THE LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE FOR MOBILE AND BALDWIN COUNTIES
RICK BRAGG
ODE TO SPECK, HIS MISCHIEVOUS DOG
JAKE PEAVY
September 2021
THE ANNUAL ARTS ISSUE
AND THE MOBILE MUSIC SCENE DANCING WITH
MARTHA GRAHAM PAINTING CREOLES
ARTIST ANDREW LAMAR HOPKINS
SHAKE THINGS
UP
PAINTERS, GLASSBLOWERS, MUSICIANS AND COOKS WORK TO BRING FRESH NEW LIFE TO THE PORT CITY SCENE
“KNOCK YOUR SOCKS OFF” SMOKEY MOCKTAIL!
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CONTENTS | VOLUME XXXVII / ISSUE 9
SEPTEMBER 2021 44
From Thailand to the Loop During Lockdown When two world travelers fell in love with Mobile on a whim, they decided to restore one of the city’s magnificent old homes
50
Creole Right Now, Honey! Mobilian and artist Andrew LaMar Hopkins is introducing the world to Gulf Coast Creole culture
56 “CREOLE WITH A RED TURBAN” BY ANDREW LAMAR HOPKINS.
Jake Peavy’s Second Act Music helped Jake Peavy navigate the stresses of Major League Baseball — now he’s hoping it can lift downtown Mobile
Designed by architect George B. Rogers, the historic home at 1802 Old Government Street was built by George Fearn as a wedding gift for his daughter Bessie Fearn Syson circa 1904. Read about the home’s renovation on page 44.
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CONTENTS | VOLUME XXXVII / ISSUE 9
SEPTEMBER 2021
24 18
ON OUR COVER Ovarian cancer “thriver” Lexi Mestas serves up this pomegranate margarita made with zero proof tequila and topped with pomegranate arils and dried rose petals.
16
PHOTO BY ROBERT GALLEGOS
THE GLASSBLOWERS OF MUFFINJAW DESIGNS / PHOTO BY MATTHEW COUGHLIN SMASH BURGER AT STICKS & STACKS CRAFT EATERY / PHOTO BY ELIZABETH GELINEAU MINDFUL EATING WITH LEXI MESTAS / PHOTO BY ROBERT GALLEGOS
9 EDITOR’S NOTE 10 REACTION 13 ODDS & ENDS 15 THE DISH 16 TASTINGS Sticks & Stacks Craft Eatery makes this dog park a destination 18 BAY TABLES Finding purpose in life and food with the in- domitable Lexi Mestas
24 SPOTLIGHT Mobile’s Muffinjaw Designs is taking glassblowing to new heights 28 SPOTLIGHT Artist Marian Acker Macpherson spent her life preserving the city she adored 32 INSPIRATIONS Meet five local art- ists, and learn about what inspires their creativity
40 AMAZING LIFE Don Prosch on resilience and dancing with Martha Graham 76 SEPTEMBER CALENDAR 80
ARCHIVES A Bruce Larsen sculpture sheds light on Mobile’s hurricane history
82 LITERATURE Rick Bragg discusses his death-defying dog and the new book he inspired
86 LITERATURE Writer Audrey McDonald Atkins navigates the Internet’s social tightrope 88 ASK MCGEHEE Is it true that a Delchamp’s was located on Conti Street in midtown Mobile? 90 BACK STORY The W.P. Davidson High School cheerleading squad of 1975
Glassblowing was invented in the 1st century BC by Syrian craftsmen, who exported their blown vessels to all parts of the Roman Empire for everyday use. Read about some modern-day glass artists on page 24.
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Mobile Bay VOLUME XXXVII
No9
SEPT 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 Thornton
ASSISTANT PUBLISHER
EDITORIAL CONSULTANT
ADVERTISING S R. ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE
Joseph A. Hyland Jennifer Ray ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Joe Tetro SALES AND MARKETING Carolina Groom ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE
ADMINISTRATION CIRCULATION Anita Miller ACCOUNTING Keith Crabtree
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Audrey McDonald Atkins, Emily Blejwas, Jill Clair Gentry, Tom McGehee, Caine O’Rear, Breck Pappas, Anna Thornton, Paula Webb CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS
Summer Ennis Ansley, Matthew Coughlin, Robert Gallegos, Elizabeth Gelineau, Akasha Rabut, Todd Sims 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. PUBLISHED BY PMT PUBLISHING INC .
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EXTRAS | EDITOR’S NOTE LOVE THIS ISSUE
Give It a Go
I
t’s never too late to shine. Take the Fearn-Syson house — otherwise known as the big house at the cannon — whose restoration is featured in the pages of this month’s issue. A house that was once one of the grandest in town found itself in shambles not that long ago. And yet, an unexpected modern-day caretaker discovered this gem and has been lovingly bringing it back to life, as grand as ever. And then there is dancer Don Prosch, who told us about the days he spent dancing in New York City alongside the legendary Martha Graham. He knocked us off our chairs when he confessed he didn’t learn to dance until after college. When many of us have long since wrapped up any artistic endeavors, he was just beginning, and I can’t help but think that this should serve as motivation for all of us. It is never too late to try something we’ve never done before and develop a new creative skill. Sure, most of us won’t pick up the piano at age 35 and become a virtuoso. The joy brought by music, dance, and the fine arts, however, is always waiting in the wings if we can step outside our comfort zones and learn something new, no matter our age. If the pandemic taught us anything, it’s how wonderful it is to have hobbies and activities that can fill our soul and pass the time. If you didn’t discover one this last year, maybe now is your chance! Whether it’s something large like renovating an old home desperately in need of a champion, putting yourself out there and taking an adult ballet class, or simply dragging that case of pastels and paints out from under the bed and making a mark, adding the arts to your life will add nothing but joy. And it’s certainly never too late for that. Maybe I’ll pick up the guitar …
Maggie Lacey EXECUTIVE EDITOR
JAMMIN’ THE EXQUISITE GUITARS FOR SALE IN DOWNTOWN’S MOBTOWN MUSIC ARE HAND-MADE IN MOBILE BY DAVID ROWE. (INSERT SLOW CLAP HERE) PAGE 56
OLD MOBILE I GREW UP WITH A MAP OF MOBILE BAY BY ARTIST MARIAN ACKER MACPHERSON ON THE WALL AND OFTEN GIVE THEM AS WEDDING PRESENTS. HER BOOK OF ETCHINGS IS EQUALLY SPECIAL. PAGE 28
TEAL RIBBON I’M WEARING A TEAL RIBBON ON MY LAPEL FOR LEXI MESTAS, OVARIAN CANCER “THRIVER” AND AMAZING COOK! STORY AND RECIPES PAGE 18
CREOLE MASHUP I LOVE THE LAYERS OF LOCAL CULTURE PAINTED INTO ANDREW LAMAR HOPKINS’ “THE BIRTH OF CREOLE VENUS.” PAGE 50 BOWL ME OVER DROOLING OVER GORGEOUS, HAND-BLOWN GLASS FROM MUFFINJAW DESIGNS. PAGE 24
maggie@pmtpublishing.com
Mobile Bay has launched a new e-commerce store! Our curated collection of specialty gifts, home goods, decor and local books are hand-selected by our editors and pulled straight from the pages of the magazine! Stop by the site for the most unique local gifts around. www.mobilebayshop.com RED FISH DOG COLLAR $30 LINEN MIDDLE BAY LIGHT COCKTAIL NAPKINS $88/SET OF 4 CRAB SOCKS $20
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EXTRAS | REACTION
Tell us how you really feel ... ROAD TRIP!
“ISLE” NEVER FORGET
On MB’s online staycation guide, “Ocean Springs: Where to Eat, Shop & Play”
On June’s End Piece, a photo of Dauphin Island from the late 1950s
Former resident here; if I am going back to Ocean Springs, I will be eating at least once at Po-Boy Express. Not to take away from the others, just another and perhaps better option.
The picture of Dauphin Island brought back many memories from childhood. From riding bicycles built for two to the Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo, from church life to my mother frying shrimp and making blackberry cobblers, island days were filled with LEFT TO RIGHT: SPUD SCHRAMM, J.B. HORST WITH HIS RECORD-BREAKING 28-POUND BLACKFISH, AND GREG LUCE AT THE 1969 ALABAMA lots of fun, good friends and DEEP SEA FISHING RODEO. PHOTO COURTESY DIANE HORST feelings of gratefulness. Even now, many years and many memories later, my soul is impacted and touched with enormous TRIPLETAIL TALE blessings and reminiscences of Dauphin On July’s feature, “Blackfish,” about Mobile Island, a place where those memories Bay’s summertime visitor, the tripletail can never be erased. We enjoyed Emmett Burnett’s article. My - Jane B. Puckett, Birmingham, Ala. husband, J.B., caught this record-breaking 28-pound blackfish (seen above, middle), at the 1969 Alabama Deep Sea Fishing O CAP’N, MY CAP’N Rodeo. His rodeo record held for 10 years! On July’s feature, “Captain Morgan Tackles These fishermen, including myself, used Life,” about Daniel Morgan Henderson, the traditional cane poles with live shrimp man behind Fairhope’s Fisherman’s Discount to catch these remarkable fish under the Mobile Bay ship channel beacons. My first time in there, I got, “Hey, Doc!” - Diane Horst I thought, how in the hell did he know I was a physician? Then after the next three people walked in and got, “Hey, Doc,” I figured out everyone was “Doc.” THAI ON THE RUN
- Chris Lang
OUR KIND OF RESEARCH On MB’s highly clicked online article, “The Quest for the Perfect Bushwacker” My opinion of what a bushwacker should be is completely different than the author’s. I don’t want my bushwacker to taste like a milkshake; I want it to taste like a cocktail, like a cold / frozen drink with alcohol in it. I personally would never order a bushwacker without a topper, and a Skrewball topper is my new favorite. - Donna Lambert Crawley I do love OSO’s bushwacker and, of course, Pirates Cove’s. Big Daddy’s has a good one, too. I need to try the rest! - Rachel Landreneau Fabulous article! I would have gladly accompanied him to help sample. - Ann Jackson Playa in Orange Beach has their own take — one of the top two cocktails I’ve ever enjoyed. - Jennifer Ward
PIRATES COVE BUSHWACKER PHOTO BY ELISE POCHÉ
- Bennett Hooks
Cap’n has been outfitting us with bait for many years. He is a legend in his field. - Lisa May
FRESH CATCH
On July’s Bay Tables, “The Spice of Life,” about Lith Vining and her food truck, Lith’s Asian Cuisine Her ambitious and hard work ethic are so inspiring. - Jet Ciganek
On July’s Awareness piece, “The Bottom Line,” featuring Jake Pose and Dustin Bedgood, proprietors of Fairhope Fish House
If you ever have a chance to enjoy Thai food from this food truck, do it.
Southwood Kitchen is a huge fan of Fairhope Fish House!
Yummy food from the sweetest person you’ll ever meet.
- Jeremiah T. Matthews
- Brooke Seaman
- Lori Wilson Driver
Want to share your thoughts and reactions to this issue? Email maggie@pmtpublishing.com. 10 mobilebaymag.com | september 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
BEFORE & AFTER Each month, DIYer Chelsea Lipford Wolf walks us step-by-step through the renovation of her 1950s ranch-style home in Spring Hill. Follow along as she shares the ins and outs of their exterior transformation, hall bath renovation and more. You might just come away with some ideas for your next home project!
READ ON Go online to read the extended version of writer Breck Pappas’ interview with journalist and author Rick Bragg (page 82). JUST ENGAGED? Share your proposal story with us, and we’ll feature your engagement announcement online and on social media.
40 UNDER 40 We are now accepting nominations for the 2021 class of 40 Under 40! This program recognizes the top young leaders making a difference in our community. Do you know someone worthy of this honor? Go online today to submit a nomination. The deadline for submissions is September 15.
GAMEDAY RECIPES No matter how your team plays, tailgate food is always a winner. Try out our favorite recipes for your next football watching party. CHELSEA LIPFORD WOLF RENOVATES HER SPRING HILL FIXER UPPER ALBEREZ WIGGINS, CLASS OF 2020 / PHOTO BY MATTHEW COUGHLIN GRILLED WINGS WITH WING DIP / PHOTO BY ELIZABETH GELINEAU
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EXTRAS | ODDS & ENDS
Artistic Musings text by MB EDITORIAL STAFF
440 MILLION
THE NUMBER OF PAINTBRUSHES PRODUCED GLOBALLY PER YEAR.
ALTHOUGH PEOPLE OFTEN REFER TO THE PORT CITY’S ORNAMENTAL IRONWORK AS WROUGHT, THE MAJORITY OF IT IS ACTUALLY CAST, WHICH IS CHEAPER AND EASIER TO PRODUCE. Artist Marian Acker Macpherson, page 28, spent much of her life etching some of the city’s most impressive ironwork.
[NOTABLE OPENING]
SOCU COFFEE LOUNGE The new coffeehouse will open its doors this month at 456 Dauphin Street.
“I always wanted to write about a dog with a story to tell. I think a lot of writers do, the ones who have a soul; the rest are cat people, I suppose.” – Rick Bragg, “The Speckled Beauty”
Turn to page 82 to read our interview with the Pulitzer Prizewinning author about his new book.
TURF WARS Bermuda grass is the most commonly used turf for football fields, as it can be cut low and recovers quickly from wear and tear.
Welcome back, college football.
[SEPTEMBER 9 - 20]
Happy Birthday to Y’all According to data from the National Center for Health Statistics and the Social Security Administration, nine of the 10 most common birthdays fall within this time frame.
900
The number of paintings created by Van Gogh in his lifetime, despite only working for 10 years — from the age of 27 until his early death at 37. Between these paintings and the many more drawings and sketches, Van Gogh averaged a new piece of artwork every 36 hours.
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FOOD | THE DISH
Bite of the Bay MB’s contributing food fanatics share their go-to local dishes.
SPIDER AND DEBRIS PO’BOYS FROM DEBRIS PO BOYS & DRINKS. PHOTO BY ELIZABETH GELINEAU
WHITNEY BOYD, Assistant Vice President and Branch Manager, The First, A National Banking Association
B.S. BURGER AT COUSIN VINNY’S “My go-to for burgers is Cousin Vinny’s. Now you may be thinking, Isn’t that a pizza place? But let me tell you, their B.S. Burger is one of the best. It comes with bacon, Swiss, mushrooms, onions and my all-time favorite, garlic aioli. You can pair this with their pasta salad or a side Greek salad, and you will be full for hours. So the next time you are in need of a good burger, visit Cousin Vinny’s in Daphne.” COUSIN VINNY’S • 1709 MAIN ST., DAPHNE 626-6082 • FACEBOOK.COM/VINNYSDAPHNE
PRIESTER’S CRÈME BRÛLÉE AT DAUPHIN’S “Sweetening the view at Dauphin’s is the Priester’s Crème Brûlée. It hits all of the right spots, and the pecan lace bowl is a dessert in and of itself. The menu eloquently describes this dish as a ‘rich custard, with a crackling sugar top and Alabama pecan lace cookies.’ I call it ‘stick in your teeth amazing yummy-liciousness,’ to be enjoyed at any altitude.”
STACEY DRISKELL, Associate Director, Mobile Opera
DAUPHIN’S • 107 ST. FRANCIS ST., SUITE 3400 444-0200 • GODAUPHINS.COM
AL WIGGINS, Electrical / Instrumentation Engineer, Hargrove Engineers + Constructors
SOUTHERN BREAKFAST BOWL AT WAREHOUSE BAKERY “I truly enjoy a good traditional breakfast. However, my wife often encourages me to step out of my food comfort zone. I did exactly that and was not disappointed at all. The Southern breakfast bowl at Warehouse was different, delicious and filling. We’re talking cheese grits, collard greens, eggs, Creole tomato sauce and fried okra. This hearty bowl, with a side of bacon, is a must-try.”
