Mobile Bay Magazine - October 2017

THE LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE FOR MOBILE AND BALDWIN COUNTIES

THE FALL ISSUE

FALL INTO A NEW SEASON

Fashion Must-haves, Oktoberfest Dinner, Tales of Football Recruitment

COASTAL DREAM HOUSE HOW-TO PLANT

R WINTEN S GARDE !

NOW pg. 20

October 2017

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FEATURES ALLISON GAMBLE MODELS A FLOWY ROYAL BLUE BLOUSE (SWAY), LIGHT BROWN TRENCH COAT (VERONICA BEARD, DEBRA’S) AND CHIC BLACK JEANS (SWAY). PHOTO BY WENDY WILSON.

OCTOBER 2017

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VOLUME XXXIII / ISSUE 10

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She Wears it Well Crisp autumn air means chic fall fashion. From vibrant structured blazers to stylish jeans and statement shoes, MB has you covered and looking good.

49

Coastal Farmhouse

The McElmurrys have spent years building houses for other people. Now, they’ve built one all their own and are sharing their style.

54

The Recruits MB meets up with a handful of football insiders to get the true stories behind college football recruiting in our neck of the woods.

ON OUR COVER

It’s finally fall! Fairhope’s Rachel Goodrich bundles up with a wooly gray scarf (Hemline) and a jet black jacket (Debra’s) to stay cozy this season.

PHOTO BY WENDY WILSON

 Looking for inspiration to redecorate your home? Check out the coastal / modern design and decor of power couple Tamatha and Mike McElmurry, and get tips on how to achieve the look on page 49!

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DEPARTMENTS OCTOBER 2017

VOLUME XXXIII / ISSUE 10

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LEFT Customers leave notes and rave reviews on paper bags taped to the chalkboard walls at Meat Boss in West Mobile. PHOTO BY ELIZABETH GELINEAU RIGHT It’s called the “sport of kings,” but the game on horseback requires as much athleticism as any other. Just ask Herndon Radcliff. PHOTO BY KIM CAMPBELL

11 12 16 18

28 Bay Tables

Editor’s Note & On the Web Reaction Odds & Ends Elemental A Hoot and a Half Some words to the wise about these curious nocturnal birds

20 Gumbo A Guide to Winter Gardening

The time has come to plant so you can harvest in chilly weather.

24 The Dish 26 Tastings Meat Boss

From humble roots comes a celebration of Southern flavor.

76 Ask McGehee

Oktoberfest in Mobile Beer just tastes better when temperatures drop. Folks from two local breweries get together and enjoy some recipes that celebrate hops.

34 Spotlight The Globe-trotter

This Mobilian has been playing polo since he could hold himself upright on a horse.

65 History Hostess Extraordinaire

Octavia Le Vert’s parties for Mobile’s high society were legendary; her charisma, even more so.

What’s the history of the old school on Broad Street?

The downtown building is facing a revitalization in the form of new upscale apartments.

78 In Living Color Line of Scrimmage Young friends take a break from their tackling and punting.

OUT & ABOUT 70 Highlights 72 On Stage & Exhibits 74 November Highlights

 If you’re hoping for an end-of-year crop, you better get moving! Take a look at A Guide to Colorful Winter Gardening, page 20, for all you need to know for a plentiful and vibrant harvest.

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Mobile Bay VOLUME XXXIII

No10

OCTOBER 2017

PUBLISHER T. J. Potts Stephen Potts Judy Culbreth

EXECUTIVE EDITOR Maggie Lacey MANAGING EDITOR/WEB Abby Parrott

SENIOR WRITER Breck Pappas

COPY EDITOR Chelsea Adams PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Marie Katz

ART DIRECTOR Laurie Kilpatrick

ASSISTANT PUBLISHER

EDITORIAL CONSULTANT

ADVERTISING

SALES MANAGER

Joseph A. Hyland

Adelaide Smith McAleer

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE

ADMINISTRATION CIRCULATION Anita Miller ACCOUNTING Jody Chandler

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Mallory Boykin, Jill Clair Gentry, Tom McGehee, Christy Dobson Reid, Paula Lenor Webb CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS

Kim Campbell, Summer Ennis, Elizabeth Gelineau, Meggan and Jeff Haller, Kathy Hicks, Blair Merrills, Elise Poché, Wendy Wilson ADVERTISING AND EDITORIAL OFFICES

3729 Cottage Hill Road, Suite H Mobile, AL 36609-6500 251-473-6269 Subscription rate is $21.95 per year.

Subscription inquiries and all remittances should be sent to: Mobile Bay P.O. Box 923773 Norcross, GA 30010-3773 1-855-357-3137 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 © 2017 by PMT Publishing Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of the contents without written permission is prohibited. Comments written in this magazine are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the ownership or the management of Mobile Bay. This magazine accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts, photography or artwork. All submissions will be edited for length, clarity and style.

PUBLISHED BY PMT PUBLISHING INC .

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EDITOR’S NOTE

Get even more local coverage this month on mobilebaymag.com.

Here’s what’s new!

That’s the spirit.

Maggie Lacey EXECUTIVE EDITOR

maggie@pmtpublishing.com

Tastes like Fall There’s nothing better than comfort food on a cool night.

We’ve compiled a list of some of our favorite hearty dishes from local restaurants. Dig in!

PHOTO BY ELISE POCHÉ

all means one thing here in the Deep South, and that’s football. From the peewee leagues to the SEC, everyone has their eye on that special team.

I’m no expert, I confess, but you would never know it from my enthusiasm every fall. In high school, I was McGill-Toolen’s giant yellow jacket mascot, dancing wildly on the sidelines. It was a great way to get to hang with my cheerleader buddies at every Friday night game (because this gal was just not cut out for back handsprings). But it was also a way to show team spirit with no timidity.

This month, we are bringing some of that gridiron love to the pages of MB. Some of the biggest names to ever tote the pigskin in the state of Alabama sat down with us to give the stories behind their recruitments on page 54. Players and coaches gathered on the sidelines to tell us their fondest memories and wildest tales, and it made for quite the lineup.

The only fall staple we love as much as football? Beer. So we also dined with the folks from Loda Bier Garten on page 28, cooking up recipes built around beer from two local breweries. The meal was perfect football-watching fare, and the impressive recipes made for an Oktoberfest — Mobile Bay-style.

And then there are the clothes. Three local beauties spent the day with us at GulfQuest playing with the season’s latest trends. The modern architecture of the Maritime Museum made a stunning backdrop for the elegant fall fashion, which was all about crisp jackets and chunky sweaters, dressed up sneakers and statement earrings, and tons of distressed denim. The best part about these cool-weather looks is that they are light enough for our mild temps, with sleeveless jackets and lots of cotton. See all of our favorite looks on page 40.

If you aren’t feeling the autumnal spirit yet, this issue will certainly get you there. Sure, we’re all down here in South Alabama dying of heat stroke in our leather boots and sweaters at an October football game. And perhaps a few are even sweating it out in a giant insect suit. Either way, we Mobilians look the perfect part of autumn and celebrate the season to our core. Let’s bring some spirit to the start of October and welcome fall with a resounding cheer!

PHOTO BY ELIZABETH GELINEAU

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WHAT’S ONLINE

Halloween Fun From pumpkin patches to haunted duck boat tours, check out our blog for a rundown of all the spooky holiday events happening around town.

More McGehee The E.L. Russell School building featured on page 76 has been completely transformed.

Go online to see photos of the impressive renovation.

Bride Giveaway Follow Mobile Bay Bride on Facebook for details on how you can enter to win a bridal announcement in the 2018 issue!

Party Pics LEFT MB staffers surprise local musician, Yo Jonesy, with September’s cover during lunch at Callaghan’s Irish Social Club. What a treat to share in her excitement and success! Pictured left to right: Chelsea Adams, Maggie Lacey, Marie Katz, Yo Jonesy, Stephen Potts, Abby Parrott and Breck Pappas.

Share your event! Just fill out the Party Pics registration form on our website and submit your event photos to be featured in a gallery on the Web.

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PHOTO BY JEFF AND MEGGAN HALLER

REACTION

RIGHT ON POINT On August’s “Hoping for Flatfish” My high school best friend introduced me to floundering at Dauphin Island and Port of Alabama. We’d wade slowly through the low tide looking for that oval outline in the sand, just fast enough to stay ahead of the black and brown silt we stirred along the way. Behind us, we dragged a huge bucket wedged into a tractor tire inner tube that would fill quickly with dinner-platter-sized flounder and fat softshell crab that we’d stuck with our gigs and scooped into our nets.

- CJ Hatch Thank you for such a wonderfully insightful and enjoyable story. Well written and definitely on point. What a great experience awaits anyone who would try their luck. These two resourceful youngsters are definitely our future.

- ROBA7937

DON’T FORGET...

On August’s “Welcome to Wildcat Nation” Lovely article about our town, though I sincerely hope it was merely an editorial oversight that Citronelle’s mayor wasn’t even mentioned. Jason Stringer is a beloved member of our community and a wonderful mayor! He has been doing so many great things for our little hometown, and we truly appreciate him.

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YEA FOR YEAGER On August’s “The Unbeatable Bill Yeager” Thank you for the wonderful tribute to Bill. He would be so touched by the remembrance all these years later.

Emmett did a splendid job capturing our very, very special friend.

Again, thanks for the lovely tribute to a truly great man. I miss him so very much, but the article certainly brought a smile — and a tear.

- Congressman Jo Bonner Thank you for the celebration of Bill Yeager in the August issue. Bill was a favorite client at WKRG, so the American Express story was of special interest.

During production of the advertisement, Bill was told AMEX would not allow his spot. Bill said, “Don’t you think I know that? I want them to sue me!” Plus, Bill got to be all “outraged.”

Thanks for the memories.

- Lynn Bagley Thanks so much for the wonderful story about Bill. It took me three or four times to get through it without crying, but such a lovely tribute to a very special man.

- Shirley Dean Your article on Bill Yeager brought back many fond memories from the coffee group gatherings at the southeast corner of St. Michael and Joachim streets.

One morning in the ‘70s, Yeager came in the coffee shop and passed out flyers for Tommy Sandusky’s run for the State House of Representatives.

The first sentence stated, “Tommy Sandusky, successful businessman, Auburn graduate and the father of five is a candidate for the Alabama House of Representatives.”

We looked at Bill and said, “Congratulations, Yeager. You have produced a flyer with three lies in the first sentence.” His response was, “Well, nobody’s perfect.” Sandusky won.

