinations are in this game.” It’s considered to be Morphy’s best game. For all you nerds of the sport, Chess.com has published the moves of the game with annotations by U.S. chess Master Bobby Fischer. Chess authorities hail “The Queen’s Gambit” for its accuracy, and Morphy’s ghost is in it. Beth tells her mother, after losing the first time to the Russian Borgov, that he was making a Morphy play and that she could see it coming but could not stop it. In episode six, Beth travels to a tournament in Paris where she will again face Borgov. While waiting, she plays a simultaneous game against her friend Benny Watz, U.S. champion, and two of his friends, beating them soundly using The Morphy Opera Game. Morphy and Mobile might have had a limited connection, but it — and he — are well worth remembering. MB David Bagwell is a retired attorney and amateur historian living on the Eastern Shore.
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THE ARTS | LITERATURE
And We Say Ma’am Writer Audrey McDonald Atkins discusses a phrase that’s got more to do with respect than age. excerpt from the book THEY CALL ME OR ANGE JUICE by AUDREY MCDONALD ATKINS
Y
“
es, Ma’am!” I say it to this day as thoughtlessly as I breathe. As a child, whether I was speaking to my grandmothers, to my teachers, or to the housekeeper, I dared not leave the “ma’am” off the end of a yes, no, or thank-you. As an adult, I still say it. It’s just what one does in polite Southern society. It was the way I was raised, the way my parents were raised, and the way their parents were raised. It is absolutely ingrained in my behavior. When I was growing up, heaven forbid I answered an adult’s question with an uhhuh or uh-uh! “We don’t grunt our responses,” Mama would say sternly. “What do you say?” “Yes, ma’am!” When Sonny was a little boy, I trained him to follow every yes, no, or thank-you that passed his lips with “ma’am” or “sir.” Unfortunately, times have changed. As Sonny and I would go out and about, invariably some nice lady would ask my baby boy a question. “Do you like Spider Man?” “Are you in first grade?” “Would you like a sucker?” Obediently he would respond, “Yes, ma’am!” Adopting a tone of shock and horror, the woman would say, “Oh honey! I’m not that old! You don’t have to call me ma’am!” Oh, yes. Yes, he does, because that’s the way I raised him. (And I’ll thank you not to undermine me in front of
my child.) The way some women carry on though, you’d think he had angelically smiled up at them and said, “Yes, you old biddy.” “Yes, you shriveled old crone.” “Yes, you ancient, crusty, dusty, so-far-past-your-dewyprime-it’s-not-even-funny old hag.” What they fail to understand is that being addressed as “ma’am” is not a matter of age. It is a matter of respect. It is a matter of deference to your elders, and by “elders” I mean anyone older than you. It is a matter of courtesy and manners. I’ve seen scads of comments where women write how disrespectful and condescending they find it to be called “ma’am.” Most of these women are not Southern. Do they like being treated with disrespect? Being grunted at? Is being addressed politely just a nonissue? Has our society fallen into such a state of disrepair that common courtesy is shunned? Reviled? Or maybe it’s just that I’m old-fashioned. But if being polite and moving through society with civility and respect is old-fashioned, then so be it. I’m going to keep fighting the good fight one person, one interaction at a time. Yes, ma’am, I am! 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 folkwaysnowadays.com.
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HISTORY | ASK MCGEHEE
Prior to this year, have Mardi Gras parades ever been cancelled due to a pandemic? text by TOM MCGEHEE
The cancellation of Mardi Gras events back in 1918 and 1919 was the result of World War I rather than a pandemic. The United States had entered the conflict in April 1917, less than two months after King Felix III (John T. Cochrane) had crowned Queen Mabel Moore in Mobile. The war had erupted in 1914, and Mobile’s once lucrative trade with Europe was devastated. Surely, the specter of war had loomed as the parades rolled that year. As the clock struck midnight on the first day of 1918, there was no celebratory New Year’s Eve ball for the city’s oldest mystic organization, The Strikers. And sadly, this was a milestone year — the group’s 75th anniversary. Mardi Gras would have been celebrated on February 12, but both Mobile and New Orleans cancelled the event entirely. But war was not the only reason. Government officials were extremely wary about having masked crowds wandering the darkened streets of port cities. Sabotage was always a concern. Worries Beyond War As February passed, cases of a new strain of a devastating respiratory virus began to be identified in the crowded ranks of enlisted men, and the numbers increased rapidly as the months proceeded. As it spread into the general population, the most disturbing aspect was the high mortality rate among children under the age of 5 and otherwise healthy adults aged 20 to 40. In fact, it has been estimated that from 8 to 10 percent of all young adults were killed by this virus.