RYAN REID, Insurance Agent & Owner, Coastal Insurance Group LLC
PO’BOYS AT DEBRIS PO BOYS & DRINKS “If you’re craving the feel and flavor of NOLA but want to keep it local, head down to Debris. Everything is made from scratch, and their bread is delivered five days a week from Leidenheimer Baking Co. I had the spider po’boy (soft-shell crab) and the Debris. I highly recommend getting the Debris fully dressed with the au jus on the side. I also ordered fried okra and a gumbo that would make your grandmother jealous.”
WAREHOUSE BAKERY & DONUTS • 759 NICHOLS
DEBRIS PO BOYS & DRINKS • 276 DAUPHIN ST.
AVENUE, FAIRHOPE • 928-7223 • WAREHOUSE-
378-8133 • FACEBOOK.COM/DEBRISPOBOY-
BAKERYANDDONUTS.COM
MOBILE
What dishes made you drool and left you hungry for more? Share them on our Facebook page! september 2021 | mobilebaymag.com 15
FOOD | TASTINGS
Sticks & Stacks at HopHounds Dog Park text by BRECK PAPPAS • photos by ELIZABETH GELINEAU
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t’s not like you need another reason to visit HopHounds Brew Pub & Dog Park. If you aren’t already sold on a mouthwatering selection of craft beer, a comfortable spot under an umbrella and an assembly of tongue-wagging dogs, chances are you’re a cat. But this dog-park-to-end-all-dog-parks in the old Crystal Ice building has provided another reason to stop by anyway: Sticks & Stacks Craft Eatery. “We decided to start serving food in January, and it’s been a hit ever since,” says Meagan Harris, above, who owns the dog park and mobile kitchen in partnership with her father, Jim Ivy. Inspired by a similar concept in Chattanooga, where Harris lived for a time, HopHounds opened its doors in May 2020 in the location formerly occupied by Haint Blue Brewing Company. “We’ve definitely created a sense of community and a devoted group of regulars,” Harris says, explaining that membership plans are available, as are one-day passes for $10 per dog (vaccination papers required for entry). Patrons began staying so long at the park, an AstroTurfed stretch of puppy playground equipment, that Harris realized she’d better feed them. The resulting food concept
was Sticks & Stacks, the name a nod to the casual fare dished out (sticks = corndogs, stacks = cheeseburgers). “No one is looking for a three-course meal at the dog park,” Harris says, “so we wanted to provide a selection of food that was quick and easy but, at the same time, delicious.” The menu is built to surprise. Think Conecuh corndogs with housemade batter, a burger of ground chicken topped with guacamole and a pile of nachos made with home-fried tortilla chips. This gourmet snack food can be paired with a dizzying selection of beers —and even canned wines — from across the country. “We wanted to offer our customers a wide variety of drinks, stuff that they don’t get to see everywhere,” Harris says. And don’t think you have to bring a four-legged friend to get in the door. “Sometimes people will come by and say, ‘I don’t have a dog, am I allowed to come in?’” Harris says with a laugh. “Of course! I mean, you get to come here and enjoy a dog and not have to take it home with you — what’s not to love?” At 806 Monroe Street, “sit” and “stay” have never been easier commands to follow. MB
Sticks & Stacks • 806 Monroe St. • 447-2697 • facebook.com/SticksandStacksCraftEatery HopHounds Brew Pub & Dog Park: 4 - 9 p.m. T - Th; 4 - 10 p.m. F; 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. Sa; 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. Su • Food available Th - Su 16 mobilebaymag.com | september 2021
FOOD | TASTINGS
[ON THE MENU]
NACHOS
BARNYARD BURGER
CONECUH CORN DOG
SMASH BURGER
You’ll need help finishing this mountain of house-made tortilla chips buried under jalapeños, red onion, black beans, olives and cheddar Jack cheese.
It’s not every day you encounter a ground chicken patty, and that’s too bad. Guac, Sriracha, lettuce and tomato round out this unique, tasty burger.
Homemade batter around a Conecuh sausage on a stick makes for the perfect dog-park snack. PSA: Keep all corn dogs above dog-level.
Kick back with this all-beef patty topped with American cheese, sauteed onions, lettuce, tomato and bacon on a fluffy brioche bun.
STICKS & STACKS NACHOS
FOOD | BAY TABLES text by EMILY BLEJWAS photos by ROBERT GALLEGOS
The people of Mobile were so giving to Lexi Mestas and her family that the Katrina refugee, and later cancer patient, made it her mission to return the grace with projects that provide healthful and comforting foods.
A
bout the time Lexi Mestas started school in Biloxi, Mississippi, she began devising ways to skip and spend the day at her grandmother’s house, eating chocolate cake and watching the Food Network. Mestas has “always been enthralled with everything food,” she says, calling it her “longstanding passion.” She was only 6 the first time she tried to make a pound cake by herself, which did not turn out. In fact, she likens her early kitchen experiments to “an Amelia Bedelia story,” but that did not dampen her love of cooking. The kitchen was always the heart of the Mestas home and served as the family gathering place. Her grandmother, called Mamie, especially loved to host parties and went above and beyond to make every family gathering lavish and fun, whether
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an after-church get together or the annual Kentucky Derby party. In the kitchen, the Mestas family celebrated a mix of cultural cuisine. Her grandfather loved all things spicy and made his own hot sauce. Her Michigan grandparents celebrated summer days with Koegel-style hot dogs and potato salad. Her father’s Spanish upbringing contributed tostadas and enchiladas. Mestas also cherishes her Grandma Honey’s cookbook, which holds rare recipes for humbugs and Mestas’ favorite: century pudding. Mestas has always taken this culinary heritage seriously. As a very young child, she felt compelled to make her grandmother’s apple pie. “I have to do this,” she remembers thinking. “I need to know this.”
Growing up in Biloxi, Mestas also experienced Southern and coastal food traditions, often through her friends and their families who had lived on the Gulf Coast for generations. She remembers her first trip to a catfish house, where she ate fried okra for the first time. “It blew my mind,” she says. Mestas learned where to get the best crab claws, hush puppies and po’boys. She was enamored with the grits, fried fish, greens and cornbread made by the women who cooked in the hospital where both of her parents worked, which she calls “comfort food.” Of course, living on the Gulf Coast has its perils. In August 2005, Mestas and her family experienced this firsthand when Hurricane Katrina flooded their home. While her dad stayed behind to clean and salvage, Mestas bounced from house to house with her mother and three sisters. It was the first time the family had been separated, and homeless, and it was devastating. “Having that experience so young, where everything that you have ever known has quite literally been ruined by mud and dirt and silt — I had three outfits in a bag and a pair of yellow Crocs,” Mestas says. “This is what I had.” They eventually settled in Mobile, where Mestas’ mom worked as a nurse, and began rebuilding their lives. “People were so giving,” Mestas recalls. Multiple families took them in. St. Paul’s Episcopal School educated Mestas and her sisters without charging tuition during their first year. Yet at the same time, Mestas felt a chasm between herself and her peers. She turned 12 shortly after moving to Mobile and recalls how strange and disconnected she felt, in a new community where no one knew it was her birthday or what she was going through. “I had this light bulb moment of, I will never, ever live in this ignorance or darkness of not knowing what people are going through. And I am who I am today because Katrina happened to me.” For the first time in her young life, Mestas was someone in need, and living
in this state opened her eyes to others who were struggling. She became active in community service, especially around food insecurity. In high school, she would use her wages to buy supplies, make 50 sandwiches, and alongside her dad, hand them out to hungry people in downtown Mobile. “So many people gave to me, gave
“SO MANY PEOPLE GAVE TO ME, GAVE ME A HOME, MADE ME FEEL AT HOME,” SHE SAYS. “THERE ARE PEOPLE STILL GOING THROUGH HARD TIMES. SO, I SHOULD GIVE.” - Lexi Mestas
me a home, made me feel at home,” she says. “There are people still going through hard times. So, I should give.” Mestas followed this calling throughout her education and early career. In graduate school, her thesis explored food deserts in New Orleans, evaluating whether programs designed to alleviate food inequities actually did. She shifted into adulthood “no longer just adoring food, but really finding purpose in it.” Mestas then worked with FoodCorps, an AmeriCorps program, and later managed an education unit for SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), working directly with families to improve health, boost cooking and gardening skills and stretch grocery budgets.
Listen to Your Body Yet despite food’s central place in her life and work, Mestas had been battling ongoing stomach issues and an ever-narrowing diet. Doctors assured her nothing was wrong. She was young, they said. She was healthy. When Mestas’ pain intensified until she passed out, they told her to eat more fiber. It didn’t work. They told her to eat less fiber. In February 2021, the pain became so extreme that it landed Mestas in the emer-
gency room, where she was finally properly diagnosed. It was ovarian cancer. “My whole world stopped. I mean, my entire life. It’s the same way that I feel about Hurricane Katrina. There’s pre-Katrina, there’s postKatrina; there’s pre-diagnosis, there’s post-diagnosis. It really just changes you at your core.” Dr. Katherine Lackritz diagnosed the cancer after noting abnormal markings on Mestas’ abdominal wall. She thought it was endometriosis but ran a biopsy just to be sure, and as Mestas says, “She is responsible for saving my life. She
has been incredible. She remains in contact with me, calls me just to ask how I’m doing. She’s like my fairy godmother.” Mestas entered a world of tests and surgeries and chemotherapy, where she worried about her care, after her pain was ignored for so long. “After being told over and over again, ‘It’s nothing,’ and not being taken seriously, I didn’t take myself seriously,” she says. “I got used to this high level of pain, and I would do nothing about it.” Her advice: “Be your best advocate. If someone is not listening to you, find someone
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else. You know your body better than anyone.” This is especially important regarding ovarian cancer, which often masks as other issues, earning its nickname, “the silent killer.” Ovarian cancer is not detectable by a Pap test (those detect cervical cancer). “In the year 2021,” Mestas says, “we have no way to screen for ovarian cancer. That is why it is so deadly.” She encourages people with ovaries who are experiencing abdominal pain, bloating, back pain, frequent urination, indigestion or changes in bowel habits to speak with their physician and to request a CA-125 blood test and transvaginal ultrasound. Mestas began connecting with other young women battling the disease, who give her understanding, companionship and strength. But they also consistently break her heart. “You have this connection with these women that is so sad and so horrifying. You learn about their lives
and the things they’re doing, and you come to love them. And that double-edged sword of losing them is really, really hard.” On the day we talked, in early June 2021, Mestas had lost four women from her network to ovarian cancer in just one week. “It’s terrifying. Because you have to look the prognosis directly in the eyes and say, ‘This could be me. When will it be me?’” Mestas is 27 years old and has been told she has 10 years to live. And even if she surpasses those 10 years, her cancer has a 95 percent recurrence rate. “It’s something that I’ll be fearful of for the rest of my life,” she says. In fact, Mestas and her network of friends living with ovarian cancer do not typically call themselves survivors. They prefer “thrivers” because they are living through cancer without defeating it, doing their best to thrive. She explains, “Cancer has taken a lot from me.
September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month To help Lexi’s fight to fund research on low-grade serous ovarian cancer, donate to STAAR Ovarian Cancer Organization at www.staaroc.org/donate To keep up with Lexi, follow her newsletter, “Hypochondriac: One Big Cosmic Joke,” at www.hypochondriac.substack.com Or join her birthday fundraiser, “Wiggin’ Out,” the 1st Annual Odd Ball Benefit for LGS Ovarian Cancer Research, on September 11 from 6 – 10 p.m. at the Malaga Inn.
It has taken my fertility and my hope to be a biological mother. It’s taken even the hope of being an adopted mother because when you’re told 10 years at 27, it’s not something that you can really fathom. And it’s taken a hit on what I thought my career would be. But it has not taken my resilience, that resilience I got from Katrina. The resilience that I’ve been taught by my parents.” Mestas especially credits her dad, a Vietnam veteran, for instilling resilience. He pushed through a horrific wartime experience and post-traumatic stress disorder to become an award-winning nurse. Likewise, Mestas has “a drive to do and to serve” and has thrown herself into advocacy, education and fundraising around ovarian cancer. “It’s been keeping me afloat,” she says. “It gives me an avenue of action where so much feels out of control.” As always, food plays a role in Mestas’ new reality. She has changed her diet to boost her treatment’s efficacy and lessen its side effects, decreasing sugar and increasing protein. She eats foods like oatmeal and bananas to coat her stomach. To raise her blood count, she opts for pomegranate, bone broth, beets and “lots and lots of liver.” Her friend, Dizzy, a cancer survivor, shared her family’s soup recipe, which Mestas loves, made from bone broth, ginger and turmeric, all ingredients to help a sore stomach. “And of course, you have to have comfort food that is not just about healing,” she says. “Something that really gets your spirits up.” For Mestas, that is Grandma Honey’s century pudding, from that worn and treasured family cookbook.
Finding What’s Important Mestas and her husband, David Martin, decided to step away from their prestigious and demanding jobs in the Northeast, cancel a planned move to New York City, and come home to Mobile, where they can be surrounded by family. It was a conscious decision to leave the competitive and striving world of careerbuilding, to which Mestas thinks millennials are particularly susceptible. “The two of us were definitely caught in that rat race,” she says. “So much so, we didn’t really ask ourselves, ‘Are we really happy?’ We’re missing out on so much with our family. My grandparents are getting older, and I’ve missed how many Christmases with Mamie’s apple pie?” Once in Mobile, Mestas plans to fully devote herself to educating, advocating and fundrais-
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ing for ovarian cancer research. She has already raised nearly $18,000 and is planning a huge fundraiser in September to celebrate her 28th birthday. The theme will be “wiggin’ out,” with everyone wearing wigs. A crawfish festival and tennis tournament are also in the works. Mestas is determined to see ovarian cancer become a household name the way breast cancer has. She wants people with ovaries to know what to look for, what to do and how to protect themselves. She stresses that this disease “can happen to anyone. You can be doing everything right. Eating right, exercising. You can have no history of cancer in your family.” And because there is no screening, ovarian cancer is often caught late. Sixty percent of cases are diagnosed at stage 3. “It’s just starting your fight far too late in the game,” Mestas says. She has a particular type of cancer called low-grade serous ovarian cancer, which has shattering effects. “It is devastating for women in their 20s and 30s. We are left with full hysterectomies. I’ve lost my appendix, my spleen. It is horrific to go through that, let alone this 10-year prognosis. And I want to spend every ounce of energy that I have fundraising for MD Anderson’s Moon Shots Program for low-grade serous ovarian cancer. They are doing groundbreaking research with treatments and trials that can extend our lives, and that’s where I will be spending all of my time and energy.” Mestas’ enchantment with food still exists at her core, and on good days, she allows herself to daydream. “If I ever get to a place where I can step away from this diagnosis and feel like I am free to think about something else and not be fighting for my future and years on my life,” she says, “I would love to open my own restaurant in downtown Mobile.” It will be colorful and funky, she says, with an open-air space and a trailer park theme, serving Gulf Coast classics with a twist, like Biloxi bacon dip made with smoked mullet and fried pickles with comeback sauce. She has all kinds of cocktail ideas: a play on the bushwacker called Mississippi Mud and the Miss Mississippi, made with bourbon, magnolia bitters and Champagne. Mestas is, after all, Mamie’s granddaughter. And she knows how to throw a party. MB
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GINGER TURMERIC BONE BROTH Inspired by Dizzy’s broth MAKES 4 TO 6 CUPS 2 beef marrow bones 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar 1 teaspoon turmeric 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, peeled and sliced 1 tablespoon black peppercorns 2 bay leaves juice of 2 limes 8 cups water salt, to taste
1. Roast marrow bones on broil for 20 minutes, turning with tongs halfway through. Remove from the oven and place in a slow cooker. 2. Add apple cider vinegar, turmeric, ginger, black peppercorns, bay leaves, lime juice and water, using just enough to cover the bones, about 8 cups. 3. Cover and slow cook for 24 hours. 4. Strain the broth to remove the bone, ginger, black peppercorns and bay leaves. Cover and refrigerate. 5. Once the fat has solidified, remove from the refrigerator and skim it from the top. 6. Add salt to taste. Broth can be stored in the refrigerator for one week or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
GRANDMA HONEY’S CENTURY PUDDING MAKES 6 SERVINGS 1 1/2 cups boiling water 1 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup brown sugar 3 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 cup flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 cup golden raisins 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon pinch of salt 1/2 cup milk
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 2. In an 8-by-8-inch cake pan, combine boiling water and granulated sugar, stirring until sugar is dissolved. 3. In a separate bowl, mix remaining ingredients. Drop the mixture by spoonful into the dissolved sugar syrup in the cake pan, making sure to cover the entire bottom of the pan. Bake for 30 minutes. 4. Using a large serving spoon, scoop the pudding from the bottom of the pan and turn upside down into a bowl or onto a plate. Serve with vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream.