- Arthur Smith Correction: In September’s “A View to a Room,” we misspelled the name of Dew Drop Inn owner, Powell Hamlin. Here’s to hoping we can still drop in... october 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 13

text by CHELSEA ADAMS

BY THE NUMBERS

POP QUIZ

OWL BET YOU DIDN’T KNOW THIS! How many species of owls can be found in Alabama?

a) 6

b) 8

c) 10

58.6% 300 .0003%

of all polo players come from “the big three” countries: England, Argentina and the United States.

d) 12

Did you get it? Either way, fly on over to Elemental, page 18, to learn more about Alabama’s nocturnal birds.

polo clubs exist in the United States, making it the top country in number of clubs. of the globe’s population plays polo in 90 countries.

PHOTO BY CHRIS JIMENEZ

Everyone loves to turn on football or baseball in the fall, but do you ever think about tuning in to watch polo?

In Spotlight, page 34, meet Herndon Radcliff, a local polo player who qualified for the World Cup Championship in Australia this year.

SOUTHERN RITES

GOING HOG WILD Every Southerner loves a good bite of barbecue, but how did the cuisine become such an iconic Southern tradition? The word itself is believed to come from the Caribbean word “barbocoa,” which describes the method of slow-roasting meat over a fire. In American colonial times, pigs were considered a cheap, easy and available food option with most people eating five times as much pork as beef.

As such, people often came together to celebrate these cookouts and always used every part of the animal — hence where pickled pigs’ ears and other such delicacies came from.

Even though barbecue has evolved over the centuries, it’s always signaled a good time for community and joviality. Meet the Meat Boss, page 26, for his take on the classic Southern meal.

SAY WHAT?

“When wit, and wine, and friends have met And laughter crowns the festive hour In vain I struggle to forget Still does my heart confess thy power And fondly turn to thee!

But Octavia, do not strive to rob My heart, of all that soothes its pain The mournful hope that every throb Will make it break for thee!”

— “TO OCTAVIA,” BY EDGAR ALLAN POE The famed poet of the macabre wrote this short ode to Octavia Le Vert, a friendly and popular Mobile socialite in the mid-1800s beloved for her extravagant parties and inviting personality (as Poe captured in this short poem). Meet the dame herself in “Hostess Extraordinaire,” page 65.

B) 8. The barn owl, eastern screech owl, great horned owl, short-eared owl, northern saw-whet owl, long-eared owl, burrowing owl and the barred owl all make their homes in Alabama. Unfortunately, four of these eight species are under either moderate or severe concern for conservation of their habitats.

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PHOTO BY ELIZABETH GELINEAU

PHOTO FROM TK

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ELEMENTAL

A Hoot and a Half text by BRECK PAPPAS

T

here are a couple truths about owls that you may find surprising. First, you might not know that they’re ruthless hunters, designed for stealth. Second, you probably don’t realize that we share our neighborhoods with them.

HOO ARE YOU? Owls are nocturnal birds of prey within the order Stringiformes, which is a classification of large birds with an upright stance, broad head and sharp talons.

The four most common owl species in Alabama are the screech owl, barn owl, barred owl and the horned owl.

Before you panic, let me assure you that owls want nothing to do with humans, and their presence in our neighborhoods is a gift, considering their big appetites help control pest populations. Some people even go so far as to construct owl houses to

attract owls to their yard!

So in this month of Halloween, we’d like to pay tribute to the silent (and sometimes spooky) bird of prey, gazing down on our streets at night in search of its next kill and softly hooting outside our windows.

FROG IN YOUR THROAT? An owl pellet is a tight clump of undigested animal parts (mostly the bones and fur of small rodents and birds) regurgitated by an owl. The pellets are a useful tool for researchers when examining an owl’s diet and lifestyle.

FOR RENT TAKE A LOOK AT THIS While humans have seven neck vertebrae, owls have 14, enabling the birds to rotate their necks and heads as much as 270 degrees.

This is helpful considering owls’ eyes are fixed in their sockets.

Owls often nest in tree cavities or the old nests of hawks, osprey or squirrels. As most are non-migratory, owls will often reuse nests that have proven suitable in the past.

SILENT BUT DEADLY These birds of prey are masters of stealth. The color of their feathers renders owls practically invisible when standing still among the branches of Alabama pines and oaks. Furthermore, an owl’s wings are built with feathers specialized to alter air turbulence and create near-silent flight.

OWLS AMONG US ◗ Of the four prevalent owl species in our area, the screech owl and horned owl are the most commonly sighted owls in local neighborhoods. Barred owls prefer country and delta livin’, while barn owls like large and open buildings. Go figure! ◗ Owls are attracted to midtown and downtown Mobile, where they can feed on pests commonly associated with historic homes and buildings. Furthermore, sprawling oak trees provide a wonderful habitat for owls, as well as a tasty food source in the form of tree roaches. Yum. ◗ An owl can be a turkey hunter’s best friend. When searching for roosting turkeys, a hunter will often make an owl call in the hopes of inspiring a nearby turkey to gobble in response.

The barred owl call is perhaps the most distinct in our area, resembling the phrase, “Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you all?” ◗ Susan Clement, biologist at Mobile’s Environmental Studies Center, says cars present the biggest threat to owls.

“I’d say about 75 percent of the owlrelated calls we get involve cars,” she says, “being that they hunt at night and don’t know to look both ways.” For assistance with an owl-related emergency, call 221-5000. ◗ “I get a lot of calls from people concerned that an owl has taken their pet,” says Clement. “Most of the time when a pet disappears, a car, coyote or fox is the culprit. Even a large horned owl is only about three pounds, so it can’t physically carry off a 9-pound cat.” That said, Clement advises against keeping a kitten or exceptionally small dog in the yard. MB  Special thanks to Susan Clement at the Environmental Studies Center for her assistance with this article. The center is located at 6101 Girby Road in Mobile. october 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 19

GARDENING

A Guide to Colorful Winter Gardening Get planting now to add some homegrown nutrition and color to cool-weather meals. text by BRECK PAPPAS

L

ike a flashy star quarterback, the summer garden usually gets all the glory; the congratulatory confetti falls on the juicy red tomatoes, cool cucumbers, tender squash and other warm season vegetables. How easy it is to forget about the winter garden, a tried-andtrue staple of the Gulf Coast growing season, lingering in the shadows like some unsung lineman.

To be sure, there’s plenty about the

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fall and winter gardening season to make greenthumbers jump for joy.

Besides more comfortable gardening conditions, such as less humid weather and fewer nagging insects, the crops are some of the most flavorful (and colorful) your garden will produce all year. And believe it or not, the Bay area’s most bountiful period is from September through March; vegetables planted now could realistically yield six months of harvest.

The season provides a golden opportunity to test out your green thumb — literally — with healthful leafy green favorites, such as kale and arugula, as well as unusual choices — komatsuna, for example. The trick to making the most of this growing season is not to fall behind! The window for planting begins closing in October, so if you plan to make the most of this growing season, it’s time to get started.

We’re here to help you do just that.

WHAT TO PLANT

KOMATSUNA This Japanese mustard spinach is one of the more hardy greens.

The turnip relative is very cold tolerant and can be sown directly into the ground.

In other words, you have no excuse for leaving it out of the garden. Mix the leaves with other salad greens or do the Japanese origins proud by dropping into a stir-fry.

ARUGULA This garden staple with pizzazz loves October. Set out young plants this month about 12 inches apart, and don’t skimp on the compost and water. Arugula is a near-instant gratifier, requiring just a few weeks before leaves are ready for harvest. If short on space, don’t be afraid to grow in a container.

DINOSAUR KALE Here’s a kind of kale with a sweeter taste than its also delicious curly cousin. The plant got its name because of its dark, bumpy leaves, said to resemble dinosaur skin. Sow seeds at least 18 inches apart in composted soil mixed with leaves, and water well. The leaves are ready for harvest when they’re about the size of your hand. This plant doesn’t shy away from the cold; some say a light frost actually improves its flavor.

CHARD Want to add a little pop of color to spruce up dishes this winter? Go with a rainbow of chard selections. Luckily for us, once established, chard is fairly frost tolerant and can be grown well into April. If tight on space, chard can be successfully grown in containers.

RADISH This root vegetable is an easy and rewarding option for fall planting. Sow seeds in a sunny spot with well-drained soil. By planting consecutively every few weeks, you can ensure a continuous harvest. Different radish varieties yield vegetables of varying size, color and flavor, so experiment with what each has to offer!

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GOLDEN BEET Anyone who’s ever cooked with beets knows how easily the fuscia veggie can stain just about everything it touches. Behold the golden beet, a variety of the taproot vegetable that lacks the notorious red pigment.

Grow this beet as you would any other — sow seeds 1 – 2 inches apart in a sunny spot, and thin out when seedlings are 2 inches tall. This potassium-rich gem is worth its weight in gold.

ROMANESCO CAULIFLOWER Also referred to as Romanesco broccoli, this psychedelic-looking delicacy is actually an edible flower bud in the cauliflower and cabbage family. Like its cauliflower kin, it likes full sun, well drained soil and consistent watering. It has a similar but slightly nuttier taste than cauliflower.

Steam it, blanch it, roast it or throw it in a salad.

BROCCOLI Set out broccoli seedlings in October and, with any luck, you could be harvesting for the next several months.

Give yourself greater odds of success by covering your budding plants on the coldest nights (or when temperatures threaten to drop below 28 degrees).

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FAVA BEANS As temperatures begin to dip, you’ll want to sow your fava beans (also known as “broad beans”). Expect four or five months from planting to harvest, but it’s well worth the wait.

Many gardeners like using the fava bean plant as a cover crop, meaning it adds nutrients back to the soil in preparation for spring planting.

BRUSSELS SPROUTS Now this is a fun one. When setting out plants this month, make sure to space your Brussels sprouts almost 2 feet apart on account of how large the plant will get. As it grows, sprouts emerge from a stalk at the plant’s center. Harvest heads when they are 1 2 inches in diameter. And don’t neglect the plant’s beautiful leaves, which can be cooked like collards.

TATSOI Indigenous to Japan, this green looks similar to spinach but has a distinctive mustard-like flavor. Include it in your salad for some flavor variety or drop it in a stir-fry. This one is a fast-grower and can be sown directly into the garden.