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Above The only parades Mobilians could enjoy between 1917 and 1920 were the ones promoting the sale of war bonds, like this one on Government Street. PHOTO COURTESY ERIK OVERBEY COLLECTION, THE DOY LEALE MCCALL RARE BOOK AND MANUSCRIPT LIBRARY, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA
Like COVID-19, there was no vaccine in 1918, and the only methods known to slow its spread sound eerily familiar to us today: the wearing of masks, good personal hygiene, disinfectants and limited public gatherings. Although history shows that the virus was first identified in China, France and the United States, wartime censuring kept that information silent. Neutral Spain had the dubious honor of publicly announcing its existence, and the deadly virus was named “Spanish flu” as a result. Despite vociferous complaints from the Spanish government, the name stuck. On November 11, 1918, the Armistice was signed, officially ending the war. There were celebratory parades in Mobile as
troops came home, and Mobilians tried to get back to business. The Strikers did ring in 1919 with a ball celebrating their 76th anniversary, and Mobilians were glad to look forward with optimism. There was apparently some effort to revive Mardi Gras for the 1919 season, but the general attitude seemed to be that there just was not enough time to do it right. So, Mobile went without parades for a second year in a row. Besides those parades, there was something else missing: liquor. The United States had passed wartime prohibition as a measure to save grain, but that was only expanded in 1919. In January, nationwide prohibition was passed with a start date in January 1920.
The “Spanish flu” continued to take lives during the winter of 1919 - 1920, so it is not surprising to find Mobile’s recently reorganized board of health requesting the cancellation of a third Mardi Gras due to the crowds. However, Mobile’s economy had yet to recover from the effects of war, and the city’s government refused to cancel Carnival. Mardi Gras Resumes Fred Taylor Peck, manager of the Battle House Hotel, served as King Felix III that year and crowned Dorothy Wefel as his queen on February 14. On Monday evening, the Infant Mystics rolled out their parade with a theme of “Dreams” while the Order of Myths’ Tuesday night parade was cancelled due to torrential rains, which signaled a soggy start to the Lenten season. Just how many new cases of the flu could be attributed to the crowded parade route is unknown. In retrospect, Mobilians were tired of the war in Europe and the tragedies it brought. Its citizens, like the rest of America, were looking for “normalcy,” and what better way to escape their worries than Mardi Gras? The worst of the flu had largely dissipated before the 1921 season was underway, and Americans would not think about wearing masks and avoiding crowds again for nearly a century. MB
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END PIECE | BACKSTORY
Beckwith Photo courtesy Beckwith Camp and Conference Center
“We who have lived with and worked for Camp Beckwith for two weeks are naturally partial to it. We have invested in it a great part of our physical interests and moral and spiritual support and somehow feel that a part of our personality is located on the site.” – Herbert West, camper, summer of 1933
DECADES BEFORE BECKWITH became synonymous with summer camp and hidden-in-the-pines retreats, it was merely an undeveloped swath of land along the shores of Weeks Bay. In 1903, the Rev. Charles M. Beckwith, newly elected bishop of Alabama, visited the area, and, after becoming enamored with its peacefulness, bought some of the land. In 1932, four years after his death, Beckwith’s heirs bequeathed the 40 acres of timberland to the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama. In July 1933, 23 boys from churches across Alabama spent two weeks clearing the property, building a log cabin, driving a well and constructing a prayer altar. The boys, three of whom are pictured below, spent their days working — and swimming — and their nights sleeping in borrowed tents. The Rev. J. Hodge Alves, under whose leadership the boys worked, said of that summer, “I remember how beautiful it was looking over Weeks Bay at sunset through the palmetto palms and long-leaf pines.” Their work would continue into the next year. EXCERPTS FROM A CAMPER’S DIARY, 1934 TUESDAY, JULY 10
The morning was spent fixing up the campsite and tents. Meals are somewhat different this year — real bread and an indoor table.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 11
Every meal we’ve had, except breakfast, has been mostly potatoes.
THURSDAY, JULY 12
Finished cutting trees today — 74 in all. No potatoes at dinner today. Wyly and Octave are continually at each other’s throats.
SATURDAY, JULY 14
Slept under two mosquito nets last night. Had a good dinner today.
SUNDAY, JULY 15
Spent the afternoon in Fairhope and saw several girlfriends.
MONDAY, JULY 16
Eight days and not a drop of rain! They started the foundation of the cabin today.
FRIDAY, JULY 20
Hauled lumber all day. After supper we had the motorboat.
SATURDAY, JULY 21
96
Temperature reached in Mobile on July 12, 1933 — the monthly average was 88.3 degrees
82
Acres Beckwith now includes, up from its original 40
49
Total number of years Beckwith has held a summer camp
Got up at four this morning to get an early start for home. We didn’t leave until 3 p.m. Had a blowout on the Bay bridge. Finally reached home about 9:30 p.m.
Do you know the identity of any of the boys in this photo? Let us know! Email ahartin@pmtpublishing.com.
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84 mobilebaymag.com | march 2021