VENETIAN LIVER WITH CREAMY POLENTA SERVES 4 Polenta 4 cups chicken broth 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1 cup polenta 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil Liver 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 1/2 large Vidalia onion, sliced 6 sage leaves, roughly chopped 1/2 tablespoon white wine vinegar 1 pound calf’s liver, chopped into 1- to 2-inch pieces salt and pepper, to taste
BEETS & STRAWBERRIES WITH LEMONY YOGURT MAKES 4 SERVINGS 1 tablespoon plus 1 pinch of salt, divided 2 golden beets and 2 red beets, washed and tops trimmed off 3/4 cup nonfat Greek yogurt 1/4 teaspoon lemon zest 1 cup strawberries, washed, hulled and halved 1 bunch arugula 2 sprigs fresh mint, roughly chopped 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 2 tablespoons pistachios, chopped
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 1 tablespoon of salt and all beets. Boil for 30 minutes or until beets are easily pierced with a knife. 2. Remove beets from boiling water, place on a plate or cooling rack and allow to cool for 10 to 15 minutes. Under cold running water, peel beets with your fingers, rubbing the beets to remove the skins. Chop beets into large wedges, about 1-inch thick, and set aside. 3. In a small bowl, combine the yogurt, lemon zest and pinch of salt. 4. On a serving platter or large plate, spoon the yogurt, swirling near the edges to create a nest for remaining ingredients. Organize the beets and strawberries together over the yogurt and top with arugula and fresh mint. Drizzle olive oil and sprinkle pistachios on top. Serve immediately.
SMOKY POMEGRANATE MOCKTAIL MAKES 4 6 ounces pomegranate juice 6 ounces Ritual Zero Proof Tequila, or traditional tequila of your choice 3 ounces fresh lime juice 3 ounces simple syrup 3 teaspoons rose water 1/2 cup ice 4 large cocktail ice cubes 3 teaspoons edible dried rose petals 3 teaspoons pomegranate seeds
1. In the base of a cocktail shaker, combine pomegranate juice, tequila, lime juice, simple syrup and rose water with ice. Shake vigorously for 2 to 3 minutes. 2. In four glasses, each with a large cocktail ice cube, pour the cocktail in equal portions. 3. Top with edible dried rose petals and pomegranate seeds. Serve immediately.
1. In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, bring chicken broth to a boil with kosher salt. 2. When boiling, slowly whisk in polenta, stirring constantly until the mixture is lump-free. 3. Reduce heat to low for 30 minutes, whisking occasionally until the mixture is too thick to whisk. If the mixture thickens too quickly, add additional chicken broth, one ladle at a time. 4. Turn off the heat and begin stirring with a wooden spoon, drizzling in the olive oil until smooth. Cover and keep on low. 5. While the polenta is cooking, prepare the liver. Add olive oil to a frying pan on low-medium heat. Add sliced onion and sauté until translucent. Add sage and gently mix until fragrant. 6. Add vinegar and mix briefly. 7. Move the onions to the edge of the pan and increase the heat to medium. Place liver in the pan, browning on all sides before mixing the onions in from the edges. Add salt and pepper, to taste. 8. To serve, spoon equal portions of polenta into shallow bowls and top with liver and onions.
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PHOTO BY TODD SIMS - MODERN OBSCURA
PEOPLE | SPOTLIGHT
text by AMANDA HARTIN • photos by MATTHEW COUGHLIN
BLOWN AWAY The glassblowing guys of Muffinjaw Designs take a break to talk shop with MB.
I
t’s 11 a.m., and the temperature is already a sweltering 95 degrees, cool in comparison to the workshop in which glassblowers Freddie Blache, Tres Johns and Gage Nobles were working earlier this morning. The trio takes refuge from the heat inside Satori Coffee House, just down the street from where they met as students at the University of South Alabama. The artists, collectively known as Muffinjaw Designs, have been selling their work since 2016, appearing first at LoDa ArtWalks and other events the Mobile Arts Council helped organize. Over the past five years, their presence on the Bay has grown to include live demonstrations at local venues, as well as retail space in area shops. Now, relaxed in the air-conditioning and fueled by caffeine, the three give MB a peek into who they are, what they do and their vision for the future. MB: What have you guys been up to this morning? Freddie: We are in the midst of seasonal production. Right now, we’re making pumpkins, but in a couple months, we will start doing ornaments. Tres: We’ve gotten pretty fast at making pumpkins. It doesn’t take very long to make one, but it took a long time to learn. Freddie: Yeah, people will ask, “How long did it take you to make that cup?” It’s taken me eight years to be able to make a cup in 10 minutes. It took 30 minutes per cup in the beginning, but they were cups only a mother could love.
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Left from top Goblets made by Gage Nobles, the center of which is his signature style dragon-stem. The guys of Muffinjaw Designs, Gage Nobles (left) Freddie Blache (middle) and Tres Johns (right). Timeworn tools of the trade.
Tres: She still threw them away. (all laugh) Gage: Glassblowing is tough; it’s very physical. It’s like being an athlete — you have to keep showing up. You have off days and you have on days. MB: Do you have any battle scars? Tres: I’ve got a lot. (pulls up his sleeves) Gage: I nearly chopped my toe off once. Freddie: I’ve burned myself more in the kitchen than I have working in the shop. Tres: We break a lot of stuff. I broke a thousand things before I made the first. Freddie: It’s never easy. It’s a lot of heartache. You have to be able to take failure and not beat yourself up. You have to be resilient. Gage: It’s fun, but you gotta be tough. Freddie: And it’s more than just playing with fire. We’re like mad scientists. I’m constantly battling physics. It’s chemistry, mixing elements to create color. MB: Did you want to be mad scientists when you grew up? Tres: I used to want to be a doctor. But here we are. I was a physical therapy major before I switched to art. Freddie: I wanted to be a musician. In college, I started bouncing around majors. I was a history major, anthropology — I think I started out in marine biology. Gage: I wanted to be a space cowboy. MB: What does a space cowboy major in? Gage: B.S. (laughs) But seriously, I did think I was going to be a welder. Freddie: We are glassblowers, but we also focus on metalwork. As students, we made a 16-foot sculpture that’s still at South. MB: Will you stick to only glass, then? Freddie: No, that’s kind of why we chose to call ourselves Muffinjaw “Designs.” That opens up what we can do. We bought a welder, and I’ve been playing around with it. Not that I’m trying to take Tres’ thing. I’m more of a decorative person, whereas Tres is focused on making a statement.
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Gage: My favorite pieces to make are dragon-stem goblets. Freddie: Gage is being modest. He specializes in goblets, which is one of the most technically challenging forms of glass. It’s about a 90 percent fail rate. Tres: Yeah, I don’t try it anymore. (laughs) Gage: It’s an adrenaline rush when you accomplish an art piece that you didn’t think you were going to be able to pull off.
net makers in Magnolia Springs. So, it’s all local companies working together, trying to create positive change and bring awareness to what we are consuming and what can be done with it. MB: Freddie, you and your better half, Caroline Gratton, have a daughter, Evie. Do you hope Evie grows up to be a glassmaker?
PHOTO BY TODD SIMS - MODERN OBSCURA
Tres: I definitely focus on stuff that is more sculptural, a lot of mixed media. It’s more like a throwback to the beginning of the studio movement in glass, where it was just a bunch of guys winging it, experimenting. Art for art’s sake, essentially.
Freddie: No. Tres: I mean, look at us. (all laugh) Freddie: I will support her in anything she does. Part of me wants her to be a glassblower, but she can do whatever she wants. We joke and say she’s probably going to be an accountant.
PHOTO BY TODD SIMS - MODERN OBSCURA
Freddie: Each one of us brings something different to what we do. We have separate approaches to how we look at glass, how we make glass, what we specialize in. MB: So, if I had two ornaments here, I could tell who made it? Freddie: Not necessarily. That’s production work, that’s all three of us working together making one thing. MB: Where are your products available? Freddie: Right now, our work is just in Mobile and Baldwin counties, but we’re planning on branching out. I really encourage people to check out local stores. It’s really important to not only support local artists but also local businesses. MB: Speaking of local, Muffinjaw Designs has partnered with local environmental contractors Osprey Initiative. Tell us a little about that. Freddie: We’ve been working with Osprey Initiative for the past year. We melt recycled glass and pull it into cane, which is just a big gather of glass stretched to about a pencil diameter, 20 or 30 feet in length. From there, we break it up to make multiple canes. Then we spin them on a mandrel, melt the glass with a torch and shape it with various tools. We cool them, cycle them through the kiln, clean them up and send them off to Osprey. They string the beads on bracelets made from shrimp nets sourced from
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MB: Tres and Gage, do either of you have families of your own? Tres: I have a cat, Dizzy. She’s cute. Gage: I want a monkey. (all laugh) MB: Good luck with the monkey, Gage. Freddie: These guys are like my family. We operate as a family business. Caroline does a lot of the production work with us, she’s at all the markets and demonstrations, and she supervises our social media. We all play an equal part. None of us would be here without the other. MB Muffinjaw Designs can be found in Mobile at Red Beard’s Outfitter, Mobile Botanical Garden, Urban Emporium and Innova Arts; Spanish Fort at Five Rivers Delta Center; Fairhope at Corner Copia Gardens.
Above Glass artwork by Tres Johns, indicative of his unique, artistic style. Left Pumpkins made by Muffinjaw Designs are customer favorites. Below Frankie Blache holding a pink and purple murrini piece he made while apprenticing at Augusta Glass Studio in Missouri.
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PEOPLE | SPOTLIGHT
Of Riotous Blossom Mobile artist Marian Acker Macpherson, known for her fanciful maps and ornate etchings of historic structures, was a fixture of her city’s social and creative circles for over half a century.
text by BRECK PAPPAS
SOMETIMES IT SEEMS THE WORLD HAS A BRUTISH SENSE OF HUMOR. Marian Acker Macpherson certainly must have thought so. After years spent sketching Mobile’s most beloved homes and buildings — a frantic race against the wrecking ball — Macpherson eventually found her own home trampled under the wheels of progress. The one-time Government Street residence of famed hostess Octavia LeVert, and where Macpherson raised her own young family, was disastrously shaken by the construction of the Bankhead Tunnel and subsequently bulldozed in 1965. But luckily, Macpherson had the personality to counter the world’s sneering punchlines with her own sense of humor. “Oh, she was great,” remembers Macpherson’s daughter, Paula Watkins. “She was like a big balloon bursting all the time.” The walls of Watkins’ home near Battles Wharf are dotted with her mother’s artwork. A faint rectangular spot on the wall marks where one of Macpherson’s illustrated maps of the Alabama beaches once hung; it and dozens of other works are currently on display in a special exhibition at the Mobile Carnival Museum. A copy of Macpherson’s map of Mobile Bay remains hanging at Watkins’ home, with the handwritten inscription: “For Paula, who was reared on Mobile Bay.” “We spent almost every weekend over here,” Watkins remembers. “For heat — you know, people used to have hot water bottles? — Mama would fill up Daddy’s leftover
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‘party bottles’ with hot water, roll them in a towel, and that’s how we would sleep.” Watkins studies this map on the wall, a feast for Lower Alabamian eyes and chock-full of tiny details such as the shipwreck of the USS Tecumseh. She points out her favorite feature of the drawing, a mother and father oyster tucking 15 baby oysters into a long, skinny bed south of Weeks Bay. Oyster beds, the inscription reads. “You asked what kind of personality Mama had — just cute,” she says, settling the point. Her mother was very Above Macpherson began creating illustrated maps of Mobile Bay around 1950. This version, which hangs on walls throughout Lower Alabama, was created in 1971. MAP COURTESY PAULA WATKINS
social: Mardi Gras Queen 1925, charter member of both the Maids of Mirth and the Mobile Charity League (later renamed the Junior League of Mobile). “Well you can’t be everywhere and do everything,” Macpherson was known to quip, “but you can try.” Watkins can still picture her mother, drawing at her workbench in a window of the old LeVert home. The natural light was good at this window, and Macpherson could keep one eye on her four children, playing in the yard below. “There are funny things that you remember,” Watkins says. “One thing is that Mother had a metal box that was long, and the top would open up. And that’s where she kept all of her sacred pencils and things. And it was called her ‘work-work box.’ And you didn’t touch that work-work box.”