GARLIC If your cool-season garden doesn’t include garlic, you aren’t doing it right. In our area, this is the best time of the year to give garlic a try, but finding the right variety can be a challenge. Mobile Botanical Gardens is a great resource for determining which garlic variety is worth the effort. MB

october 20 - 22 Mobile Botanical Gardens Fall Plant Sale 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. F / Sa. 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. Su. Stock up on a selection of plants ranging from trees and shrubs to the perfect veggies for your winter garden.

MOBILEBOTANICALGARDENS.ORG

october 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 23

THE DISH interviews by CHELSEA ADAMS • photo by BLAIR MERRILLS

Bite of the Bay MB’s newest crop of contributing food fanatics share the local dishes that made them hungry for more this month.

HOSEA LONDON, Leader and Manager, The Excelsior Band

DR. RICHARD OTTS, Doctor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Mobile Infirmary

BREAD PUDDING AT THE ROYAL SCAM “Every time I dine at the Royal Scam, my meal is never complete without a heaping, succulent serving of bread pudding. It is enough for both my wife and me. Warm with just the right combination of cinnamon, pecans and bourbon caramel glaze, it comes topped with whipped cream. Bread pudding is a staple, and the bread pudding at the Royal Scam is at the top of the echelon.”

PORK AND BEEF AT SOUTHWOOD KITCHEN “The fried pork rinds with pimento cheese app is an excellent combo of light and rich. Then, the beef on the beef tenderloin salad entree (pictured) was perfectly prepared, and its buttermilk dressing was fresh and tasty. The atmosphere is incredibly inviting. A back room with a large fireplace will be fun with cooler weather on the way.”

ROYAL SCAM • 72 S. ROYAL ST. • 432-7226

DAPHNE • 626-6676 • FACEBOOK.COM/SOUTH-

ROYALSCAMMOBILE.COM

WOODKITCHEN

SHRIMP AND REDFISH AT OSMAN’S “My perfect dining experience began with a delectable appetizer of shrimp in a creamy gorgonzola sauce. My entree was the pan-sauteed redfish in a wonderfully seasoned Meunière sauce with a side of angel hair pasta, veggies and freshly baked bread. Pinot noir pairs beautifully with both dishes. If you want a truly unforgettable culinary experience, go to Osman’s.”

FRIED TOMATOES AT BUTCH CASSIDY’S “I just moved to Mobile from Vermont, where fried food is uncommon. I was told I just had to try their fried green tomatoes, and they are absolutely phenomenal. They have a good batter-totomato ratio, and the crispiness is just right. The ranch dressing greatly enhances their flavor. I’ve had some pretty soggy fried green tomatoes at other places, so these definitely stood out.”

OSMAN’S RESTAURANT • 2579 HALLS MILL

BUTCH CASSIDY’S CAFE • 60 N. FLORIDA ST.

ROAD • 479-0006 • OSMANS.US

450-0690 • BUTCHCASSIDYS.COM

SOUTHWOOD KITCHEN • 1203 US-98 SUITE 3D,

 Share your favorite dishes around the Bay on our Facebook page.

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MARY COURTNEY CANE, President, Courtney and Morris Real Estate

DR. ASH PRAKASH, Asst. Professor of Oncologic Services, USA Mitchell Cancer Institute

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TASTINGS

MEAT BOSS

text by JILL CLAIR GENTRY • photos by ELIZABETH GELINEAU

I

mpeccable barbecue and genuine hospitality — these two ingredients are the secret to the exploding success of Meat Boss, the tiny barbecue joint in West Mobile that isn’t quite so itty-bitty anymore.

Meat Boss started as a takeout counter, “like an indoor food truck,” says Dara Chinnis, who owns the restaurant with her husband, Benny. Since 2012, they’ve been steadily increasing their devoted fanbase. Business expanded one catering order at a time, each customer producing several others through word of mouth.

“We never advertised,” Dara says. “People would just come in after they had our food at a party or heard about us from a friend. And we literally have grown every week since then.”

Benny and Dara have built their success around excellence verging on obsession. Benny has painstakingly perfected the menu, spending many nights tending smokers and testing sauce recipes. Along the way, he’s managed to establish a distinct style in the crowded Gulf Coast barbecue market.

“Nothing we do is mainstream,” Benny says. “We don’t do anything like somebody else would do it.”

The menu item that draws customers from as far as Fort Worth, Texas, is Benny’s melt-in-your-mouth pulled brisket.

That’s right — this brisket is pulled, not sliced.

“Most brisket I’ve eaten seems to be on the tough, dry side,” Benny says. “We cook it at a hotter temperature and leave it on the smoker longer. It gets so tender and pulls just like pork.

That’s just the way I’ve always cooked it.”

At first, people were hesitant to try the brisket, but it caught on quickly. “Once they tried it, they were hooked,” Dara says.

While Benny is a perfectionist in the kitchen, Dara’s attention to detail in the front of the house has created a welcoming, efficient environment in a constantly packed barbecue joint that serves its food wrapped in foil and stuffed into brown paper bags. At lunchtime, the line may extend out the door, and cars have to park along the nearby roads because the parking lot is full to bursting with hungry diners.

“We feel like when people come in that door, they’re coming to our house for dinner,” Benny says. “We don’t do customer service. We do hospitality.”

The restaurant’s original made-to-order lunch menu takes decades-old staples and adds their own Boss twist. With a foundation of traditional barbecue meats, a multitude of choices showcase the variety and uniqueness of the Boss’s cooking. Choices include five flavors of Boss Sauce and a long

ABOVE What started as a single-window takeout hole-in-the-wall barbecue secret has grown into a beloved, constantly packed West Mobile staple.

Dine in or take out breakfast or lunch. Owners Dara and Benny Chinnis take pride in their approach to food and the community around it.

list of fun toppings, such as jalapeño jelly, pickles, horseradish sauce and cheese. There are traditional barbecue sides, and you can eat your meat atop bread, on a spud or naked.

The Meat Boss and Lady Boss continually switch up the offerings for their inventive breakfasts and way-aboveaverage burgers. Around holidays, they serve up smoked ham, turkey, pork loin and Conecuh sausage. Boss Sauce is also sold in bottles, and just about any meat that can be smoked is available as a whole meat order for events that aren’t quite big enough for full-fledged catering.

“We just want to keep it interesting, so we’re always adding to it,” Dara says. MB

 Meat Boss • 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. Tu – W, 6:30 a.m. – 2 p.m. Th – F, 8 a.m. – 2 p.m. Sa (breakfast until 10:30 a.m. Th – Sa), closed Su – M 5401 Cottage Hill Road • 591-4842 • meatboss.com • Average entree price: $7 26 mobilebaymag.com | october 2017

ON THE MENU BRISKET SANDWICH Meat Boss’ famous brisket is so tender you might cry.

Put it on a toasted sweet bun, round-top bun, wrap, sourdough bread, on a spud, or enjoy it naked, with or without Boss Sauce (sweet, sweet and spicy, Carolina, Spicy Carolina or White BBQ). It’s great with pickles on top.

BABY BACK PORK RIBS Served with two slices of white bread and sauce on the side, these perfectly tender ribs are effortless to enjoy.

THE SPUD The largest russet potato you’ve ever seen is stuffed with your choice of pulled pork, beef brisket, chicken, turkey or ham and topped with cheddar cheese and one of five varieties of delicious Boss Sauce.

HOG IN A BLANKET Looking for a breakfast feast? Try this decadent creation: a huge, buttery pancake stuffed with bacon, ham, breakfast sausage and Conecuh sausage. Drench it in syrup for a smoky-sweet treat.

BRISKET SANDWICH SERVED WITH BAKED BEANS AND COLE SLAW

BAY TABLES

Oktoberfest in Mobile The folks behind Loda Bier Garten test out a few beer-themed recipes on the brewmasters and staff of local craft breweries Haint Blue and Fairhope Brewing Company. text and styling by MAGGIE LACEY • photos by ELIZABETH GELINEAU

E

veryone knows that craft beer is experiencing a renaissance across the country, and the Bay area, though late to the party, is beginning to catch on. Fairhope Brewing Company pioneered the current crop of breweries coming online, as new names follow suit. Bars and restaurants have added local and seasonal offerings to their taps, making ordering a beer about as complicated as choosing a bottle of wine. And tough as the choices may be, there is now a beer on the local market for every taste. Those who turned up their noses at the run-of-the-mill American lagers of yesteryear have now come back to the kegs.

Fall is finally here in south Alabama, and although temperatures may not indicate it yet, it’s time for hearty food and a good cold beer to wash it down.

But regardless of the season, it’s always Oktoberfest at Loda Bier Garten. The bar and eatery in downtown Mobile boasts 102 beers on tap, with 30 new brews rotating weekly, claims the largest beer selection in the Southeast.

Owner Matt Golden and business partner David Lee Brush opened the corner eatery on Dauphin Street in 2011 with a menu of strictly authentic German dishes.

Golden’s mother was born in Berlin, and a number of the restaurant’s menu items come straight from his great-great-grandmother’s recipe cards. (They had to be translated by someone who understands the old

ways of speaking the language.) But as the months went along, Golden sought better ways to incorporate his German ancestry into the menu without being so literal and found a broader appeal by doing so. The pretzels are still made daily from scratch, but the menu has expanded to offer an assortment of other hearty and comforting dishes, including burgers. “We sell the heck out of them,” says Golden. Mosley’s Meat Market makes a proprietary blend of ground beef just for Loda Bier Garten and delivers daily.

Golden adds that his goal is to be downright offensive with portions. “I mean huge.” The restaurant was recently featured on Food Network’s program Ginormous Foods, and the national attention will certainly help those burgers fly off the grill.

In celebration of the month of beer, Golden and his menu consultant, Chef Ryan Wilder, decided to do some Oktoberfest-themed “menu testing” for new and exciting recipes and then invited a few pals over to enjoy the feast and give feedback. The brewmasters and marketing folks behind two local breweries, Fairhope Brewing Company and Haint Blue Brewing Company, who joined in the fun, said taste-testing recipes was definitely more party than work.

Chef Wilder combined several authentic German flavors with some modern American twists (and a cup or two of local beer for good measure) to create a meal worthy of Oktoberfest, right here on the Gulf Coast.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP RIGHT Anna Teachy, marketing director for Mobile’s recently opened Haint Blue Brewing Company, enjoys an IPA in a company pint glass and handmade leather hugger. The food table at Loda Bier Garten’s menu taste test was a merry-goround of delicious dishes coming right off the grill and out of the kitchen for guests to sample, including the burgers and hog “wings” pictured here. And, of course, a few growlers of beer. Harbour Stephens with Fairhope Brewing Company kept the bottles handy for anyone in need of a thirst quencher. Dr. Adrien Bodet, the homeowner for the fete and father-in-law to Loda Bier Garten owner Matt Golden, shares a laugh around the grill with Chef Ryan Wilder, the restaurant’s menu advisor, and Golden.

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GERMAN BURGERS WITH BEER BACON GRAV Y AND SOUPED-UP SAUERKRAUT

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German Burger SERVES 4

With plenty of bold flavors, this recipe is inspired by Loda Bier Garten owner Matt Golden’s German heritage.

2 pounds fresh ground beef salt and pepper, to taste 8 slices Swiss cheese 4 brioche hamburger buns, toasted 1/4 cup Gulden’s Spicy Mustard 16 dill pickle slices 1 cup Souped-p Sauerkraut (see page 33) 1 cup Beer Bacon Gravy (see below)

1. Divide beef into four 8-ounce patties and season with salt and pepper.

2. Cook on preheated grill to desired temperature, adding a slice of cheese to each patty 2 minutes before done.

3. Separate top and bottom buns and spread mustard on the bottom, followed by a layer of pickles. Top with beef patty, sauerkraut and gravy. Add top of bun and serve immediately.

Beer Bacon Gravy MAKES 3 CUPS

Fairhope Brewing Company’s Amber Ale makes this decadent gravy perfection!

5 strips bacon 1 tablespoon unsalted butter 1/4 cup finely diced carrot 1/4 cup finely diced red onion 1 rib celery, finely diced 1 tablespoon chopped garlic 1 bay leaf 2 tablespoons flour 2 tablespoons Fairhope Amber Ale 1 cup chicken stock 1 tablespoon curry powder 3 tablespoons ketchup 1 teaspoon fresh thyme 1 teaspoon spicy mustard 1/4 cup molasses salt and pepper, to taste

1. Cook the bacon until crispy. Remove from pan, reserving the bacon grease, and chop. Set aside.

2. Add butter and 1 tablespoon reserved bacon grease to a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the carrot, onion, celery, garlic and bay leaf to the pan and sweat the vegetables. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until a medium-brown roux forms. Add the beer and stock, lower the temperature and simmer until thick.

3. Add curry, ketchup, thyme, mustard and molasses and simmer briefly. Remove bay leaf. Add salt and pepper to taste. october 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 31

PORK SCHNITZEL WITH BEER BACON GRAV Y

HOG “WINGS” WITH HAINT IPA BUFFALO SAUCE

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Souped-up Sauerkraut MAKES 4 CUPS

The definition of semi-homemade, this easy recipe marries store-bought sauerkraut with added flavors.

2 tablespoons bacon grease 1 cup finely diced onion 32-ounce jar sauerkraut 6 strips crispy cooked bacon 1 tablespoon caraway seed 1 cup chicken stock 1 teaspoon black pepper

1. Melt bacon grease in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add onions and sweat, stirring 5 minutes.

2. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Cook for 20 minutes until reduced by half. Serve warm.

Schnitzel SERVES 4

This traditional German dish sounds fancy, but it is basically a slice of pork, pounded thin and pan-fried. The rich gravy is the perfect complement to the crispy pork!

1/4 cup butter 2 cups lard (or fat of choice) 2 cups seasoned flour 2 cups seasoned panko crumbs 2 eggs 1 1/2 cups milk 1-pound pork loin, divided into 4 pieces and pounded to 1/8 inch thick salt and pepper, to taste 2 cups Beer Bacon Gravy (see page 31)

1. Heat butter and lard in a large sauté pan over medium heat.

2. Place flour on a large plate and panko on another. Combine egg and milk in a shallow bowl. Season pork with salt and pepper. Dredge each piece of pork in flour, followed by eggwash and then panko.

3. Add 2 pieces of pork at a time to the sauté pan and cook 3 minutes per side, until golden brown. Remove from pan and set aside while you cook the remaining pieces.

4. Serve warm with a ladle of Beer Bacon Gravy on top.

Hog “Wings” SERVES 4 - 6

Everyone knows that pigs can fly, right?

If you treat pork shanks just right, you might believe it’s true. Fall-off-thebone-tender meat gets doused in a spicy buffalo sauce for the perfect beerpairing appetizer. Eat with your hands and keep a napkin handy.

3 tablespoons clarified butter 12 pork shanks salt and pepper, to taste 6 cups chicken stock Buffalo Sauce (see below)

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

2. Heat an oven-proof skillet on the stovetop over high heat. Add butter.

Season shanks with salt and pepper, and then add to the pan, searing on all sides. Add enough chicken stock to halfway cover the shanks. Remove from heat. Cover pan with aluminum foil and cook in oven until tender, about 3 hours.

3. Remove from oven and finish shanks with a quick roll on a hot grill to crisp the exterior. Serve warm with a drizzle of buffalo sauce.

Judge Roy Bean Coffee Chocolate Syrup MAKES 1 CUP

Chef Wilder served a decadent dessert of store-bought apple fritters topped with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream and a ladle of this rich chocolate coffee syrup. Make a double batch and store in a jar in the fridge. It’s perfect on just about anything!

12 ounces Fairhope Brewing Company Judge Roy Bean Coffee Stout 1/2 cup heavy cream 2 tablespoons chocolate sauce

1. Add beer to a saucepan and bring to a simmer over high heat. Lower heat and cook until reduced by half.

2. Add cream and reduce by half again, being careful not to boil. Add chocolate sauce and serve warm.

Haint Blue Brewing Company IPA Buffalo Sauce MAKES 1 1/2 CUPS

Chef Ryan Wilder whipped up this local riff on buffalo sauce, and the crowd couldn’t stop singing its praises! A little Haint Blue Brewery IPA was the perfect boost of flavor. Loda Bier Garten will be putting it on the menu this fall.

2 cups Haint Blue Brewing Company IPA 2 cups melted butter 2 cups Crystal Hot Sauce

1. In a medium sauce pan, bring Haint Blue IPA to a boil and reduce by half.

2. Add the butter and hot sauce to the pan and simmer until thickened to the point that the sauce holds the back of a spoon, about 15 minutes.

OPPOSITE TOP LEFT The brewmasters gather around the sampling table. Fairhope Brewing Company’s Jim Foley talks shop with Haint Blue Brewing Company’s Matt Wheeler, with Harbour Stephens and Anna Teachy learning from the pros.

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SPOTLIGHT

The Globe-trotter Herndon Radcliff takes a swing at the 2017 World Cup Polo match in Australia, trying to make a career out of the “sport of kings.” text by MAGGIE LACEY • photos by KIM CAMPBELL

H

erndon Radcliff has been in the saddle for as long as he can remember.

Before Herndon could even manage the reins himself, his father, Bobby, carried him in the saddle while umpiring matches at the Point Clear Polo Club. Herndon remembers the excitement as the mare they rode stopped short and turned quickly, leaving him feeling as though he was going to fall, and then the exhilaration when she took off running again.

With three generations of polo players in his family, Herndon was destined to pick up a mallet at some point. They say once you hit that little white ball, you’ll be chasing it for the rest of your life. But not even Herndon’s family imagined he would turn the pastime into a professional career.

Point Clear Polo Club prides itself on having a grassroots, family atmosphere. The “sport of kings” takes a decidedly laid-back air on the Eastern Shore, where experienced players love introducing the sport to newcomers, loaning horses, sharing grooms and welcoming anyone with an interest. In this familial atmosphere, Herndon, then 13 years old, joined the United States Polo Association with a handicap of minus 2 (the lowest given), playing

with two hand-me-down horses and borrowing a third when he could. He had to ride each horse twice per game to fill the 6 chukkers (polo speak for period or inning) and learn the rules of the sport as he went along. Herndon says that, while his dad introduced him to polo, he never really gave Herndon any formal lessons. “He just threw me on the back of a horse and let me get out there.” It was not until several years later when Herndon began to tag along with Gonzalo de la Fuente, a professional player who came to work in Point Clear, that he started to take it all seriously.

Gonzalo had a handicap of 4 and was one of the better players to spend time in Point Clear. Before long, Herndon was spending his spring breaks exercising horses with Gonzalo and refining his game instead of hanging at the beach with friends. He headed to the University of Kentucky to study equine science and, while there, began retraining young thoroughbreds off the track to play polo. He sold a few for a profit, bought some more horses, did it again. He developed his own string of ponies, played on Kentucky’s polo team and refined his game even more. But in his senior year, with only three credits left until graduation,

ABOVE A preschool-aged Herndon Radcliff sits on the pommel of the saddle while his father, Bobby Radcliff, umpires a polo match at Point Clear Polo. The sport is certainly in Herndon’s childhood memories, if not also in his blood.

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Herndon made a bold move. He left school and took a job as a groom’s assistant — that’s right, the bottom of the totem pole — in Argentina. As an ayudante, or “helper,” Herndon learned more than any schooling could have taught. What baseball is to America, polo is to Argentina.

Time spent in a place where people live, eat and breathe polo exposed him to world-class players, gave him the opportunity to ride first-rate horses and was critical to taking his game to the next level.

Since then, Herndon has worked his way up in the sport, playing on various teams across numerous states, improving his swing, training new horses and making contacts.

The U.S. Polo Association rated him with a handicap of 2 (on a scale of minus 2 to 10), and Herndon made the U.S. team this past spring at a qualifier in Australia. The World

Cup Tournament was in his sights, and he was planning a trip to Sydney this October to represent the United States. Then something funny happened that you would never see in any other sport. Herndon had a phenomenal year, and when the USPA updated player handicaps in June, his rating was increased from a 2 to a 3. He was moving in a good direction. But that one point increase in his handicap bumped him from the U.S. team.

To understand how becoming a better player can kick you out of one of the most prestigious tournaments in the world, you have to understand how polo works. Each player gets a handicap from the USPA that is reevaluated each year. Every tournament has a set goal, which is the combined handicap of all four players on a team. At small clubs like Point Clear Polo, teams can start with

ABOVE Herndon Radcliff checks up his pony while trying to get control of the ball in the Southeastern circuit Intra-circuit 12-goal match.

TOP Radcliff, pictured third from right, made the United States’ starting team for the Federation of International Polo’s World Cup Cham-

pionship. He was later replaced by an alternate in the lead-up to the October 2017 match in Sydney, Australia.

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a point on the board to offset any imbalance between two teams. But at the World Cup, which is a 14-goal tournament, the players’ handicaps must evenly add up to 14. No more, no less. Herndon’s extra point put the team over, and so he was passed over for an alternate with a 2 rating. And so he will sit home this October.