Mobile to Massachusetts Macpherson was born in Mobile in 1906, the same year that her parents bought the LeVert home. She began taking art classes while a student at Barton Academy because “it was fun and it was easy,” she told a reporter for the Azalea City News & Review in 1980. She graduated in 1923 and later enrolled at the Vesper George School of Art in Boston. “It was no joke,” Macpherson recounted in 1980. “It was hard … I think they took me because they never heard of Mobile and wanted to find out about this part of the country.” After three years in Boston, Macpherson moved to Cape Cod to study under accomplished etcher W.H.W. Bicknell. Upon her return to Mobile, she was dismayed to discover that so many of the old buildings of her youth had disappeared, so she decided to put her artistic training to use by recording the structures that remained. Macpherson would go on to publish two books of Mobile etchings, one in 1933 and another in 1940. A later guidebook she called “Glimpses of Old
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Mobile” (seen at right) would require at least six revisions between 1946 and 1983, as buildings fell into decay or were razed. It was a hobby Macpherson could practice while raising a family. She met and married John Ritchie Macpherson, known as “Scottie,” who had run away from his home in Edinburgh at 16 to fight with the Gordon Highlanders in World War I. The couple would have four children. Watkins, their third-born, remembers playing in the cool, soft grass surrounding the Oakleigh House as her mother sketched the mansion in pencil. From the paper, Macpherson would use a stylus to etch her drawings onto a copper plate, from which she could press copies of the engraving. Macpherson had an ability to imbue the buildings she etched with a fanciful magic, complete with spiraling ironwork and curlicues of Spanish moss. She etched hundreds of the city’s structures, including the Chamberlin-Rapier House at 56 South Conception Street. The location would come to have a terrible significance for Macpherson. In 1955, while standing in the home’s distinctive carriage archway, Scottie suffered a fatal heart attack while watching his wife ride in a Mardi Gras parade. The responding ambulance fought against the parade traffic and lost. “She raised all of us by herself,” Watkins says. Clockwise from top left Macpherson with her four children (left to right) Ian Macpherson, Paula Watkins, Marian Acker Currie and Anne Prince. A Mardi Gras scene etched by Macpherson, herself a former Carnival queen. The Chamberlin-Rapier House, where Scottie Macpherson would suffer a fatal heart attack. The stately Richards-DAR House on Joachim Street. PHOTOS COURTESY PAULA WATKINS
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Preservation and Celebration Art was her life’s constant, and it flowed in many forms from Macpherson: the aforementioned maps, more than 500 local watercolor vignettes and a wealth of Mardi Gras materials. She drew emblem designs for the majority of the area’s mystic societies founded before 1960, as well as scrolls, poster prints and place settings that today are highly sought after by collectors. Upon her death in 1993, she left behind a body of work that preserved and celebrated the city she loved. And although it would have been easy to become dismayed by the disintegration of historic buildings or the tragedies that marked her own life, Macpherson retained an optimism that runs thick in her books. Describing the very building where her husband had died, the artist reflected: “Occasionally there is a flicker of life and interest about the old place — a window lights up — a curtain billows out on the soft warm air — an old potted plant bursts out in a wild enthusiasm of riotous blossom — and Old Mobile takes hope again. Perhaps someday this child of her early youth will come into tender hands that can restore it to the mellow richness and charm to which it is entitled.” MB Now through October 2021, visit the Mobile Carnival Museum’s exhibit “An Artist, a Lady, and a Queen: The Life, Career and Impact of Marian Acker Macpherson.” 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. M, W, F, Sa; closed T, Th, Su.
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FINDING INSPIRATION EVERYWHERE
YOU LOOK Even the most artistic souls need fresh inspiration from time to time. Five local artists share their go-to sources to kick-start creative thinking. text by ANNA THORNTON
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GUMBO | INSPIRATIONS
MICAH MERMILLIOD 10 THINGS THAT INSPIRE ME Micah Mermilliod can still recall the fateful December day when he first discovered the camera. Back home for the holidays, the then-college sophomore was rummaging through a spare bedroom closet when he came across the forgotten Canon AE-1, the camera his dad had used for all their family photos. “I remember bringing it to my dad in the dining room and expressing an interest in learning to use it,” Mermilliod reminisces. “And that led directly to my first lesson in the relationship between apertures and shutter speeds.” Hungry to learn more, Mermilliod enrolled in a photography course at the University of South Alabama. Developing his first image in the darkroom was a pivotal experience. He recalls the moment he first saw the image emerging on the paper. “It was magical. I was instantly in love, instantly hooked.” The very next semester, he changed his major from biomedical sciences to studio art. He is currently working on an MFA in photography and printmaking at his alma mater, where he was offered a full assistantship, and in the fall, things will come full circle as he begins teaching Intro to Photography classes for the first time. And even though his photographic practice has evolved a good bit over the years, the old Canon AE-1 remains his regular traveling companion!
5. PSYCHED OUT MUSIC I love the local music scene in Mobile. The Alabama Music Box and The Merry Widow are two of my favorite venues for keeping the psych, punk and weirdo scene alive. 6. ARTISTIC INFLUENCES I find infinite inspiration and guidance in the works of David Hockney, Joyce Neimanas and Lucas Samaras. 7. ALABAMA CONTEMPORARY ART CENTER I am very grateful for many of the galleries and museums we have in the area, but working at the Alabama Contemporary Art Center in particular has been eye-opening to say the least!
10 THINGS THAT INSPIRE ME 1. COMMUNITY WALKS An immense amount of inspiration for my work is born out of going on walks throughout my neighborhood in midtown Mobile.
PHOTO BY ELIZABETH GELINEAU
2. READING ABOUT AESTHETICS When reading for artistic inspiration, I am influenced most by works which look at art galleries and museums as democratic spaces. 3. SOUTH ALABAMA’S GRADUATE FINE ARTS PROGRAM In the fall, I will be starting my final year in South’s MFA program where I concentrate in photography and printmaking. The faculty there, particularly my mentor Margarita Skiadas, have been phenomenally inspirational and have been invaluable in helping me grow and improve as a professional artist.
8. FRENCH NEW WAVE I am a huge fan of the French New Wave genre. I’m especially drawn to Jean-Luc Goddard, Jaques Tati and Jaques Demy. I aim for my Instax work to deconstruct the traditional photograph in much the same way that these film directors worked to deconstruct traditional filmmaking. 9. MORNING COFFEE Where would I be without coffee?! Nova Espresso and Serda’s Coffee Co. both have a very tasty Guji at the moment. 10. LOCAL PARKS Some of my favorites to draw inspiration from and also create work in are the Airport Perimeter Trail by Brookley, Cooper Riverside in downtown Mobile, McLean Park off Springhill Avenue and 5 Rivers Delta on the Causeway.
4. INDOOR AND OUTDOOR GARDENING I spend a good bit of time each week tending my plants both inside and outside, and I find that they make regular appearances in my work. I have been a big fan of Stokley’s Garden Express since its opened!
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GUMBO | INSPIRATIONS
SOYNIKA BUSH 10 THINGS THAT INSPIRE ME
PHOTO BY ELIZABETH GELINEAU
2. MY CHILDHOOD I can now appreciate the small things, like what my grandma’s perfumes smelled like.
PHOTO BY ELIZABETH GELINEAU
1. A GOOD CUP OF COFFEE It literally sets the tone for my day. I like a mix of Colombian roast and breakfast blend.
When Soynika Bush first began painting, she would pour her energy into mastering the techniques of realism; she relished trying to capture the perfect nose and the most delicate eyelashes. So it came as a surprise when requests for her faceless portraits surpassed those for her detailed work. The idea to paint featureless faces first came to her when she decided to create her own version of the silhouettes of children that many hang in their homes. She put her own twist on the tradition by adding colorful clothing to the portraits, resulting in a style she calls “skin-folk kin-folk.” What’s unique about Bush’s featureless faces is that even though the person’s face is obscured, the individual can still be recognized by details in their clothing. As artist-inresidence at the Alabama Contemporary Art Center, Bush has been tasked with filling the gallery for her solo show, which opens in October of next year. Nowadays, painting consumes most of her time, but when she’s not making art, she’s teaching art to kids at the Boys & Girls Clubs of South Alabama and Legacy 166. As an artist, teacher, wife and mother of four, Bush has a lot to juggle. Her motto? “Shut up and paint.” Whenever the noise of the world is just too loud, Bush turns to her art. “I need my paints,” she says, “and I need my brushes to give me the strength to paint out what I feel.”
5. MY ART STUDENTS They keep me striving to impress them. They are my biggest critics. It’s honest, and it keeps me grounded. 6. A CHILD’S WONDERMENT I always tell kids to hold on to their imagination, draw out their dreams. 7. A GOOD FRONT PORCH ON AN OLD VICTORIAN HOME I can find bliss sitting on a swing and letting the day pass me by.
9. MY FAMILY They have my back, from hauling paintings to working around my schedule. It’s new to all of us. It’s exciting having my parents see me as an “artist.” My four children teach me love, gratefulness, work ethic, encouragement and confidence every day. 10. MY PLAYLIST After working late nights in my studio at Alabama Contemporary Art Center, I have a full concert with those great acoustics. It’s a mix of jazz, soft rock, gospel and 80’s jams. Thank goodness no one sees me dance.
8. STORM CLOUDS That’s the mood for some good painting and a good nap afterwards.
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PHOTO BY ELIZA
4. THE CITY The different layers of people, traditions, the progression and the laid-back all the same.
BETH GELIN EAU
3. OAK TREES Oak trees have souls. They can be dainty or gruffy.
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GUMBO | INSPIRATIONS
RACHEL WARNER 10 THINGS THAT INSPIRE ME
1. HENRI MATISSE My absolute favorite artist. From his paintings to his cut-outs, his use of color and representation of the human form is so unique and vivid. 2. SUFJAN STEVENS If there was only one musician I could listen to for the rest of my life, it’d be him. He constantly reinvents himself through genre — who else can so effortlessly master the banjo and the synthesizer? 3. MOLESKINE SKETCHBOOKS An empty sketchbook represents so much potential. This brand is the one I can’t live without. Whether I’m sketching, journaling or just making a grocery list, I really do live in these.
4. COASTAL LIVING If I’m ever feeling stuck creatively, I can hop in the car and in about 45 minutes be staring out into the endlessness of the water. Very cathartic! 5. EGON SCHIELE The first time I ever saw his edgy and raw work, I felt an instant spark of inspiration. It really clicked for me, and I’ve never to this day seen anything quite like what he did. 6. THERAPY Shout out to my therapist! I love the feeling I have leaving a good therapy session. It opens me up to the world and helps me see inspiration in places I may not have looked before.
With clients like Macy’s, Groupon and Chili’s, artist and designer Rachel Warner is used to meeting high expectations. After graduating from The Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), the budding creative headed to Chicago where she held positions as art director and graphic designer at an advertising agency. In 2019, she made the switch to freelance when she and her now-husband Joseph Brennan moved to his hometown, Mobile. Rachel is an expert at creating streamlined designs for clients, but when it comes to making art, she prefers to let it all go. “I’m a chronic over-thinker, so I do my best to let my art be loose, imperfect, and let it communicate things to me, as much as I am trying to communicate things through it,” she says. Over the years, Warner has developed her own style of portraiture. She believes that some emotions just can’t be put into words, and that belief is what drives her to make these bold and gestural drawings. At the start of each new piece, she selects a reference photo and begins drawing what she sees. But as her pen moves across the page, she stretches the lines, simplifies the spaces and allows the form to morph into something else. The end result may not look like the picture she started with, but the emotion is palpable. Her biggest tip on channeling creativity? “Live life like a sponge,” she says. “Soak up every little piece of inspiration you can from wherever it comes, and be open to inspiration finding you however it wants to.”
7. MILLENNIUM ACTRESS Yes, sorry ... I am a total anime nerd, and this is my absolute favorite film of all time. It leaves me totally inspired and a bit of an emotional wreck. Bring the Kleenexes! 8. DRINKS AT CALLAGHAN’S You can find me here at least once a week. Really, nothing beats sitting outside with a cold drink and leisurely watching the world go by. 9. ANYTHING BY J. D. SALINGER The first book I ever read as a middle schooler that I actually enjoyed was “Catcher in the Rye.” No one writes quite like he did. 10. LAYING IN MY HAMMOCK I have a hammock hanging between a Bradford Pear and a giant palm tree in the courtyard of my apartment. It’s the best place to daydream.
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GUMBO | INSPIRATIONS
RANDY MOBERG From the time he was a boy, Randy Moberg has had a cast-net in hand, so it’s no surprise that fish are a prominent theme in his new sculpture series. Moberg was born and raised in Mobile, and growing up, he would spend his summers tramping around the marshes of Weeks Bay. Moberg currently resides in Fairhope, where he has built a solid studio practice. Throughout his career, commissioned paintings consumed most of his attention, while sculpture was more of a personal experiment. But recent days have allowed Moberg to realize his dream of making the work that truly inspires him. It all started with a day-trip down to a favorite spot near Fowl River. He noticed some glass glimmering in the water and began scooping it up. Moberg reckons that the shards were once bottles that had been thrown in the water from a nearby bar. They had probably been swept around for years until they developed a soft, milky patina. As he was sitting with his newfound treasure on the shore, he set the glass next to a pile of sun-bleached wood (also discovered on his expedition). The combo just clicked — he felt the two materials were meant to be next to each other. “There was sort of an elegance to it,” Moberg remarks. What started out as an impromptu scavenger hunt soon escalated into fusing one-of-a-kind color combinations in his own kiln. What does it take to be an artist? “In a word,” he replies, “perseverance.”
10 THINGS THAT INSPIRE ME 1. BOOKS Some authors who inspire are Chuck Palahniuk, Cormac McCarthy, David Sedaris, Rick Bragg, Shelby Foote and Augusten Burroughs. I also love Winston Groom’s “Patriotic Fire” about the War of 1812.
6. PHILOSOPHY Deep thoughts as presented by Stoics and Friedrich Nietzsche keep me pondering.
2. JOAN MITCHELL The large canvases by artist Joan Mitchell (not the folk singer) made in the 1950s through ’80s are gestural and expressive.
7. HISTORY I always go back to Winston Churchill speeches and all historic references chronicling the life of Abraham Lincoln.
3. DAMIEN CHAZELLE Anything by writer / director Damien Chazelle, like “La La Land” or “Whiplash,” captivates me.
8. EASY MORNINGS A good cup of coffee and a friendly game of chess.
4. A GOOD SONG Almost every song written and performed by Adam Duritz and the Counting Crows helps me feel creative, and also Bob Dylan for “Tangled up in Blue.”
9. SANDY SHORELINES The shores of Mobile Bay, riddled with stumps, fallen trees and the myriad of debris deposited from the shifting tides and summer storms, stirs my soul. My sense of aesthetics is awakened.
5. MOVIES YOU CAN WATCH OVER AND OVER AGAIN “Almost Famous” by Cameron Crowe, “Fight Club,” “Dead Poets Society” and “Cold Mountain” top my list.
10. CASH Cold, hard cash — the chief ingredient in any creative project.
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10 THINGS THAT INSPIRE ME 1. NEON ANYTHING I can’t escape the pull of bright pops of color. 2. PALM TREES MIXED WITH LIVE OAKS LACED WITH SPANISH MOSS This combination feels otherworldly and infiltrated my paintings shortly after we moved here from Boston. 3. REBECCA SOLNIT Her writing rings true and helps to center me in my process. My favorites are “The Faraway Nearby” and “A Field Guide to Getting Lost.” 4. NEW TUBES OF GOUACHE There is nothing like fresh art supplies. 5. BIG CATS AND SNAKES Predators and the lore and mythologies that surround them are fascinating.
MICHELLE JONES Before college, Mississippi native Michelle Jones had never taken a formal art class. Pursuing a career as an artist was not even on the radar of this former pre-med student. But after a semester of tedious chemistry lectures, Jones realized science just didn’t capture her interest. Eager for change, she enrolled in an art elective, whereupon she immediately felt she had found her calling. She went on to earn her BFA in painting at Ole Miss and later an MFA in painting from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. After 11 years of hustle and bustle in Boston, she and husband Nathan moved to Mobile for his work as a port engineer. For Jones, the key to being a successful artist is maintaining a routine. “Art is not one of those things that’s just going to happen,” Jones says. “You have to set aside time for it.” And she does. Every day from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Jones is sketching, snipping and mixing up dreamy color combinations in the studio. Letting the materials speak for themselves is a must, she says. She begins with random strokes and splashes of paint and then uses her artistic sensibilities to reign it back in. Creating a space for chance opens up unforeseen paths and pushes her to “follow the breadcrumbs out of catastrophe.”
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6. A VISIT TO ALABAMA CONTEMPORARY ART CENTER Viewing other artists’ work who are currently working provides context for my paintings and renews my excitement for making. 7. ARTIST COLLEEN COMER Her work vibrates. She paints twisting figures in an explosive palette to explore themes of motherhood, domesticity, boredom and expectation. 8. “FEVER DREAM” BY SAMANTA SCHWEBLIN AND “SWAMPLANDIA” BY KAREN RUSSELL Novels that explore the consequences of chance and extreme circumstance are thrilling. 9. THE MOON RISING OVER THE OCEAN This is a spectacularly beautiful and mysterious phenomenon that happens repeatedly. I am in awe. 10. ANHINGA These water birds, also known as snake birds, must stand with their spotted black and white wings spread wide to dry after a dip in the water to catch their prey.