While Herndon admits the decision was a setback, his polo career is impressive even without a World Cup under his belt. No backyard nags anymore, no racetrack rejects. These days he rides an impressive string of 12 horses, most of which he owns, but a few are sent to him for training.

He has his own groom and takes his sport as seriously as any professional athlete. “The horses need to be fed and cared for year-round, so as a professional, you need to be playing year-round to make enough money.

But that takes a toll on your body. The best players these days have trainers, physiotherapists, they are drinking recovery drinks and working out.

They take it as seriously as the NFL or the Major Leagues.”

But unlike professional baseball, he points out, you will never see a team owner on the field throwing a pitch.

That’s where polo differs from other professional sports. In most matches, the owner of the team is out there playing with the pros, so long as their handicaps all add up right. Men and women of all ages and abilities might find themselves on one team, and in this way, the “sport of kings” can be extremely democratic. There are a handful of players in the world with a handicap of 10, but most professionals fall into Herndon’s handicap range.

And the good news is he has decades left for improvement. Polo players often perform well into their 60s.

Herndon is heading to Argentina this fall to help find new horses for the head of his team, and while there, he plans to get another taste of high goal polo.

He is focused on the matches in front of him but, undoubtedly, with one eye on that next World Cup qualifier. MB

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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW • Most polo matches consist of 6 chukkars (periods) of 7 minutes and 30 seconds each, with a 10-minute halftime. Smaller games can be played as a round-robin, where 3 teams play each other 3 chukkars.

• Safety Equipment: Players are required to wear a protective helmet secured by a chinstrap. Some helmets have an added facemask, but many professionals forgo this measure, citing it limits vision. Players also wear padded leather knee pads. These days, most players wear shatterproof protective eyewear.

• A polo ball is typically about the size of a baseball and made of hard plastic. It weighs about 4 ounces. The mallet is 48 to 54 inches long, depending on the height of the pony and the reach of the player. The shaft is made of bamboo, the grip is similar to a tennis racquet’s and the head is typically made of ashwood or maple.

• Players are rated on a scale of -2 to 10, which is determined by a player’s horsemanship, hitting ability, quality of horses, team play and game sense. The team handicap is the sum of its players’ handicaps.

• Players must carry the mallet in their right hand. Playing left-handed was banned from polo in the mid1930s for safety reasons.

• Men and women of all ages are allowed to compete with each other since both sexes are rated on the same handicap scale.

You can find more info about rules, local clubs, and tournaments going on around the country at uspolo.org.

If you want to watch a local match or get in the saddle yourself, visit pointclearpolo.com.

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A fresh new wardrobe for the changing season looks sharp alongside the sleek architecture of Mobile’s waterfront.

styling by MAGGIE LACEY text by CHELSEA ADAMS photos by WENDY WILSON hair by BRANDY HELTON makeup by MARY CARLTON MONACH models ALLISON GAMBLE, R ACHEL GOODRICH and JANIE LONG shot on location at the GULFQUEST NATIONAL MARITIME MUSEUM

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ON ALLISON Mustard blazer with five-button detail at the cuff (Veronica Beard, Debra’s). Flowy off-white V-neck blouse (Sway). Ultra distressed button fly jeans (Hudson Ciara Skinny, Hemline).

Marble-textured button earrings (Hemline).

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ON JANIE, LEFT Navy blouse with peacock embroidery (BL-NK, CK Collection). Gray distressed jeans (Sway). Silver metallic mule loafers (Dolce Vita, Debra’s). White and gold tassle earrings (Sway).

ON RACHEL, OPPOSITE Flowy taupe silk dress (PS The Label, Hemline). Cream-colored leather jacket (BB Dakota, Hemline). Gold chain link and tassel earrings (Sway).

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ON RACHEL, LEFT Slouchy knit sweater in heather (Free People, Hemline). Sleeveless wool coat (Sway). Black faux leather biker leggings (Sway). Gray suede hightop tennis shoes (Dolce Vita, CK Collection).

ON ALLISON, OPPOSITE Cotton camouflage jacket (Monrow, Debra’s). Chambray top (Bella Dahl, Hemline). Gray denim frayed hem jeans (AGED Denim, CK Collection). Gold cascading ginko leaf earrings (Sway). Pink suede squaredtoe ballet flats with gold piping (Summit by White Mountain, CK Collection).

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ON ALLISON Vibrant royal blue blouse (Sway). Black denim pants with shark-bite hemline (Sway). Stacked-heel crocodile loafers with tassels and leather chain detail (FS/NY, CK Collection). Brown trench (Veronica Beard, Debra’s).

ON JANIE Cream tee with an easy fit and asymmetrical hem (Sway). Cream wool sleeveless knee-length coat (Pheory, Debra’s). Cream leather pants (Malene Birger, Debra’s). Tan and white suede tennis shoes (Dr. Scholl’s Original Collection, CK Collection).

SPECIAL THANKS GULFQUEST MARITIME MUSEUM Downtown Mobile’s maritime museum features more than 90 interactive exhibits, simulators and theater rooms ­— all about Mobile’s history on the water. Visit the museum from Wednesday through Saturday every week.

436-8901 • GULFQUEST.ORG

RESOURCES CK COLLECTION 320 FAIRHOPE AVE. FAIRHOPE • 990-9001 CKCOLLECTION.COM DEBRA’S 4068 OLD SHELL ROAD 343-7463 FACEBOOK.COM/DEBRAS. BOUTIQUEMOBILE HEMLINE 4356 OLD SHELL ROAD 287-6875 SHOPHEMLINE.COM SWAY 324 FAIRHOPE AVE. FAIRHOPE • 990-2282 FACEBOOK/SWAY-FAIRHOPE

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COASTAL FARMHOUSE After decades of building for others, the McElmurrys build a home for themselves that combines modern, traditional and coastal features perfect for easy Fairhope living. MB gives you the resources to capture the look. text by CHRISTY DOBSON REID • photos by SUMMER ENNIS

PAINT COLOR Sherwin Williams Pure White

TRIM COLOR Sherwin Williams Homburg Gray

“Clean lines and traditional cottage style call for a classic white exterior.”

– Homeowner Tamatha McElmurry about

their board and batten hardiplank home.

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N

ot many people can say they’ve entered into retirement plans early. And while Mike and Tamatha McElmurry are hardly retired, they did stumble upon their retirement dream lot, and upon it, they built a dream home.

Ten years ago, the couple was visiting some dear friends on School Street in Fairhope when they spotted the lot.

It had a dilapidated house on it and seemed to have been forgotten. So they approached the owner and tried to purchase it, but the owner politely refused. A few years later, the property went up for sale, and the McElmurrys leapt at the option, placing a blind offer on it amidst five others. “We didn’t think it was going to happen for us, but he accepted our offer,” Tamatha recalls.

Tamatha began selling real estate in 1996, the same year Mike got his start in home building. She laughs, “This is when I took on the role of designer/ decorator as my ‘hobby.’” The pair work together on all their building projects, with Tamatha designing the

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space and finishes while Mike handled the build. They drew from this depth of experience to build their own home, a process that is full of both highs and lows. “After building for 20 years, we have learned to take the challenges in stride,” Mike says.

The couple envisioned a modernized coastal cottage that would look like it belonged in downtown Fairhope and near the Bay. “Mike and I collaborated on each room to incorporate all the natural, traditional and modern elements we envisioned,” Tamatha says. Mike adds, “We wanted an open concept that would flow well for dining and entertaining.” They also wanted outdoor living areas that would serve them just as well when their two teenage daughters would soon leave for college.

After the couple designed the layout, Tamatha began work on the details and decor, a job right up her alley; her specialties are lighting, color palette, cabinet design and flooring.

“I really had fun with this house,”

“We wanted an art gallery look so that our original art would have a place to shine.”

– Homeowner Tamatha McElmurry on her white walls PAINT COLOR Sherwin Williams Pure White

COW HIDE Tamatha’s family brought her a cowhide from Colorado as a surprise. You can find your own locally in all shapes, sizes and colors — even metallics!

SURYA HIDE RUG • SARAH B. ATCHISON • COLORS AND PRICES VARY

ISLAND AND BAR PAINT COLOR Sherwin Williams Oyster Bay

KITCHEN PENDANT LIGHTS Tamatha often designs her own light fixtures from reclaimed wood, scrap metal and artful objects. But you can score her kitchen fixtures online.

POSSINI EURO BRUSHED NICKEL CHANDELIER • LAMPS PLUS • $799

BACKSPLASH One-inch planed driftwood tiles make a unique backsplash that is just begging to be touched.

RF HENRY DRIFTWOOD TILE • JUBILEE FLOORING • $22 PER SQ FT

BAR PULLS Oversized bar pulls make a strong statement on simple shaker cabinetry.

EMTEK 12” STAINLESS STEEL BAR PULLS • RAYFORD & ASSOCIATES • $17

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she says. “I subscribe to the concept of a ‘collected home.’ I do not match elements; I design to have complementary elements.” For example, Tamatha collected her coveted Persian rugs 20 years ago through online auctions and says she will never part with them.

“They are a part of my home now, and I love how they bring a unique and artful element wherever they are used.”

Tamatha cooks and entertains often, and the layout is perfect for having lots of people gathered around so she can be a part of the conversation. “Right now during football season, I can keep up with the food and still be right in the middle of the action in the living room.”

Most afternoons you’ll find the girls on the porch napping or working on homework and at night hanging out there with friends. As Tamatha simply says, “We like it that way.” But while the couple might soon be empty nesters, they’ll still have a bit of company at home. Vinny Barbarino, a little Shih Tzu with a big attitude, and Baylor the snuggly Goldendoodle will get to enjoy the beautiful new home for years to come. MB

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CHANDELIER Natural beads in a grand silhouette are an interesting touch in the bath.

SIMILAR TO THE MCELMURRY’S RO SHAM BEAUX 24” QUARTZ FIXTURE MALOUF FURNITURE & DESIGN • $2395

PAINT COLOR Sherwin Williams Pure White

BATHROOM TILE This tile has texture and personality! WOOD-LOOK TILE IN STORMY GRAY • JUBILEE FLOORING & DECORATING • $5 PER SQ FT

PORCH SWING Local furniture maker Luke Phillips produces custom swinging beds that are a favorite for coastal homes. Tip: He is opening a new store in Fairhope later this year at a retail and event development that the McElmurrys are designing. Stay tuned!