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PEOPLE | AMAZING LIFE
“Why not me?” Fairhope’s Don Prosch rose above childhood adversity to become a professional dancer, teacher, coach and entrepreneur. text by JILL CLAIR GENTRY
on Prosch grew up in an incredibly chaotic environment. But instead of envisioning his life through the lens of what he lacked, Prosch — through his raw skill and intelligence, the generosity of strangers, a curious spirit and several lucky breaks — constantly asked the question, “Why not me?” before jumping into his next adventure.
in junior high, he scored well on standardized testing and was selected for a scholarship to The DeVeaux School, a prestigious boarding school in Niagara Falls, New York. “I ended up getting a superior education there,” he says. “I also played football, baseball and was captain of the swim team.” Prosch attended Wittenberg University in Ohio a year before his father became terminally ill from cirrhosis at age 46. The family moved to Mississippi to live with his older brother, a holiness minister. “The youth leader at my brother’s church was drum major for the Ole Miss marching band,” Prosch says. “He talked to the band director and got me a band scholarship even though I didn’t play an instrument. I got to be the Rebellettes’ personal attendant. I was enamored with all these beautiful women and just had to attend to their pom-poms and all. I thought, ‘This is the best scholarship I’ve ever had.’”
Growing Up
Discovering Dance
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Prosch was born in 1952 in Birmingham to parents who had 8thgrade educations and alcohol addictions. “My father had been in the Navy and had picked up some habits there — he was a heavy drinker, smoker and gambler, and we moved around a lot because of issues with the police and his violence toward my mother,” Prosch says. “We moved back and forth between south Alabama, coastal Mississippi and Detroit. She would get physically abused, and we’d escape to live with family down South for a while, and then all of a sudden, my father would want us back and we’d return to Detroit.” Prosch excelled in school and was popular with his peers. Late
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Prosch eventually learned to play the tuba and continued marching at Ole Miss while he earned four full majors in psychology, philosophy, sociology and anthropology. His first exposure to dance was during his senior year. “I had signed up for a wrestling class,” Prosch says. “But the wrestling coach came to me and asked, ‘Are you the guy they call Don the Dancer?’ I told him I liked to party dance but had never danced seriously. He invited me to join a new dance group instead of wrestling.” Prosch’s goal was to become a teacher and a coach at a private boarding school after serving in the Peace Corps, but his mother died suddenly just as he had the honor of being the first in his fam-
ily to graduate from college. His younger brother was beginning his junior year at Satsuma High School, so Prosch agreed to become his legal guardian. During that time, a girlfriend from Ole Miss invited Prosch to a dance concert at LSU. “I had never seen a dance performance like that — I was blown away,” he remembers. “It was athletic, required a lot of specialized training, and the music was beautiful. That was the single moment I decided I wanted to be a dancer.” One of Prosch’s high school teachers was working at a private school in Buffalo, New York, and Prosch reached out to ask about securing a spot for his brother’s senior year. He got Prosch’s brother a scholarship, offered the brothers an apartment on campus and found Prosch a job on the maintenance staff at the school. “That’s when I started taking formal dance classes,” Prosch says. “I even got into a ballet company and, to my own surprise, got a yearlong job as an actor with a salary and benefits.”
Dancing Professionally Prosch, 24 at the time, was hooked. He began to dream about dancing professionally. He won a scholarship to the Jacob’s Pillow summer dance festival and then decided to take a three-week course at the Martha Graham School in New York City. Graham was a massively influential dancer and choreographer who developed her own style, the Graham Technique, which elevated modern dance in the U.S. and beyond. Her technique, designed to reflect the contraction and release of the breathing cycle, is known for powerful emotional expression. The technique is still taught worldwide. “I wanted to see what it was like to learn a specific technique,” Prosch says. “I took two or three classes there a day for three straight weeks. On the very last day, I took an intermediate-level class, and the teacher asked me if I was interested in dancing
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PHOTO BY ELIZABETH GELINEAU
Clockwise from top left Don Prosch, now 68, lives in Fairhope with his wife, Candice. The Prosches, pictured dancing together, moved to Baldwin County from Vermont almost 20 years ago and have been mainstays in the South Alabama dance community. Don is seen in this photo, featured in Martha Graham’s 1991 autobiography “Blood Memory,” under Graham’s arm in a side tilt with his right leg in the air. Opposite Don rehearses in 2003 with the Alabama Contemporary Dance Company in downtown Mobile for a show by choreographer Jean Jaubert called “Now,” which was inspired by the impact of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans.
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professionally and offered me a scholarship. I was shocked — I’d barely been dancing for two years.” Prosch says he’ll never forget his very first rehearsal with The Martha Graham Company. “Martha herself was in the studio and selected me to do a special part,” he says. “At one point, she stood up, walked toward me and without notice fell into my arms to demonstrate what she wanted from the female dancer in that role. I was stunned! Here I was holding the matriarch of dance in my arms. A good ole boy from Alabama no less. Who’d a thunk it?” Prosch toured with The Martha Graham Company for two years. He then participated in three European tours with The Murray Louis Company before a knee injury ended his professional performances. Prosch remained interested in movement, athletics and health. He became a fitness instructor and personal trainer, working with clients like Gloria Steinem before finally achieving his original goal — becoming a teacher. For four years, Prosch taught dance and physical education as well as coaching baseball at an elite private school in Manhattan. During this time, he earned a master’s degree in dance education from Columbia University, where he met his wife, Candice. “She is a far superior dancer to me,” Prosch says. “I knew I wanted to marry a dancer — I wanted someone who would understand me as a dancer. She was everything I dreamed of and more.”
Entrepreneurship The couple lived in Vermont for many years, establishing a dance company and school there. During this time, Prosch discovered the human gyroscope, which propelled him into entrepreneurship. “I had back issues all my life,” he says. “I saw an article about this human gyroscope, and I had imagined such a thing in the past and
sketched it out. I bought one and rode it religiously. Within two months, I had no back or knee problems.” Prosch spent many years manufacturing and selling gyroscopes. In his early 50s, Prosch moved with his family to south Alabama to escape the harsh New England winters and the high cost of living. Candice ran Alabama Contemporary Dance downtown for many years. Prosch danced well into his 50s in addition to running his GyroGym business.
Slowing Down Prosch, now 68 years old, is finally slowing down. “Eventually, gravity and age caught up to me,” he says. Although he can’t dance these days, Prosch says dance shaped his entire outlook on life and changed him forever. “I just had confidence in myself,” he says. “I knew I was a good athlete, and I knew I was smart. Why not try?” He describes himself as an independent thinker, unafraid of trying something new, even if it didn’t make sense to other people. Knowing his father was never able to use his natural talents and intelligence inspired him to never stop exploring the limits of his capabilities. “I got two things from my father: good genes and intelligence,” Prosch says. “He wasted his, and I was determined not to waste mine. I just always put one foot in front of the other and marched forward to see where it would take me, and I am glad I did. To have danced with Martha Graham — even holding her in my arms — is my greatest achievement as a dancer.” MB
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text by PAULA LENOR WEBB photos by SUMMER ENNIS ANSLEY
FROM
THAILAND TO THE LOOP
DURING LOCKDOWN
TWO WORLDLY TRAVELERS TOOK A SIDE TRIP TO THE GULF COAST — AND NEVER LEFT. NOW, THEY ARE BRINGING A MAJESTIC GEORGE B. ROGERS HOME BACK TO LIFE.
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walk in the door The Fearn-Syson House, circa 1904, features a large “living hall” that connects the living and dining rooms to the front door. All three rooms feature oak parquet floors, seen left, with inlays of mahogany and maple in a unique quatrefoil Celtic design. The dramatic coffered ceilings were originally wood-toned but were painted in the 1980s.
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T
here is something majestic about bringing buildings back to life. The subtraction of time’s grime replaced with loving care has the deep-reaching ability to foster community greatness. One such effort has been quietly taking place during the pandemic in the heart of midtown Mobile, and by some unexpected caretakers. Bryant Olson and his partner, Cole Tonklongchan, had no plans to pick up roots and move from Thailand halfway around the world to Mobile. In 2019, the international travelers were visiting a friend in Pensacola when they decided on a whim to spend a week in Mobile at the Malaga Inn. In that one short week, they became enamored with Gulf Coast culture. The couple found it hard to leave ... so they didn’t. “We loved the city and decided to visit many houses that were for sale,” Olson says. “We made an offer on the Fearn-Syson House, and it was accepted the next day.” The couple returned to Thailand, Tonklongchan’s native country, where Olson — a master at marketing and sales — owned 16 stores that sold high-end personal care products. His exclusive clientele included the king of Bahrain, U.S. singer Belinda Carlisle and many Thai celebrities. Despite that success, Olson sold all his businesses, except the Penthouse Spa in Bangkok, in preparation to move to Mobile. Through the winter of 2020, the transition was going smoothly. But when the COVID-19 pandemic escalated in March, Olson found himself in Mobile while his husband was still in Thailand. All flights were canceled, and the inability to travel left Olson with a lot of spare time and the opportunity to focus on his new house. He decided to use his newfound idleness to return the home, designed by noted architect George B. Rogers, back to its original splendor. He began with the large veranda that wrapped around the front half of the house. Olson repaired the porch
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then and now Residential developer George Fearn built the home as a wedding gift for his daughter Bessie Fearn Syson. He cut all the trees from the property, milled the lumber, built houses and then replanted oaks that are now seen shading the verdant property. Said to be the first Spanish Colonial Revival building to be built in Mobile, architect George B. Rogers originally specified a wood shingle roof. It was later replaced with terracotta that was, at one point, painted green. Olson went back with a new terracotta roof — in the traditional colorway. ABOVE IMAGE FROM MOBILE HISTORIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION PHOTOGRAPH COLLECTION, THE DOY LEALE MCCALL RARE BOOK AND MANUSCRIPT LIBRARY, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA
unapologetic opulence The Fearns imported this antique limestone mantelpiece from England when the home was built. Olson got the fireplace working again and decorated it with a gilded mirror, unique candlesticks and a clock that was a gift from a “19 Columns” Facebook page follower.
roof and restored the decorative columns that graced the space. He notes, “I think there were originally 21 columns, but I was not able to find two. The house currently has 19 columns, and I see it as our unique stamp on the home. It is the reason I titled my Facebook page ‘19 Columns Restoration.’ I currently have over 3,600 followers, and it grows steadily every week.” As the country continued under lockdown, Olson started the next phase of home regeneration — window restoration. Each pocket window was reglazed, the frames restored and made to work as they did over 100 years ago. He even sought out antique glass to replace missing panels or change past glass repairs that were not a match. Restoring a home such as the Fearn-Syson house has many attractive elements, but there’s usually one feature of special interest to new homeowners. In Olson’s case, it was the fireplaces and chimneys. He remarks, “I thoroughly enjoyed learning about where the fireplaces were made and reviving the beautifully carved mantels. There is nothing more magical than a roaring fireplace during Christmas. It added ambiance to the house. They were not used for years, and now that they are working, they make this grand old house feel much more like home. I also got the best Christmas present: Cole was finally able to make it to the U.S., and we spent the holiday together.” It appears 2021 is turning into a much grander year for Olson and his husband. Tonklongchan, a Thai native, now has his permanent U.S. residency and will soon be at 19 Columns permanently. As they plan the next phase of improvements for their home, they are also making strides to restore more of their newly adopted city. “We plan on purchasing older, historic homes in Mobile, those with good bones, and returning them to their former glory,” Olson says. “We hope to hold fundraising events with historic restoration nonprofits. Mobile is our new home, and we want to help her shine.” MB
restored grandeur Olson replaced most of the porch ceiling, which had rotted and was falling in. The capitals of the 19 columns are unique to the home and don’t adhere to any of the traditional orders. The new gas lamps over the outdoor sitting area feel period-appropriate.
enveloped in history The wood paneling in the dining room would have been unpainted when the Fearns built it, with hand-painted murals above the wainscotting that have been lost to time. A floor button meant to ring the servants is still visible under the dining table. Olson’s traditional design aesthetic fits the historic home perfectly.
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text by MAGGIE LACEY • portrait by AK ASHA R ABUT
CREOLE RIGHT NOW, HONEY! Mobilian Andrew LaMar Hopkins brings Gulf Coast Creole culture to the wide world with his colorful paintings rich with historical detail.
A
young Andrew LaMar Hopkins eases through the door of the 1850 Museum at the Pontalba Apartments just off Jackson Square in New Orleans. The sweltering summer heat fades behind as Hopkins sidles up to the counter, tall and lanky for a 13-year-old. The year is 1992, and Hopkins is visiting New Orleans with his mother on one of their monthly excursions, during which the pair would drive over from Mobile for the day to 50 mobilebaymag.com | september 2021
walk the streets of the French Quarter, gaping at architecture, antiques and ironwork. The cashier taking entry fees for the small museum is from Jamaica and tells Hopkins she loves his smooth Southern accent. He returns the compliment, and a friendship quickly unfolds. By the end of the conversation, the young man with a deep passion for the 19th century has won free admission to tour the historic building. Not more than five years later, he would be run-
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ning the gift store in the same museum. Hopkins’ eyes have always been laser-focused on a time that was not his own — of the people, furniture and customs of the Gulf Coast when most of its inhabitants spoke French or Spanish, horse-drawn carriages carried ladies and gentlemen to candlelit soirees and mixed-race Creoles mingled in high society. The world he studies, and about which he has built a smashing artistic career, is a long way from the Toulminville of the 1980s. Hopkins was raised mostly by his grandmother, Betty McGee, who he says wasn’t terribly interested in art or architecture. But he remembers trips with her to downtown Mobile as a young child, watching the architecture change through the car window from suburban strip malls and convenience stores to 19th-century buildings full of character and history. “I just remember being in a car as a very small child, just looking at the cast iron and the beautiful brickwork, the columns, and thinking, This is absolutely amazing. This is something special.” When his grandmother later moved “down the Bay,” Hopkins was able to walk or ride his bike down Washington Avenue to the Ben May Main Library, where he would pore over books containing photos of buildings, paintings, vases and furniture. He soon began exploring the city’s Local History & Genealogy Library next door, learning about Mobile’s free people of color and the wealthy Creole society that held so much sway in town at one time. He researched his own family, which he says wasn’t easy to do in a time before the Internet, and traced his roots back to the French explorer and cartographer Nicolas Baudin, who was given Mon Louis Island in 1710 and whose descendants later married into free people of color in Louisiana in the 19th century. Hopkins’ obsession intensified and became all-encompassing. While his contemporaries were playing ball in the street and eating pizza, he was dreaming of the past.
“The time period I paint was a difficult time for people of color— I think about that often. I wish I could go back to that time but be invisible. I don’t think I want to experience it as a person, but to be invisible and see what it was actually like, walk the streets with nobody knowing who I am. I’d love to do that.” – Andrew LaMar Hopkins
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Finding His Way Today, Hopkins sits in a French 18th century neoclassical directoire chair and offers up a spread of dainty treats on fine china and sweet tea from a silver tray — the ultimate Southern host. In his new artist studio on the second floor of an 1833 New Orleans building, complete with high ceilings, original cypress floors and French doors that open to a wraparound porch overlooking the Vieux Carré, he talks about his unconventional path. Hopkins attended Holloway Elementary in Toulminville, then Pillans Middle School off Dauphin Island Parkway. After enrolling at Murphy High School, his mother, who had since taken him back to live with her, decided to move to New Orleans. Murphy, he remembers, was recognized as one of the top public schools in the nation in the early 1990s, so the transition to the New Orleans Public School system, which he describes as “positively third-world,” was an adjustment. “The school children cursed in the classroom, and the teachers didn’t do anything,” he says. “It was wild, just like two different worlds.” Although Hopkins found a small group of students who understood and accepted him, he confesses that teachers were his safe harbor all along. “My first-grade teacher Kathy Bates — we’ve kept in touch all these years. She inspired me to draw and to paint and to be myself.” Once Hopkins settled in New Orleans, he became so close with another teacher and her family that he spent two to three nights a week at her house. “I know that’s unheard of nowadays,” he admits, but Hopkins became a part of the family. “We both loved antiques, so we would go to estate sales, garage sales and antique shows.” As a mere 16-year-old, he even hosted a luncheon for her and a group of friends, pulling out silver and crystal that he had picked up on their shopping excursions. “I’ve always had a group of teachers that supported me, looked out for me and rooted for me. I guess they saw something special.” And often, having someone be your champion can make all the difference. For a period of time, Hopkins found himself floundering as he sold antiques and miniature paintings of historical figures, artifacts and scenes for just a few hundred dollars. He had a brief stint as a shop owner on Magazine Street, where he could really flex his expertise of southern, Creole and French antiques and decorative arts from the 18th and 19th centuries. But before long, he was back in Mobile living in a house owned by a family member. The electricity was sometimes cut off as he struggled to sell his paintings. “I was a true starving artist during that time in Mobile.
Thank goodness I had a free house to live in,” he recalls. “But something told me, ‘If you paint it, they will come,’ so I just painted my butt off and returned to New Orleans.” Nadine Blake Gallery gave him a show upon his return, and it more than sold out. That’s when the next champion came into his life. In late 2019, New York antiques expert Ellie Shushan, who Hopkins says is the “world’s foremost authority of miniatures on ivory,” was planning The Winter Show in New York City. This prestigious art, antiques, and design fair, held each year at the Park Avenue Armory, gathers many of the world’s top experts in the fine and decorative arts. In recent years, a select group of contemporary artists have been included. Shushan invited Hopkins to exhibit. Hopkins’ paintings shine a light on what life was like on the Gulf Coast almost 200 years ago — a place that, he points out, has always been so different than the rest of the South. “I think it’s the most interesting place in America,” he gushes with a deep, jovial laugh. “It was a melting pot, from Pensacola all the way down to New Orleans, and these black, white and mixed-race Creoles were colorful and interesting. I feel it is my duty to bring these people back to life.” His paintings are known for their historically accurate depictions of architecture, furnishings and dress, a skill cultivated over years of research and time spent buying and selling antiques. And he represents real people from the time period with stories to tell the viewer. If the paintings didn’t resonate with buyers in Mobile in his early days, they certainly pique the interest of New Yorkers now. In the days leading up to the show, a journalist who had pitched a 600-word story on Hopkins to an art publication in Brooklyn instead landed 1,000 words and a full-page layout in the Sunday New York Times. “I ran around the French Quarter and bought up every copy of the paper the hotels had!” he remembers. What began as one of the toughest years of Hopkins’ life (he lost 11 loved ones in 2019, including his beloved grandmother) had turned a major corner. “I felt as if all the people who had died that year were looking down on me, and not only that, but helping me in some way. Especially my grandmother, who sheltered me and loved me my whole life.” Upon his arrival in New York, Hopkins was honored with a stylish cocktail party meant to introduce Desiree Josephine Duplantier, his drag alter ego with an appropriately Creole name, to the elite of the art and antiques world. Because of the New York Times article, which he admits helped make him a success, a number of high-profile magazine editors and gallery owners attended the soiree. The New York Times went on to cri-
From top “The Bed Chamber of Marie Catherine Laveau” 11” x 14” acrylic on board. The artist’s Vieux Carre studio, full of French antiques. “Selfportrait of the Artist as Désirée” 12” x 12” acrylic on board, in the collection of The National Gallery of Art Washington, DC.
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tique his 13 paintings in The Winter Show, and everything sold out. If you are ever in doubt that life is as much about timing as it is hard work, Hopkins is certainly the example. He followed this sensational debut with three paintings featured in his first New York gallery exhibition not long after. “I was the least-known artist in the show — some were selling art in the $100,000 to $1,000,000 price range! But all three of my paintings sold, and they offered me a follow-up solo show.” Hopkins now has representation in a New York gallery and his own paintings sell in excess of $10,000. It’s a long way from the $200 works he was unable to sell in a small gallery on Royal Street in downtown Mobile, paintings that barely kept his lights on, but he tries not to let success go to his head.
“I want people to know that they are enjoying this wonderful Gulf Coast culture now because of the people that came before. A lot of what we love about the Gulf Coast started back then, with these people.” – Andrew LaMar Hopkins
Above “Creole Kitchen Party” 20” x 16” acrylic on board
“It was a long road. This is certainly something I have worked hard for and earned.”
Work in Progress Hopkins has rented this new studio in the Vieux Carré so he can paint larger canvases in preparation for his next big New York Show. “My place in Treme doesn’t have the room,” he explains over tea. One look around the parlor filled with delicate French antiques, each of which he can relate the history and significance, makes it clear his passion for this bygone era runs deep. But this larger-than-life personality isn’t just living in the past. Every day for Hopkins is a balance of hard work and historical research with modern-day luxuries like Champagne, antiques and spectacular dress up. His daily mantra is “Creole right now, honey!” as he shares glimpses of his life with fans and art collectors around the world on his social media channels. By celebrating the lives of the people who came before us, the people who cemented our very culture, Hopkins is bringing a little bit of modern Gulf Coast flavor to the world. MB
september 2021 | mobilebaymag.com 55
text by CAINE O’REAR • photos by MATTHEW COUGHLIN
JAKE PEAVY’S
SECOND ACT HOW THE CY YOUNG AWARDWINNER AND TWO-TIME WORLD SERIES CHAMPION IS BUILDING A BETTER MOBILE THROUGH MUSIC. 56 mobilebaymag.com | september 2021
The pitcher’s mound at Yankee Stadium can feel like the loneliest place in the world. It’s a feeling Jake Peavy knows in his bones. A Mobile native and one of the most decorated professional athletes to ever come out of the Azalea City, Peavy wasn’t immune to the slings and arrows that come with being a big-league hurler, despite his many accolades. It’s midsummer, and we’re talking with the former pitcher in the mixing room at Dauphin Street Sound, the state-of-the-art studio in downtown Mobile that he and a team of local talent opened back in 2016.
september 2021 | mobilebaymag.com 57
Peavy is waxing about his days in the big leagues and what got him hooked on music in the first place. After winning titles with the Giants and Red Sox, the two-time World Series Champion retired from the game in 2016 after a 15-year professional career, but in his jeans and T-shirt, he still appears to be in fighting shape. “So here’s a picture of me going to Yankee Stadium and getting my butt kicked by the Yankees,” he continues with some animation. Peavy is a passionate storyteller; in fact, it’s clear after spending more than 10 minutes with him that he’s passionate about most anything he does. And while baseball may be a team sport, pitching is a solo act, and music became a way for him to unwind after three hours of hyper-focused intensity that, in the moment, felt like a matter of life and death. “It’s lonely on the mound, and it’s lonely with the press afterwards. It sucks leaving the stadium, getting on the bus, and then getting off the bus. And the last thing you’re going to do when you get to your hotel room is flip on the television and watch the sports channels and highlights.” When Peavy first got called up in 2002, most of his teammates were 10, 15, 20 years older than him. He couldn’t go out to bars with the team, so he ended up spending a lot of time in his room by himself. It was in this scenario that the St. Paul’s alumnus found a creative outlet through music. Padres third-base coach Tim Flannery liked to pick country tunes in the hotel stairwell after games, and it was Flannery who gave Peavy his first six-string. “I could sit in there, play that guitar
“
MUSIC TO ME IS THE CLOSEST MAN-MADE THING WE HAVE TO GOD. IT CAN MAKE YOU FEEL LIKE YOU FEEL WHEN YOU’RE STANDING OVER THE OCEAN OR SOMETHING. WATCHING, HEARING THOSE STORIES AND KNOWING WHAT THAT MOVEMENT WAS ABOUT, MY THOUGHT WAS, ‘I GOTTA BOTTLE THIS UP AND TAKE IT TO MOBILE.’
58 mobilebaymag.com | september 2021
”
and not think about how I got my ass kicked,” he laughs. Through the years, music became a sort of parallel obsession to baseball for number 44 (the same number worn by the late Mobilian Hank Aaron). He immersed himself in the scenes of each of the cities he called home over his decadeand-a-half career. It was a way to connect with the culture of a community. With the Padres, Peavy plugged into the singersongwriter scene of San Diego, a town that produced the likes of folk-pop star Jewel. With the White Sox in Chicago, he dove headlong into the blues, a period of musical fandom that rubbed off on his son Jacob, who is now deep into blues guitar. In Boston, the scene revolved more around rock and alternative. But it was in San Francisco and the Bay Area during his time with the Giants that Peavy first saw the power of music and how it can transform a community.
Grateful Dead Fan For someone who competes on the diamond with such ferocity, it’s surprising to learn that Peavy is, well, something of a hippie. During his years in San Francisco, he spent time with the clan of the Grateful Dead, America’s foremost jam band that emerged in the hothouse of the 1960s counterculture. He hung out — and sometimes jammed! — with Dead members Bob Weir, Phil Lesh and songwriter John Perry Barlow. He became something of a buddy to Steve Parrish, the bodyguard, gear guy and right-hand man of the late Jerry Garcia. When the holy grail of guitars, Tiger, was brought to a tribute concert so Garcia’s family and bandmates could spend time with the cherished memento, it was Peavy who arranged for its loan from Colts owner Jim Irsay, who had purchased it at an auction in 2002 for an ungodly sum. For Peavy, music has a spiritual dimension, and his love for it is as palpable as anyone this writer has met during his years in the music industry. “Going to San Francisco and talking with [those Dead guys], you realize music was the vehicle they were carrying the counterculture through,” he says, noting that he was extremely touched that they treated him like a peer and not just a fan. “Music to me is the closest man-made thing we have to God. It can make you feel like you feel when you’re standing over the ocean or something. Watching, hearing those stories and knowing what that movement was about, my thought was, ‘I gotta bottle this up and take it to Mobile.’” Before you break out the tie-dye and flare jeans, Peavy isn’t exactly talking about staging “Be-Ins” in Bienville Square, Summer of Love-style. He’s talking about building a musical infrastructure in downtown Mobile that can spur commerce, lifting all boats upon its basis. He’s talking about bridging economic and racial boundaries and engaging the youth of Mobile through music workshops, after-school instrument lessons and music business education seminars. He’s talking about making Mobile a music destination city with its own
JAKE PEAV Y AND KEYLAN LA XTON
singular culture — a brackish melting pot where blues, rock, country and hip-hop feed off one another with a synthesis like no other place in America.
Sounds Downtown Jake Peavy is a self-effacing guy. He stresses repeatedly throughout the interview that the studio and his other musical ventures (live venue Cedar Street Social Club and the former Ten Sixty Five music festival) are team efforts and he’s only a facilitator. His younger brother, Luke, helps manage his many projects and keeps the ship running. Peavy has spoken before about the importance of trust and having family involved with the business. As for the centerpiece of the whole operation, he says, Dauphin Street Sound could not have happened without the drive and vision of its chief engineer, Keylan Laxton. Peavy connected with Laxton through longtime friend and local musician Ben Jernigan when Laxton was working for Jade Entertainment, the studio that once existed in Dauphin Street Sound’s current location. Laxton says of the initial connection, “Ben said, ‘We’re going to take the bones that were Jade and pump it full of steroids and make it stand up against
the great studios in the world.’” Around this time, the team connected with Trina Shoemaker, the Grammy Award-winning producer and engineer who has made her home in Fairhope since 2005 when she and musician husband Grayson Capps were displaced from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Shoemaker comes from an analog, old-school style of production, while Laxton had cut his teeth more on the digital side of things. They salvaged wood from Peavy’s former ranch in Wilcox County and added cutting-edge technological features, creating two control rooms, four isolation booths and a live tracking room. The result of their collaboration is an original hybrid system that is now emulated in several other studios around the country. Now, Laxton works alongside house engineer Josh Daigrepont running the day-to-day operations, and in its six-year history, the business has seen its ups and downs. Like many other sectors of the American economy, the music industry has undergone dramatic change in the last decade, and everyone has had to adjust to survive. When the studio opened, the team was focused on producing blues-based rock and Americana acts. They have evolved from that marketing stance. “The mistake we started with was that we were not operating
september 2021 | mobilebaymag.com 59
with an open enough mind, and it was hindering our business model,” Peavy says. Back in the studio’s salad days, Peavy confesses that the team didn’t really understand the regional R&B and hiphop scene. Once they partnered with the right individuals in those genres, things got better. “It didn’t start to happen until we reassessed how inclusive we were being with our marketing and with everything it involved,” he says. “We now make sure everyone feels welcome. We don’t care what type of music you make.” Laxton says the cross-pollination of genres in the studio is where the magic’s been. He’s firm in his belief that there is no other market like Mobile’s and there is no other studio like Dauphin Street Sound. “When you go to these other bigger markets, [it’s usually], ‘This is a rock studio or a country studio.’ We do everything. And the great thing is seeing different artists come in and them running into someone who plays country guitar or blues guitar and all of a sudden he’s got a ‘Gold’ record.” Over the past year, the studio worked on two records that went on to be certified “Gold” by the RIAA and one that went “Platinum.” Big Sean and local hip-hop phenom Flo Milli, who is signed to RCA Records, landed the “Gold” records. The song “You’re Mines Still,” a remix collaboration between Mobile rapper Yung Bleu and international superstar Drake, was certified “Platinum” with more than 2 million units sold. “Not in my wildest dreams would I have thought we would have something go ‘Platinum,’” Laxton says. “You get behind your mission, and if you’re openminded enough, you hold on for the ride.” The actor Morgan Freeman, who lives near Fort Morgan for part of the year, is a regular client at the studio, recording voice-over tracks for commercials and films. It’s the only place he works when he’s down here. “That’s something that makes me happy,” Peavy says. With the studio running on firm ground, Peavy insists that he’s just getting started. The boy from Semmes knows that Mobile has often exported its creative 60 mobilebaymag.com | september 2021
“
I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS IS THE CITY’S DREAM. THIS ISN’T JUST MY DREAM. I WANT TO BE PART OF SOMETHING HAPPENING AT A HIGHER MOVEMENT … THIS HAS TAKEN SO MANY DIFFERENT SHAPES AND FORMS, AND I’M JUST TRYING TO ENJOY THE RIDE.
”
talent in the past, and he wants to change that. He wants this block on lower Dauphin Street to be the entertainment and musical hub for the town. He’s got bigger plans for Cedar Street Social Club, and there is talk of recreating a music festival somewhere down the road. Recently, his team opened a musical instrument store in the front of the studio called Mobtown Music. Some of the after-school music sessions and lessons will have a charitable component in connection with The Jake Peavy Foundation. He wants the youth of Mobile to feel that they don’t have to leave town to follow their dreams. “I want to make sure that this is the city’s dream. This isn’t just my dream. I want to be part of something happening at a higher movement … This has taken so many different shapes and forms, and I’m just trying to enjoy the ride,” Peavy says. Indeed, he seems to be enjoying himself, as well he should, for it’s been a long, strange, rewarding trip for number 44, going back 20 years to those empty hotel rooms, where it was just him, a chord book and a guitar. And as they say in Nashville, it all starts with a song. MB september 2021 | mobilebaymag.com 61
[MOBILE BAY MAGAZINE PRESENTS]
WE BUILT this
CITY
THIS SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION HIGHLIGHTS ENGINEERS, BUILDERS AND ARCHITECTS INTEGRAL TO THE INFRASTRUCTURE AND BEAUTIFUL COMMUNITIES IN MOBILE & BALDWIN COUNTIES.