LUKE PHILLIPS CUSTOM SWING • $1,000 - $2,400

OUTDOOR RUG High traffic areas can still look chic with indoor / outdoor rugs. SIMILAR TO THE MCELMURRY’S - DASH AND ALBERT’S ELIZABETH RUG IN SAND • MALOUF FURNITURE & DESIGN• $142 - $3,000

“Our front porch is the family’s favorite ‘room’ in the house. The open ceilings, beams, foliage all around, and rain beating on the tin roof ... it’s just a feeling of ‘home’ to us. It’s also my favorite place to make work calls.”

– Homeowner Mike McElmurry

FIRE PIT Tamatha scored this custom steel fire pit at Fairhope Arts and Crafts Festival. Bonus: If you missed the festival, they are sold online!

S&S FIRE PITS 36” ELLIPTICAL ON LEGS • $585

RESOURCES MALOUF FURNITURE & DESIGN • 7745 STATE HWY 59, FOLEY 955-5151 • MALOUFFURNITURE.COM JUBILEE FLOORING & DECORATING • 25263 US 98, DAPHNE 625-1700 LUKE PHILLIPS • 402-3493 • LUKEPHILLIPSFURNITURE.COM RAYFORD & ASSOCIATES • 2701 DAUPHIN STREET 476-1460 • RAYFORDS.COM S&S FIRE PITS • 404-840-8474 • SSFIREPITS.COM SARAH B. ATCHISON • 2602 OLD SHELL ROAD • 473-4086 SHERWIN WILLIAMS • FOR LOCATIONS IN MOBILE, DAPHNE AND FAIRHOPE, VISIT SHERWIN-WILLIAMS.COM

october 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 53

THE RECRUITS True stories of how coaches win at the game of recruiting top players. text by BRECK PAPPAS • intro photo by ELIZABETH GELINEAU

ABOVE From left to right: Paul Crane, Kenny King, Jimmy Dill, Scott Hunter, Ben Harris and Terry Curtis.

D

uring his rookie season with the Green Bay Packers in 1971, Mobilian and former Alabama quarterback Scott Hunter picked up the telephone and heard the familiar gruff voice of Paul “Bear” Bryant.

“At this time, there was a big recruiting fight for Richard Todd,” Hunter explains. Todd, who played quarterback for Davidson High School, was being recruited heavily by Alabama and Auburn. Knowing that the Packers and the St. Louis Cardinals game would be broadcast in Mobile that particular week, Coach Bryant saw Hunter’s Mobile roots as an opportunity to get an edge.

“Coach Bryant wanted me to call Todd and tell him all about how great Alabama was,” Hunter says. “Well, we get down to St. Louis, and we practice on Saturday afternoon. I noticed there was a payphone hidden around the corner in the locker room, so I said to myself, ‘Tomorrow after we finish warm-ups before the game starts, I’m gonna be real slick with this.’”

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Sure enough, 20 minutes before kickoff, Hunter got Todd on the phone, talked up Alabama and made sure the young recruit would tune in to the impending game. Though the game ended in a 16-16 tie, Hunter felt pretty confident he had scored at least one victory that day in St. Louis. The next day, he called Coach Bryant.

“I was so proud of myself,” Hunter remembers. “Coach listened as I went through the whole thing about calling Todd between the pregame warm-ups and the kickoff.”

“Hell,” Coach Bryant grumbled. “I don’t know what you told him, but Todd committed to Auburn last night.”

“Some recruiter I am,” Hunter says today with a big laugh. (Todd eventually flipped his commitment to Alabama, to Hunter’s great relief.)

It wasn’t the first time Mobile was the setting for a memorable recruiting anecdote, and it certainly won’t be the last.

Squirrel Hunting Like most high-profile recruits in the state, Hunter received attention from the coaching staffs at both Alabama and Auburn.

“I liked Auburn,” Hunter says. Some of his earliest memories involve riding his bicycle through Auburn, where he had family, and pulling right up to the sidelines during team practices.

“Coach [Shug] Jordan would look down and say, ‘Hey, boys.’” Years later, the legendary Auburn coach would recruit that youngster on the bicycle, but to no avail.

“My mother loved Coach Jordan,” Hunter says. “She would have committed to Auburn if she could have.”

In those old days, alumni were allowed to take part in a prospect’s recruitment. At the end of one school day during his senior year, Hunter walked out of the Vigor gym only to be greeted by four well known Mobile professionals and Alabama alumni: Judge Ferrill McRae, Oliver Delchamps, Dr. Marion Dodson and Bob Boykin.

“They said, ‘We’re going squirrel hunting.’”

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“I said, ‘Hunting?’”

The men, dressed in suits and ties, drove Hunter up Highway 43 and began blasting away at squirrels in the fading afternoon light.

“This was in late November, so it was getting dark,” Hunter says. “Judge Ferrill had his shirtsleeves and the pants of his suit rolled up. I thought, ‘That’s a strange way to hunt.’ You couldn’t even see the squirrels.” The group then took Hunter to dinner before finally dropping him off back home around 8:30 in the evening.

“My mother said, ‘Where have you been? Coach Jordan sat here for two and a half hours waiting to take you to dinner!’”

The Messenger

Jimmy Dill, a receiver at Murphy High School in the class of 1960, remembers the role an alumnus played in his recruitment all too well. Dill was set to make a recruiting visit to Alabama when he was pulled aside by Bill Sharp, a teacher at Murphy and former Alabama teammate of Coach Bryant’s.

“I have a message I want you to pass along to Coach Bryant,” he told Dill, “and don’t come back to Mobile unless you do. Tell him if he does anything to screw up your recruiting visit, I’ll come up there and whip his ass.”

When Dill found himself in Bryant’s office, sitting across from the large man, he wasn’t sure if he could do it. “I was scared to death,” Dill says.

Dill took a deep breath, passed along Sharp’s message and waited. “I probably almost fainted.” After a pregnant pause, Bryant leaned forward and said, “Jimbo, let me tell you something.

When you go back to Mobile, you tell Sharp if there’s anybody’s ass I can still beat, it’s his.”

“I said, ‘Yessir, I’ll tell him,’” Dill says.

“That’s a true story.”

OPPOSITE TOP Scott Hunter and Vigor head coach Glen Yancey in the 1965 opener against Foley.

OPPOSITE BOTTOM Scott Hunter huddles with Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant.

TOP Joe Namath, Coach Bryant, Jets head coach Weeb Ewbank and Paul Crane pose for a photograph.

BOTTOM Paul Crane makes a big tackle against

october 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 57

Both Sides of the Coin

Paul Crane stands in the study of his midtown home, gazing at four walls of photographs documenting his two national championship wins at Alabama and his Super Bowl III victory with the New York Jets in 1969. But before the championship rings came the telephone rings.

“I worked at a service station on the Causeway when I was a senior [at Vigor], and I would get calls over there from different colleges and alumni, too,” Crane says. “My friends would drive by going to the Gulf with their girlfriends, and I’d be pumping gas.”

Crane, who was an All-American center for the Crimson Tide in the mid1960s, returned to his alma mater to work as a linebackers coach for three years, giving him the rare opportunity to experience the flip side of the recruiting process. Crane’s story about recruiting linebacker Rich Wingo in Indiana is a fine example of how much recruiting has evolved.

“I flew up there, and Wingo came to pick me up at the airport,” Crane says.

Today, the thought of a recruiter from a major program being picked up from the airport by the player he’s recruiting is more than humorous.

“He was driving a little Volkswagen bug, and when I got in it, most of the floorboard was rusted out. We were going down roads covered in ice and snow, and I could see the pavement beneath my feet!”

A Group Effort

With roughly 40 years of high school football coaching experience, UMSWright head coach Terry Curtis has a unique perspective on Bay-area recruiting over the years.

“I’m not sure what kind of relationship recruiters care about building with a high school coach anymore,” Curtis says. “So that personal touch has changed.” Social media and technology, he explains, have affected almost everything about the recruiting process.

“There’s no more hiding out a Scott Hunter or guys like that,” Curtis says,

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CLOCKWISE FROM TOP RIGHT Blount head coach Ben Harris and his family pose with Alabama head coach Gene Stallings. Ben Harris stands with Auburn head coach Terry Bowden, a testament to the relationships recruiting can form between college and high school coaches. Dameyune Craig (second from the left) and Angelo Wheeler (second from the right) celebrate their signing-day commitment to Auburn with some of their Blount coaches.

Paul Crane worked as a linebackers coach for three years with Coach Bryant at Alabama.

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noting that everybody has cell phones these days. But that doesn’t mean Curtis hasn’t seen his fair share of crafty recruiting tactics over the years. While coaching at Murphy in the 1980s, Curtis says he saw schools offer scholarships to four or five players in the hopes of winning the commitment of one of their sought-after teammates.

“Not that [those four or five] weren’t good players,” Curtis says. But the sudden interest in those guys was enough to raise some eyebrows.

Blount Force

Coach Ben Harris, a member of both the Mobile Sports Hall of Fame and the Alabama High School Sports Hall of Fame, has seen his fair share of recruitments over the years, thanks in part to the impressive stable of athletes he developed during his time at Blount High School. At the end of his first season as Blount’s head coach in 1988, Coach Harris and his squad won the school’s first ever playoff game.

“And never in my wildest dreams did I think we’d win a state championship in three years’ time,” the nowretired Harris says. The list of players Harris groomed for college football is impressive to say the least: Auburn quarterback Dameyune Craig, Auburn defensive back Larry Casher, Alabama running back Sherman Williams, Tennessee linebacker Willie Bohanan. The list goes on.

“Just the other day, my wife and I were talking about all the calls we used to get from [recruiting] coaches. I used to be so glad when signing day ended.”

Harris says he often found himself caught in the middle, between his players and the coaches recruiting them.

When players made unexpected early commitments, Harris says coaches “would call me like I had something to do with it!”

One of Harris’s most successful players was Angelo Wheeler, a defensive end and linebacker at Blount who went on to become a defensive star for the Auburn Tigers.

“I’ll never forget the time my mother came home, and she couldn’t get the mail out because the mailbox was packed with 60 mobilebaymag.com | october 2017

college letters,” Wheeler says.

“The other thing that sticks out in my mind is when I called my position coach Joe Whitt at Auburn to tell him that I signed. There was ‘recruiting Joe Whitt,’ and then there was ‘Coach Joe Whitt.’

When I signed my name across that paper, he became mean Joe,” Wheeler says with a laugh. “It’s amazing how they switch gears when they sign you.”

As for the entire recruitment experience, Wheeler says he “wouldn’t trade that experience for anything in the world.”