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SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
INDUSTRIAL CONSTRUCTION
Ashton & Co.
A
Ashton and Company, Inc. was formed to match the nation’s best labor and processes with our world class customers. We are one of the only woman-owned, union contractors in south Alabama that specializes in the power industry, providing employment to, at times, over 250 local craftsmen. From craft labor through the executive levels, returning our workforce home safely is a core value at Ashton. Our target is zero, meaning zero harm to the employee, the environment and our customers’ facilities. We believe our employees are our most valuable asset, therefore we invest time and training to ensure all employees are thinking, planning and working safely.
ASHTON AND COMPANY
As a local company, Ashton is dedicated and passionate about giving back to the community. Not only do we strive to keep jobs in the local area so that residents can use their skill set and grow within our organization, we also provide support to many local area non-profit organizations, both with donations and our time. Ashton and Company supports many local programs, such as People for Care and Learning, FCA, Breast Cancer Awareness, Whatever Ministry and also partners with local churches and schools. At Ashton we value relationships, both with our employees and customers. Our mission is to perform for our customers the highest level of safe, quality construction services at fair and market competitive prices.
Ashton and Company is a woman-owned, union, direct hire contractor focusing on the demands of the heavy industrial environment. 1200-B Radcliff Road, Creola • 251-410-5600 • ashtonandco.com september 2021 | mobilebaymag.com 63
SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
“BCM MORRING IS A GREAT CONTRACTOR. THEIR MEN ARE PROFESSIONAL, SAFETY-MINDED AND HAVE A POSITIVE ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE WORK THEY ARE PERFORMING. I WOULD RECOMMEND BCM MORRING, AND I WILL USE THEM AGAIN.”
GENERAL CONTRACTORS + BUILDERS LISTEN. THINK. DELIVER.
BCMMorring Mooring BCM GENERAL CONTRACTORS + BUILDERS
- Kenneth L. Poe, Superintendent
F
Founded in 2009 by Grant H. Morring, BCM Morring Co. Inc. consistently proves that client commitment, project responsibility and honesty are still a reality in the construction industry. Whether providing general contracting, project management or subcontracting services, the company’s philosophy remains the same: Providing a unique, one-of-a-kind construction process designed around clients’ specific needs. This goal is met through a three-pronged approach: Listen. Think. Deliver. In a market saturated with promises, BCM Morring stands apart by delivering world-class projects, not the least of which include Mobile’s Field & Stream, Saad Healthcare’s Hospice Retreat and UTC Aerospace in Foley. Morring, BCM Morring president and U.S. Navy veteran, says, “I am committed to perfection and continue to educate myself and our employees in order to create a collaborative team environment.” He and his team, which has grown to more than 50 employees, give back to the community by donating time and materials to organizations in need.
BCM MORRING CO. INC.
AZTECAS RESTAURANT & CANTINA
BCM Morring Co. Inc. strives to be the most trustworthy and ethical general contracting service — period. 2956 Mill Street • 251-219-6902 • bcmmorring.com
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PHOTO BY CHAD RILEY
SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
Grant Morring, BCM Morring Co. Inc. president and Mobile Chamber “2019 Small Business of the Year” recipient
september 2021 | mobilebaymag.com 65
SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
Ben M. Radcliff Contractor, Inc. GENERAL CONTRACTING
B
Building strong for 65 years, Ben M. Radcliff Contractor, Inc., was founded in 1956 by Ben M. Radcliff Sr. Though he passed away in 2007, his talent and eye toward building the future earned him a 2017 posthumous induction into the ACG Construction Hall of Fame. As the company celebrates its 65th anniversary, Radcliff Sr.’s legacy remains, perhaps most poignantly through the renovation and construction of Barton Academy for Advanced World Studies. Originally built in 1836, Barton Academy served as the first public school in Alabama — it is also where Radcliff Sr. went to middle school. Construction of Barton Academy included renovation of all three floors, converting each floor into classrooms, teacher work rooms and administrative offices. A cafeteria was also renovated between the Yerby Building and Barton Academy. Barton Academy for Advanced World Studies opened August 2021, and is part of the Mobile County Public School System, serving grades six through nine.
BARTON ACADEMY FOR ADVANCED WORLD STUDIES
BEN M. RADCLIFF CONTRACTOR, INC. 3456 Halls Mill Road 251-666-7252 benradcliff.com
SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
Cooper Fence Co.
FENCING SERVICES
T
The professionals at Cooper Fence Company specialize in making clients’ dreams a reality. Whether you need fencing for privacy, property or equipment protection, or pool enclosure, Cooper Fence has a wide range of residential, commercial and industrial options, ensuring customers’ fencing needs are met. Contact Cooper Fence today to schedule a free estimate and on-site consultation. During this process, your questions are answered and the correct type of fence is determined. Installation comes with a one-year workmanship guarantee. Keep your property beautiful and secure with a fence from Cooper Fence Company. The right fence at the right price, built solid and built to last.
COOPER FENCE CO. 21333 State Highway 181, Fairhope 251-367-1980 cooperfence.net
PHOTOS COURTESY COOPER FENCE
september 2021 | mobilebaymag.com 67
SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
“COCHRAN BUILDERS, INC., COMPLETED MAJOR CONSTRUCTION AND UPDATES TO OUR HOME IN SPRING HILL, INCLUDING A KITCHEN REBUILD, NEW SUNROOM, NEW GARDEN COTTAGE AND MAJOR ROOF REPAIRS. WE CANNOT SAY ENOUGH GOOD THINGS ABOUT GEOFFREY AND JARED COCHRAN, THEIR SKILL, EFFICIENCY AND CONCERN FOR US PERSONALLY.” - Ray and Pamela Thompson
T
The mission of Cochran Builders, Inc. is and always has been to provide customers with the very best construction process. From design to move-in day, attention to detail is the standard. The men and women who represent Cochran Builders, Inc. are the very best at their trade in the surrounding area. In order to obtain the best results, Cochran Builders, Inc., only works on a couple projects at a time to enure the jobs are managed properly. This also allows for use of the same craftsmen on all the jobs, which results in delivery of the very best work. If you can dream it, the team of talented craftsmen can build it. Your home is your biggest investment, and when the build or renovation is complete, Geoffrey and Jared Cochran make sure the outcome is more stunning than words can describe.
COCHRAN BUILDERS, INC.
Cochran Builders, Inc. BUILDING AND RENOVATION
A local building and renovation company specializing in high-end architectural projects.
Spanish Fort • 251-423-9686 (Geoffrey) • 251-401-9059 (Jared) • cochranbuildersinc.com facebook.com/cochranbuilders • instagram.com/cochranbuilders 68 mobilebaymag.com | september 2021
SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
JARED COCHRAN AND GEOFFREY COCHRAN / PHOTO BY CHAD RILEY
september 2021 | mobilebaymag.com 69
SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
G.A. West
PHOTO COURTESY G.A. WEST
FULL-SERVICE CONSTRUCTION
G.A. WEST & CO., INC.
G
G.A. West & Co., Inc. is a full-service construction company, founded in 1987 to meet the demand for flexible, cost-effective construction, fabrication and maintenance service operations. We specialize in heavy industrial projects where commitment to safety, on-time completion and high-quality products are the standard. With a yearly average of over 1,100 employees, our company is one of the top 10 employers in the Mobile area and is the largest direct-hire contractor in the southern part of the state. G.A. West has three locations in Mobile County, encompassing 147 acres of land and over 250,000 square feet of warehouses, fabrication shops, docks, roll-off platforms, laydown yards and office space. G.A. West has the ability to provide concise and responsible support on a timely basis due to our history of concentration in the heavy industrial sector. Our ability to self-perform all major components, and the quality and vetting of all suppliers and subcontractors allows us to meet and exceed safety, quality and schedule goals that are key to successfully completing projects with compressed schedules. Furthermore, as an extensive equipment owner ranked 63rd in U.S. crane ownership, G.A. West is better positioned to control a project’s finish date. Throughout our extensive 34-year career within the diversified and everchanging construction/maintenance industry, we continue to maintain a competitive edge in providing services and products that will exceed our clients’ current and future needs. G.A. West is also a community leader, working to raise breast cancer awareness and supporting local organizations such as FCA, Ronald McDonald House, Mission of Hope, Wings of Life Recovery and Penelope House. G.A. West has also donated time, labor and supervision building and working on projects at various churches in the community, including Pathway Church and Destination Church.
G.A. West was formed in 1987 and specializes in heavy industrial projects where commitment to safety, on-time completion and high quality products are normal expectations. 1200 Radcliff Road, Creola • 251-679-1965 • gawest.com
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SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
J
JESCO, Inc.
JESCO’s greatest asset is the client-oriented, teamwork-driven spirit of its people and their dedication to the firm’s core values: Safety, Integrity, Passion & Commitment. JESCO Mobile is very active in the communities of both Mobile and Baldwin counties. At the center of every project is JESCO’s desire to make the Bay area the best it can be, all while supporting local trade partners and employing local people. Since its inception in 2006, JESCO has completed many of the highprofile projects you are familiar with in Mobile and Baldwin counties, some of which includes the $35 million renovation on The Grand Hotel, the most recent renovations to the Battle House & Riverveiw Plaza Hotel and several critical components of Hancock Whitney Stadium for the University of South Alabama. Additionally, JESCO was awarded Design-Build Packages for the ex-
CONSTRUCTION-ENGINEERING
pansion of Airbus’ Delivery Center and the on-site Canteen, located at Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley. The Delivery Center is the final stop for an aircraft being manufactured in Mobile. Here, the final testing and analysis are performed before the owner takes possession of the plane. The campus canteen serves as the hub for all employees on the Airbus Campus, allowing them to stay on property for meals and a place to congregate together. The “crowning jewel of JESCO Mobile,” says Melissa Horton, director of Corporate Development, is the recent completion of the terminal at the Downtown Airport. “Mobile’s Downtown Terminal was a major feather in our cap as a Mobile contractor. The completion of the project was the first step in what will be the future of Mobile, and to me, that is what this business is all about: Constructing tangible evidence of what Mobile can and will be for our future generations.”
AIRBUS DELIVERY CENTER
THE GRAND HOTEL
HANCOCK WHITNEY STADIUM
MOBILE DOWNTOWN AIRPORT
PHOTOS COURTESY JESCO
JESCO, INC.
JESCO brings to its clients over $1 billion worth of completed construction experience over the last five years in Construction-Engineering, Mechanical-Electrical, Industrial Services, Millwright-Maintenace and Steel Fabrication. jescoinc.net september 2021 | mobilebaymag.com 71
SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION
Rogers & Willard, Inc.
FORT CONDE VILLAGE
ROGERS & WILLARD, INC.
Rogers & Willard, Inc is recognized as a leading builder in the Southeast for diverse construction services. In business for 30 years, we have the experience to safely handle the most difficult projects, on strict timetables, on budget. 451 St. Louis Street • 251-479-2675 • rogerswillard.com
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SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
“WE DON’T JUST BUILD BUILDINGS, WE BUILD COMMUNITIES. ” – Mike Rogers, president, Rogers & Willard, Inc.
S
St. Louis Street. Does anyone remember what it looked like 10 years ago? Mike Rogers saw the “old automobile alley” as an opportunity. He had a vision to purchase the vacant and dilapidated Buick building and restore it to its 1920’s grandeur for use as his company’s headquarters. Through a detailed and passionate restoration effort, the building now looks better than ever and is being utilized to its full potential. Soon after, businesses, shops, breweries, restaurants and apartments began inhabiting St. Louis Street, proving that it only takes one person with a vision and passion to take the first step toward change, progress and improvement. Rogers & Willard has had the pleasure to work on a variety of projects
in downtown Mobile, including Innovation Portal, Precision Engineering, RSA Tower, Fort Conde Inn and more. They are also involved in revitalizing neighborhoods, revitalizing Downtown, partnering with Three Mile Creek and Heart of Mary School in downtown Mobile. Community involvement and charitable giving are central to Rogers & Willard. For the past five years, they have participated in The Summer Youth Employment Internship Program, which responds to the need for more local, summer employment opportunities for young adults, ages 17 to 24 years old. While they are a business, the team recognizes that the most important work they do is bringing people up in the community. “If we don’t build other people up with us as we move forward each day, Rogers says, “then we aren’t doing our job.”
THE BUICK BUILDING, BEFORE
THE BUICK BUILDING PHOTOS COURTESY TAD DENSON - AIRWIND
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SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
“WE ENDEAVORED TO CREATE A PROJECT THAT WOULD BEST SERVE AND PROMOTE THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF SOUTH ALABAMA’S MISSION, WHILE BUILDING ON THE REVITALIZATION THAT IS ONGOING DOWNTOWN.” – Abby Davis, Principal Architect, Interior Designer, LEED AP
Walcott Adams Verneuille
PHOTO BY CHAD RILEY
ARCHITECTURE INTERIORS
COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF SOUTH ALABAMA
WALCOTT ADAMS VERNEUILLE
T
The team of Walcott Adams Verneuille expertly combines architectural balance with superior workmanship, all while keeping an eye toward practicality. WAV’s talents have been recognized nationally, with homes featured on HGTV’s “Homes Across America” and in dozens of publications like Southern Living and Mobile Bay Magazine. Whether designing a home, church or corporate headquarters, WAV’s values lie in a unique mix of empathy and talent. This means clients’ concerns are addressed immediately and hassles are reduced through excellent communication and preparation. WAV is emotionally invested in the success of projects, believing the job of an architect is to provide peace of mind to clients. With decades of design experience and the talent of 20 dedicated team members, WAV looks forward to seeing how their designs can continue to evolve the architectural landscape of our community.
For more than 30 years, WAV has designed buildings for friends and neighbors across the Gulf Coast.
Fairhope: One South School Street • Gulf Studio: 1557 Gulf Shores Boulevard, 3rd Floor • 251-928-6041 • wavarchitects.com 74 mobilebaymag.com | september 2021
SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
WAS Design LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS
WAS DESIGN
MEDAL OF HONOR PARK
We design places that move people. Let’s get moving on something great. 256 Wacker Lane North • 251-344-4023 • was-design.com september 2021 | mobilebaymag.com 75
PHOTO BY CHAD RILEY
ALABAMA GULF COAST ZOO
PHOTO BY WATKINS
W
WAS Design was engaged to assist the Gulf Coast Zoo Foundation with design services for the relocation of the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo. The “Little Zoo that Could” overcame challenges beginning in 2004 with Hurricane Ivan. In 2007, a new, higherground 25-acre site was donated. The zoo is home to over 300 animals and, of that, 22 are endangered species. Big cats, hoof stock, primates, exotic birds, and more call the zoo home. Guests can see the animals in their exhibits, interact with animals at the petting zoo and in ‘Encounter’ opportunities, and see shows where the animals are in starring roles. Located just 6 miles from the beach, the zoo has many other attractions to enjoy, including a restaurant, carousel, zipline and playground. And speaking of playgrounds, as landscape architects, WAS Design worked closely with the City of Mobile to design several recreational components of the 132-acre Medal of Honor Park that provides a diversity of recreational facilities and opportunities. One of the newest recreational components of Medal of Honor Park is the transportation-themed “Playground Express.” This outdoor play environment is designed to accommodate age groups 2 to 5, 5 to 12 and toddlers. Each area consists of custom play equipment, shade structures, safety surfacing, decorative fencing, seated areas and entry portal. The playground is designed to promote physical, emotional, social and intellectual skills. The nearby “Sprayground Express” compliments “Playground Express.” This dynamite stand-alone water playground has a spiral wave theme with below ground water features consisting of water sprays, gushers, jets and misters providing a variety of “cool” and imaginative water fun for all age groups. Other features of the splash pad include shade structures, seating areas, seat walls, decorative fencing, colored spray decking and entry portal. WAS Design is honored to be part of the design team advocating open public spaces that move and connect people to nature and help improve the “Quality of Life” in our community.