“The opportunity to fly on a plane, take these free trips and become exposed to the college atmosphere was just really exciting,” he says.

The King Treatment

Kenny King, former Alabama defensive lineman and Daphne High School’s current athletic director and head football coach, echoes Wheeler’s excitement.

“It was a time for me and my family to bond,” he says. “Ate a lot,” he says with a big laugh.

The in-home visits with coaches stick out in King’s memory. “I remember [Steve] Spurrier and then Mike Dubose coming to my home, talking to me and trying to get me to come to their schools.

It was bizarre,” King says, looking back.

“You see a guy on TV every Saturday, then he’s sitting in your living room trying to convince you to go to his school.”

As a recruit, King attended his first Iron Bowl in 1997, a thrilling game that ended with an Alabama fumble and a game-winning Auburn field goal with 21 seconds remaining. “I saw grown men and women crying in the stands,” King says of the intense rivalry. “I knew right then I wanted to be a part of something like that.”

But, as former Blount coach Ben Harris will tell you, the best recruiting stories are the ones that come full circle. His great-nephew Enrique Williams, a former linebacker at Blount, was one of the first players to commit to the University of South Alabama in 2009. The coach who recruited him?

Former Blount standout and Ben Harris protégé, Dameyune Craig.

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HISTORY

Madame Le Vert: Hostess Extraordinaire Take a glimpse into the world of Octavia Le Vert, the toast of antebellum Mobile society and the preeminent entertainer of her time. text by PAULA LENOR WEBB

M

any interesting people have graced the shores of Mobile Bay, but no one compares to Octavia Walton Le Vert. The archetype of a socialite, Octavia performed the role of hostess in antebellum Mobile for more than 30 years.

When Octavia moved to Government Street with her husband Dr. Henry Strachey Le Vert in 1843 and initiated her lavish parties, she was known by everyone as “Madame Le Vert.” By utilizing her notoriety, connections and charm, she invited the most important people in the city, the country and the world into her extravagantly decorated gold and silver salon full of family portraits and items collected from her world travels.

To fully understand her entertaining prowess, one must first look to Madame Le Vert’s early life. She was a lady born into a famous family, destined to impact the world like her forefathers. In accordance with her training as a proper “belle,” she was taught to entertain by her grandmother, Dorothy Walton, and mother, Sarah Walton: smart ladies of quality who knew how to work a room and who passed their skills on to Octavia.

This granddaughter of a signer of the Declaration of Independence and daughter of the first governor of West Florida was able to leave her own mark on the world by becoming a master of society.

Madame Le Vert was praised by renowned figures such as Edgar Allan Poe, who wrote the poem “To Octavia” just for her (see poem on page 16). United States Senator Henry Clay, a three-time presidential hopeful, took the time to

LEFT Octavia Walton Le Vert, painted by Thomas Sully. Photo courtesy of Maggie Tuberville, Historic Mobile Preservation Society. It is currently housed at Oakleigh House.

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ABOVE Madame Octavia Le Vert’s drawing room, pictured in a newspaper clipping. The space featured ornate architecture, lavish furnishings and ample room to host society’s elite. Photo courtesy of Bob Peck, Minnie Mitchell Archives, Historic Mobile Preservation Society.

visit Madame Le Vert and her husband in their home while traveling through the South and enjoyed a ball held in his honor. The wealthy and famous delighted in the presence of the charismatic socialite, and those known for their sense and enlightenment were often found in her home. Washington Irving, the famous short story writer, called her, “A woman such as appears but once in the course of an empire.”

Location was everything in regards to the Le Vert residence, which was perfectly positioned on the corner of Government and St. Emanuel streets. This central location was within walking distance of the docks, the City Market and City Hall.

The house, designed for entertaining 66 mobilebaymag.com | october 2017

with its large open windows and unique design, would be ablaze with candlelight and could be seen for blocks. To the side of the house was Dr. Le Vert’s office, a place of refuge for the medical doctor who loved to entertain like his wife, but to a limit.

She was the ideal mate for this educated American physician, equal in the circles of society. She strongly complemented the doctor with her accomplishments as a linguist, writer and conversationalist — the perfect model of the Southern belle and hostess.

In the Library of Southern Literature, Mrs. John K. Ottley wrote, “The nearest approach to a salon which America has known was afforded by Madame Le Vert’s ‘Mondays.’ On these days during

the season, her large, elegant home on Government Street was crowded from morning until night, with not only the elite of Mobile and the South, but the elect of every clime.” Another lucky guest, a Mrs. Clement Clay Jr., recalled the Boat Club Ball. “Two thousand invitations were issued, and the elegant mansion was set for the gala occasion.

The one-time magnolias, oleanders and orange trees were strung with garlands of multicolored and shaped lamps. The house was ablaze with candlelight, and the walls were festooned with luxuriously blossomed flowers. There has yet to be a ball to rival it.”

While the Le Vert’s liked to entertain and practice the fine art of drinking,

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no record can be found describing what exactly she served at her parties.

However, it is known that during her events, the punch bowl remained full and ready. Her proximity to the docks and the markets would promise easy access to vendors who would sell the “contents” for that bowl. Notably, a horticulturalist writing for the journal “The Soil of the South” visited Octavia and reported that her garden contained a superior scuppernong vine, which grew wine grapes, that was perfectly cared for and highly prized.

According to the Daily Picayune in 1853, the Le Vert family opened their home to internationally known Swedish author Fredrika Bremer. Madame Le Vert met Miss Bremer at a landing nearby, and Bremer stayed at the Le Vert home as a guest. “I must tell you something of my little friend, Mrs. Le Vert, because she has nestled into the inmost of my heart. How pleasant is it to be fond of and to love someone. And it is so strange that that little worldly lady, who I heard spoken of as a ‘belle’ and as the most splendid ornament of society wherever she went, has yet become almost as dear to me as a young sister!”

In addition to being very welcoming of visitors to her “Mondays,” Octavia liked to be the center of attention. She accomplished this by dressing in the most fashionable styles. During one event, she arrived in a light blue silk gown covered with white roses. In her book, Belle of the Fifties, Mrs. ClayClopton recalled Madame Le Vert as 68 mobilebaymag.com | october 2017

ABOVE The home of Madame Octavia Walton Le Vert on Government Street. Photo courtesy of Bob Peck, Minnie Mitchell Archives, Historic Mobile Preservation Society.

being vivacious and smiling. She writes that Octavia once wore a gown of golden satin, and in her hair she wore a wreath of coral flowers with her Moroccan shoes matched in hue.

Like many social soirees, dancing and music were a staple of many of the Le Vert social engagements. Unless they previously attended a “Monday,” many passersby would not realize that the music they heard was often coming from the fingers of Madame Le Vert herself, as she was well-versed in the Spanish guitar and not afraid to show off her abilities. When she graced the dance floor in front of her guests, she was noted to have moved like a bird on the wing, as Mrs. Clay-Clopton commented, “I can see her now in her shimmering robe as she swayed and glided, holding the shimmering gown aside as she floated through the ladies chain.”

But alas, society can be very fickle.

Even though she had once been Mobile’s most famous belle, Madame Le Vert gradually lost social favor. She was accused of working as a traitor and spy for the Union soldiers she hosted in her home after the surrender of Mobile during the Civil War, and Madame Le Vert left Mobile for good, never to return.

In error, she tried to use her home to foster peace and reconciliation, but instead she was shunned by the society that once adored her. MB october 2017 | mobilebaymag.com 69

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2017 ON STAGE & EXHIBITS PG. 72 • NOVEMBER HIGHLIGHTS PG. 74

FALL BIRD MIGRATION. PHOTO BY KATHY HICKS

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

OCTOBER HIGHLIGHTS

through october 31

october 4

october 8

Pumpkin Patch Express & Scary Night Trains

Poetry by Moonlight

Second Annual Regions Bank Mother / Son Field Day

Enjoy a steam train ride, haunted barn, hay rides, bounce house, pumpkin patch, pumpkin decorating and more autumnal activities. Day pass: $15.

WALES WEST LIGHT RAILWAY WALESWEST.COM

through october 31

7 p.m. Celebrate the harvest moon with readings by 12 poets. Poet Laureate of Alabama Emerita Sue Walker will MC. MOBILE BOTANICAL GARDENS MOBILEBOTANICALGARDENS.ORG

october 5 8th Annual Think Pink Tea

3 p.m. - 5 p.m. Moms and sons, come on out for music, food, games and more in this event benefiting Wilmer Hall.

WILMER HALL CHILDREN’S HOME • 3811 OLD SHELL ROAD • 401-1003

october 12 - 15 National Shrimp Festival

7 p.m. - 10 p.m. Sa - Th. 7 p.m. - midnight F. Take in a night of excitement and goblins from the safety of your car.

Admission: $6; children under 3 are free.

4 p.m. - 6 p.m. Attend this free celebration of breast cancer awareness hosted by USA Mitchell Cancer Institute and USA Children’s and Women’s Hospital. A runway fashion show features survivors as the models. Please RSVP to the number below.

HANK AARON STADIUM THRILLERNIGHTSOFLIGHTS.COM/MOBILE

MOBILE CONVENTION CENTER GRAND BALLROOM • 1 S. WATER ST. • 445-9691

through october 31

october 7

october 14

Thriller Nights of Lights

Fall Bird Migration

10 a.m. - 10 p.m. Th - Sa. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Su. Feast on delectable shrimp dishes, stock up on arts and crafts and construct a sand masterpiece at this local tradition that has been around for 46 years. Don’t miss the Little Miss Shrimp Pageant!

GULF SHORES • MYSHRIMPFEST.COM

Festival of Flavor

Dauphin Island Art Trail

Watch hundreds of species flock south for the winter from one of Dauphin Island’s many birding spots.

Celebrate all the delicious dishes our region has to offer while watching football or playing yard Jenga.

9 a.m. - 4 p.m. More than 40 regional artists will be spread throughout the island. Be sure to participate in the treasure hunt.

DAUPHIN ISLAND • DAUPHINISLAND.ORG

OLD TOWNE FOLEY

DAUPHIN ISLAND • 861-2473

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

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october 19 - 21 Greek Fest 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. Join in the dancing, music, food and fun in celebration of the Port City’s Greek community.

ANNUNCIATION GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH GREEKFESTMOBILE.ORG

october 20 - 22 Plantasia Fall Plant Sale 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. F / Sa. 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. Su. Stock up on thousands of plants for your Gulf Coast garden, including camellias, azaleas, rare species and more.

MOBILE BOTANICAL GARDENS MOBILEBOTANICALGARDENS.ORG

october 21 Known Deaths and Burials at Mobile Point 5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. Get into the Halloween spirit early with a guided tour of the known deaths and burials at Mobile Point from 1813 to 1910. Bring your own flashlights. Admission: $12 per person.

FORT MORGAN • FORT-MORGAN.ORG

october 26 AOC Clay Shooting Tournament 11 a.m. Try out your aim at this event benefiting Ransom Ministries.

TAYLOR CREEK SPORTING CLAYS • 310-3651

october 28 Gulf Seafood Gala 4:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Sample delicious seafood dishes from the town’s most acclaimed chefs. Tickets: $65, pre-sale only.

DAUPHIN ISLAND SEA LAB • 102 BIENVILLE BLVD., DAUPHIN ISLAND • 490-0294 • GULFSEAFOODGALA.COM

october 28 Elberta German Sausage Festival 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Support Elberta’s Volunteer Fire Department by sampling Elberta’s famous German sausage and sauerkraut at this annual fundraising event.

13052 MAIN ST., ELBERTA • ELBERTAFIRE.COM

october 28 Boo at Bellingrath 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. Treat little tricksters to spooky and fun inflatables, local food trucks and live music. Don’t forget the costumes!

BELLINGRATH GARDENS • BELLINGRATH.ORG

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ALASDAIR FRASER AND NATALIE HAAS

ON STAGE & EXHIBITS

october 6 - january 21 Posing Beauty in African American Culture Explore the works of various artists such as Carrie Mae Weems, Leonard Freed and Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe in this exhibit that examines the ways in which African and African American beauty have been represented in media including photography, film, video, fashion, advertising, music and the Internet.

MOBILE MUSEUM OF ART MOBILEMUSEUMOFART.COM

october 11 Needtobreathe 6 p.m. Doors open. 7 p.m. Show starts.

The Grammy-nominated rock band from South Carolina takes the stage. Tickets: $33 - $145.

THE MOBILE SAENGER • MOBILESAENGER.COM

october 28 Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas 7:30 p.m. The University of South Alabama Baldwin County and Walter Kirkland present the legendary Scottish musicians.

Tickets: $22.50 in advance; $25 at the door.

USA BALDWIN COUNTY PERFORMANCE HALL BROWNPAPERTICKETS.COM/EVENT/3077949

october 13 - 15, 20 - 22, 27 - 29 “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee“ 8 p.m. F / Sa. 2:30 p.m. Su. Watch an eccentric group of students compete in a spelling bee in this Tony-Award winning play. Tickets: single admission, $18 - $20; student admission, $12 - $14.

THEATRE 98 • THEATRE98.ORG

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october 13 - 15, 20 - 22 “Little Shop of Horrors“ 7:30 p.m. F / Sa. 2 p.m. Su. The South Baldwin Community Theatre brings Seymour, Audrey and blood-thirsty plants alive in this musical. Tickets: $15 - $20.

SOUTH BALDWIN COMMUNITY THEATRE 2022 WEST 2ND STREET, GULF SHORES • SBCT.BIZ

october 20, 22 “Cosi fan tutte” 8 p.m. F. 2:30 p.m. Sun. Indulge in Mozart’s classic comedy of misunderstanding and the differences between men and women.

The Single Ticket Experience: $30 - $45, regular ticket; $10, student ticket.

THE TEMPLE DOWNTOWN • 351 ST. FRANCIS ST. MOBILEOPERA.ORG

october 20, 21, 27, 28 “The Conclusion of Edgar Allan Poe” 7:30 p.m. Take part in this thrilling, and sometimes humorous, production based on the life and stories of Edgar Allan Poe. Tickets: $16, for adults; $14, for students and senior citizens.

THE PLAYHOUSE IN THE PARK • 4851 MUSEUM DRIVE • PLAYHOUSEINTHEPARK.ORG

october 20 - 22, 27 - 29 “Tuna Does Vegas” 7:30 p.m. F / Sa. 2 p.m. Su. Eccentric characters from a small town in Texas take a road trip to Vegas. Tickets: $16 - $20.

MOBILE THEATRE GUILD MOBILETHEATREGUILD.ORG

october 20 - 22, 27 - 29 “Twelve Angry Jurors” 7:30 p.m. F / Sa. 2 p.m. Su. Witness this classic examination of the justice system.

Tickets: $15.75 - $18.75.

CHICKASAW CIVIC THEATRE • CCTSHOWS.COM

october 27 - november 12 “Peter and the Starcatcher” 7:30 p.m. F / Sa. 2 p.m. Su. Sailors, pirates, British naval officers, orphans and others come to life in this magical prequel to “Peter Pan.” Tickets: $10 - $20.

JOE JEFFERSON PLAYHOUSE • 471-1534 JOEJEFFERSONPLAYERS.COM

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RAY LAMONTAGNE. PHOTO BY BRIAN STOWELL

NOVEMBER HIGHLIGHTS

november 8 Ray Lamontagne 6 p.m. Doors open. 7 p.m. Show starts. The Grammy Award-winning artist returns to the Port City. Tickets: $46 - $66.

THE MOBILE SAENGER • MOBILESAENGER.COM

november 9 - 12 Fairhope Film Festival Film lovers flock to Fairhope for this annual film fest. The four days are jam-packed with award-winning films. Selections include foreign films, documentaries, features and shorts. The festival also includes screenings with directors, actors and screenwriters, both in person and via live electronic transmission.

VARIOUS LOCATIONS • FAIRHOPE • FAIRHOPEFILMFESTIVAL.ORG

november 9 - 19 Frank Brown International Songwriters’ Festival Approximately 200 songwriters from across the world will make their way to stages throughout the Panhandle and Baldwin County as a part of the Frank Brown International Songwriters’ Festival.

VARIOUS LOCATIONS • ORANGE BEACH FRANKBROWNSONGWRITERS.COM

november 9 - 11 Christmas Jubilee 11 a.m. - 8 p.m. Th, 9 a.m. - 9 p.m. F, 9 a.m.

- 5 p.m. Sa. Stock up on gifts for everyone on your Christmas list. Tickets: $10 in advance, $12 at the door.

JUNIOR LEAGUE OF MOBILE JUNIORLEAGUEMOBILE.ORG

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november 10 - january 1 Christmas Nights of Lights 5:30 p.m. - 10 p.m. Drive through a magical spectacle of Christmas cheer at Hank Aaron Stadium. Tune radios to the designated radio station to hear Christmas music timed to the lights.

Admission: $6.

HANK AARON STADIUM CHRISTMASNIGHTSOFLIGHTS.COM

november 16 Tree Lighting Celebration 5:30 p.m. - 8 p.m. Have a jolly good time as the City of Fairhope lights its Christmas tree.

DOWNTOWN FAIRHOPE • 929-1466 COFAIRHOPE.COM

november 17 The Lighting of the Trees in Bienville Square 5 p.m. - 7 p.m. Kick off the season with the merry market, live music, Santa and more.

DOWNTOWN MOBILE • NCSMOBILE.ORG

november 18 Mobile International Festival 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Indulge in cuisine, crafts and more from various cultures.

MOBILE CIVIC CENTER MOBILEINTERNATIONALFESTIVAL.ORG

november 24 - december 31 Magic Christmas in Lights 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. More than 3 million lights and 15 scenes make this spectacle a Port City tradition. Admission: $15 - $24 for adults, $7.50 - $13 for children (5 - 12), free for children under 5.

BELLINGRATH GARDENS AND HOME BELLINGRATH.ORG

november 30 The Avett Brothers 7 p.m. Doors open. 8 p.m. Show starts. The eclectic band brings their unique sound to the stage. Tickets: $56 - $67.

THE MOBILE SAENGER • MOBILESAENGER.COM

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ASK MCGEHEE text by TOM MCGEHEE

What is the history of the old school building on Broad Street?

The brick building on the southwest corner of South Broad and Augusta streets has stood for over a century now, first appearing in the 1915 Mobile city directory as the E.L. Russell School. The new elementary school was named in honor of Edward L. Russell, president of the Mobile & Ohio Railroad.

Hero of the Hurricane

In addition to managing the railroad, one of the area’s largest employers, Russell had become a local hero following the September 1906 hurricane. The storm brought high winds and water into south Mobile County and was blamed for 150 deaths. With the roads washed away, the railroad provided the only access to much of the affected area.

Russell gave full use of his line and employees to aid in relief efforts, and Mobile never forgot it.

Russell died in 1911 while in Washington, D.C. Literally thousands of Mobilians followed his funeral procession to Magnolia Cemetery.

The Russell School replaced the Jefferson Street School, which had been completed in 1890. That very

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Victorian wooden structure was demolished after the new building was completed, and the site vanished under a cul-de-sac during the neighborhood’s redesign as part of an urban renewal program.

Almost Lost

With the population shifting ever westward, the school closed its doors and was used as office space for the school board until 2007. The vacant building quickly deteriorated and became a target for vandals.

By 2014, the structure was in such poor condition that most neighbors assumed demolition would come about soon. Instead, the school board sold the building, and today, it is undergoing a near-miraculous change. Now called Broad Street Lofts, the handsomely restored building will contain one- and two-bedroom loft apartments. Russell’s name will remain on the facade. MB The Broad Street Lofts are a sister property to the recently completed Marine Street Lofts and Old Shell Lofts, the latter of which was also converted from an abandoned school building into luxury apartments.

TOP The E.L. Russell School building was at its worst in this photograph from 2014. Today, the building is undergoing a transformative renovation and will soon feature one- and twobedroom loft apartments.

ABOVE Mobile & Ohio Railroad President Edward L. Russell, for whom the elementary school was named.

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IN LIVING COLOR

Line of Scrimmage Original photo from the Erik Overbey Collection, The Doy Leale McCall Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of South Alabama • colorization by Dynamichrome Limited

A gang of Mobile boys takes a break from a game of football to pose playfully for Norwegian-born photographer Erik Overbey. The Bay area has a long sports history, and Mobile children have no shortage of homegrown sports heroes to admire and emulate. The Whistler-born Billy Williams, a baseball Hall of Famer, once wrote, “Folks back in Mobile, Alabama, and the surrounding area like to joke around and say there must be something in the water down there…”

The year this photograph was taken is unspecified, and the image itself offers very few clues, but we do know that Overbey operated a studio in Mobile from 1903 to 1958. If you recognize any of the children in this photograph, let us know! Email bpappas@pmtpublishing.com.

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