EXTRAS | CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Thirty Days Hath September! GULF COAST CLASSIC DOG SHOW / PHOTO BY MATTHEW COUGHLIN
SEPTEMBER 3
THROUGH SEPTEMBER 6
THROUGH DECEMBER 31
COSMOS 2021: ADVENTURE INTO THE UNKNOWN This experience highlights humans’ journey into the cosmos.
GORDON PARKS: SEGREGATION STORY IN MOBILE, 1956 Photos document everyday activities of one Black family during segregation.
EXPLOREUM SCIENCE CENTER EXPLOREUM.COM
MOBILE MUSEUM OF ART MOBILEMUSEUMOFART.COM
FAIRHOPE FIRST FRIDAY ART WALK 6 - 8 p.m. Merchants and galleries stay open late to highlight the art community. DOWNTOWN FAIRHOPE ESARTCENTER.ORG
SEPTEMBER 4 LABOR DAY CELEBRATION & FIREWORKS Wrap up summer and celebrate Labor Day weekend with an epic fireworks show. OWA • VISITOWA.COM
SEPTEMBER 4 SATURDAYS AT THE COOP 6 - 11 p.m. Enjoy a variety of food trucks, local vendors and live music. COOPER RIVERSIDE PARK • MOBILE.ORG
SEPTEMBER 5 DAUPHIN ISLAND SUNDAY SUNSET CONCERT 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. Enjoy the Bay breeze while listening to the tunes of Jonesy’s Crowned Jewelz. WEST END BEACH • ESCHAMBER.COM
SATURDAYS, SEPTEMBER 11 THROUGH OCTOBER 30 ISLAND MOVIE NIGHTS Evoke a sense of nostalgia at this free, family-friendly series. ISLAND AMPHITHEATER, DOWNTOWN OWA VISITOWA.COM
FRIDAYS THROUGH NOVEMBER 26 STREETS ALIVE! 6 - 10 p.m. Dauphin Street will be closed to cars to allow for dining, shopping and strolling in the street. LODA ARTS DISTRICT DOWNTOWNMOBILE.ORG
THROUGH DECEMBER 31 HISTORY OF MOBILE IN 22 OBJECTS Twenty-two unexpected and compelling objects weave together over 300 years of Mobile history, from the pre-Colonial era to the 21st-century port. HISTORY MUSEUM OF MOBILE HISTORYMUSEUMOFMOBILE.COM
SEPTEMBER 2 CHRIS TOMLIN IN CONCERT 7 p.m. Contemporary Christian music singer Chris Tomlin performs with special guests Kari Jobe and Bethel Music. THE WHARF • ALWHARF.COM
SEPTEMBER 7 ANDRA BOHNET, USA FACULTY FLUTE RECITAL 7:30 p.m. Flautist Andrea Bohnet will be joined by guest artists Katie Ott, harp, and Mary Helen Harper, cello. USA LAIDLAW RECITAL HALL SOUTHALABAMA.EDU/COLLEGES/MUSIC
SEPTEMBER 8 ART TALK: SCOTTY E. KIRKLAND 6 p.m. An evening lecture with Alabama historian Scotty E. Kirkland about Gordon Parks and local Civil Rights history. USA LAIDLAW PERFORMING ARTS CENTER MOBILEMUSEUMOFART.COM
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SEPTEMBER 8 & 9
WHISKEY MYERS IN CONCERT 8 p.m. The American Southern rock/ country group rocks the stage twice. THE WHARF AT THE PORT • ALWHARF.COM
SEPTEMBER 8 - 12 GULF COAST CLASSIC DOG SHOW Times vary. The Mobile Kennel Club celebrates its 100th anniversary. THE GROUNDS GULFCOASTCLASSICDOGSHOW.ORG
SEPTEMBER 9 SHOW OPENING: JOY GARDNER’S “ROOTED IN SOUTHERN LANDSCAPE” 5 - 9 p.m. Experience a new body of work by artist and Mobile-native Joy Gardner. SOPHIELLA GALLERY SOPHIELLAGALLERY.COM
SEPTEMBER 9 GRACE KIM, USA FACULTY VIOLIN RECITAL 7:30 p.m. Grace Kim will be joined by USA faculty pianist Robert Holm and guest artist cellist Jared Cooper. LAIDLAW RECITAL HALL SOUTHALABAMA.EDU/COLLEGES/MUSIC
SEPTEMBER 9 - 11 BULLS ON THE BEACH Cowboys riding live bulls will try to hold on for the longest 8 seconds of their lives. FLORA-BAMA • FLORABAMA.COM
SEPTEMBER 10 LODA ARTWALK 6 - 9 p.m. This free monthly event showcases Mobile’s visual, performing and culinary arts community. LODA ARTS DISTRICT MOBILEARTS.ORG
SEPTEMBER 10 - 26 “BIG FISH” 7:30 p.m. F, Sa. 2 p.m. Su. Dive into CCT’s season with this heartwarming musical tale. CHICKASAW CIVIC THEATRE CCTSHOWS.COM
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SEPTEMBER 11 BLACK TIE BINGO This fundraiser supporting kids with cancer, features a silent auction, food, drinks, free bingo games and prizes. IZENSTONE, SPANISH FORT BERRYSTRONGFOUNDATION.COM
SEPTEMBER 11 1ST ANNUAL ODD BALL BENEFIT FOR LGS OVARIAN CANCER RESEARCH 6 - 10 p.m. Attendees will dine, dance and participate in an online auction. MALAGA INN DOWNTOWNMOBILE.ORG/EVENTS
SEPTEMBER 12 BRENTANO STRING QUARTET 3 p.m. The quartet introduces “Dido Reimagined .” LAIDLAW PAC • MOBILECHAMBERMUSIC.ORG
SEPTEMBER 14 PROVIDENCE FOUNDATION CHARITY GOLF CLASSIC Experience a great day of golf and help a great cause, Camp Bluebird. STEELWOOD COUNTRY CLUB PROVIDENCEHOSPITALFOUNDATION.ORG
SEPTEMBER 14 ARIE VANDEWAA, USA FACULTY TROMBONE RECITAL 7:30 p.m. Musical works by Cage, Creston, Pugh, Raum and Still. LAIDLAW RECITAL HALL SOUTHALABAMA.EDU/COLLEGES/MUSIC
SEPTEMBER 17 CHRISTOPHER CROSS 8 p.m. The GRAMMY award winner’s tour celebrates his life’s journey. MOBILE CIVIC CENTER MOBILECIVICCTR.COM
SEPTEMBER 18 THE BLACK JACKET SYMPHONY PRESENTS PINK FLOYD’S “THE WALL” 8 p.m. Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” played in its entirety by handpicked musicians. MOBILE CIVIC CENTER MOBILECIVICCTR.COM
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SEPTEMBER 18 34TH ANNUAL ALABAMA COASTAL CLEANUP Spend the day removing trash from our Gulf Coast waterways. MOBILE AND BALDWIN COUNTIES ALABAMACOASTALCLEANUP.COM
SEPTEMBER 18 CHRIS STAPLETON IN CONCERT The country crooner will be joined by special guests, The Marcus King Band and Yola. THE WHARF AMPHITHEATER • ALWHARF.COM
SEPTEMBER 19 JIMMY BUFFETT Jimmy Buffet and the Coral Reefer Band remind us it’s 5 o’clock somewhere. THE WHARF AMPHITHEATER ALWHARF.COM
SEPTEMBER 19 POWERLINES POETRY 4 p.m. PowerLines Poetry will perform original work inspired by MMofA’s exhibition, Gordon Parks: Segregation Story in Mobile, 1956. GULFQUEST • MOBILEMUSEUMOFART.COM
SEPTEMBER 21 ARCHDUKE PIANO TRIO 7:30 p.m. Music will include works from the Classic and Romantic eras. LAIDLAW RECITAL HALL SOUTHALABAMA.EDU/COLLEGES/MUSIC
SEPTEMBER 25 14TH ANNUAL GO RUN 8 a.m. Proceeds from the 5K and 1-mile fun run benefit gynecologic cancer research at USA Health MCI. USA CAMPUS, MOULTON TOWER USAHEALTHSYSTEM.COM/EVENTS/GO-RUN
SEPTEMBER 30 FALL CONCERT 7 p.m. Bring a chair and enjoy the free concert. MEDAL OF HONOR PARK THEMOBILEPOPS.COM
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HISTORY | ARCHIVES
A History of Mobile in 22 Objects A dynamic work of art captures the true, tragic tale of the Werneth family and reminds us just how much hurricanes have shaped the city’s identity. photos courtesy HISTORY MUSEUM OF MOBILE
BRUCE LARSEN SCULPTURE,
THE HURRICANE OF 1906 text by BRECK PAPPAS
C
ome September, the height of hurricane season, the lingering possibility of a storm is never far from the mind of a Mobilian. It surely would have occupied a place in the mind of Lice Werneth who, in the ninth month of 1906, was vacationing at his family’s summer home in Coden, in south Mobile County. At a time before meteorological technologies, storm clouds might mean an afternoon thunderstorm, or might mean something far more ominous. Alongside his wife, mother-in-
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law, and two daughters, Werneth would’ve gazed at the darkening skies, wondered at the gathering clouds — then trembled at the rising waters. When the storm surge reached the front door, the Werneth family piled into a skiff and set off for higher ground, but they wouldn’t get far. Capsized by a wave, the boat emptied its passengers into the angry waters. Werneth’s wife and mother-in-law disappeared beneath the surface. Somehow, the father managed to escape to an oak tree with his infant daughter in his arms before a strong wave separated the two. Una Werneth, the elder Werneth daughter, watched helplessly from the safety of another tree as her father struggled, and failed, to recover the infant in the raging storm. Only Una and a sixteen-year-old companion, Cal Williams, would survive to relate the tragic loss of the Werneth family. The Hurricane of 1906 wrought incred-
ible destruction, damaging nearly every building in Mobile and claiming the lives of approximately one hundred people in south Mobile County. The cold indifference of the storm and the tragic tale of the Werneth family is poignantly portrayed in an installation by artist Bruce Larsen. The interactive sculpture invites viewers to crank a handle at its base, setting the entire scene in motion. As the handle makes a full rotation, the storm’s waves rise and fall, bringing father and daughter painfully close before wrenching them apart all over again. Some might be able to list the years of early storms in the city’s history: 1906, 1916, 1926. (Hurricanes were not named until 1953.) But everyone has heard the names: Camille (1969), Frederic (1979), Ivan (2004), Katrina (2005). In Mobile, hurricanes are more than just an inconvenient reality of life on the Gulf Coast.
They are immovable landmarks in the city’s psyche, often doubling as reliable markers of time. “We bought this house after Camille,” you might hear. Or, “I moved to Mobile right before Frederic.” Mother Nature is, and always has been, an equal opportunity offender, blowing right past the invisible lines of race, age, and income; rarely does one feel more connected to fellow Mobilians than in bracing for a storm’s impact. But what is truly remarkable is that the shared experience of hurricanes transcends not just social distinctions, but generations. If swept up and magically transported to a dinner table in any century of the city’s past, the subject of hurricanes is one of the few in which you would be certain to find common ground (aside, of course, from Mardi Gras). That’s because some sensations know no decade: the dread felt about the possibility of a storm, the eerie stillness felt within its eye, the vulnerability felt beneath its rotation. Of course, there are some things about the early 19th-century experience of hurricanes that we, in the modern era, could never fully appreciate. Within the long history of the city, the technology to predict and give advance warning of a storm is a relatively recent development. It is hard now to imagine the constant state of apprehension that once accompanied hurricane season or the fear that every summer shower might just be the outer bands of some destructive monster. Such was the case on July 4, 1916, when hundreds of Mobilians lined Government Street to celebrate Independence Day. Within twentyeight hours, the city was under the assault of a nearly twelve-foot storm surge, the highest ever recorded in Mobile. (Somehow, only four Alabamians were killed in the Hurricane of 1916.) Today, hurricane memories range from the traumatic to the nostalgic. For every story of tragedy and property loss, there is an anecdote of mischief and hurricane parties. But stories like that of the Wer-
Top In the aftermath of the 1906 hurricane, people gathered to survey the damage near the waterfront on Commerce Street (originally east of Water Street) at Dauphin Street. Opposite page and left Local artist Bruce Larsen created and installed this sculpture at the Press-Register production building on Water Street. It is one of 30 works commissioned during Mobile’s tricentennial celebration. OBJECT ON LOAN FROM ALABAMA MEDIA GROUP
neth family — a family that, in the 21st century, would have had ample warning to move out of the storm’s path — remind us of the precarious nature of life on the Gulf Coast. Living in a place where water and wind shape the landscape by the hour is a healthy reminder that everything, even the ground beneath our feet, is temporary. And despite our Doppler radars and 24-hour news channels, Mother Nature is still good for a surprise every now and then. We would be smart not to get too big for our britches. MB
“A History of Mobile in 22 Objects” by various authors. Available for purchase at the History Museum of Mobile and at shoppmtpub.com. Released in conjunction with the History Museum of Mobile exhibit, this photo-heavy 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.
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THE ARTS | LITERATURE
Rick Bragg and “The Speckled Beauty” In a touching — and at times hilarious — phone call, the Southern writer discusses loss, his fried chicken philosophy and a new book about his downright “terrible” dog. interview by BRECK PAPPAS
T
he first thing one does upon planning to interview Rick Bragg is to try and get face-to-face with the Pulitzer Prizewinning author. Interviews are more fun in person, we explained over email. Plus, it’d be nice to scratch Speck behind the ears. “Speck don’t travel well,” Bragg said from his farm in northeast Alabama. “He tries to eat the truck.” Speck, who Bragg found as a half-blind, half-starved stray on the mountain ridge behind his home, has no way to defend himself against such slights and accusations. But even if just half of Bragg’s stories in his new book “The Speckled Beauty” are true, Speck is undeniably, irrefutably, hand-on-the-bible not a good boy — and Bragg loves him for it. Writing, or as Bragg describes it, “the practice of leaning one word against the other so that they don’t all fall down,” has helped the author navigate the twists and turns of life. Now, he’s got a dog for that.
Well, it’s always a good day when we get to talk about a new Rick Bragg book. You wrote in the introduction to “The Speckled Beauty” that you’ve always wanted to write a book about a dog, and it sounds like you’ve had a lot of them over the years. What was it about Speck? The only way to write a dog book is to read a lot into the dog, ‘cause dogs don’t give very good quotes.
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Above Author Rick Bragg with his dog Speck, the subject of his new book. PHOTO BY MEREDITH BRAGG
Or maybe I’m not listening good. But I’ve never seen a dog so capable of just making life better. I guess all dogs do. I guess all dogs in the worst of times come up and lay there, head on your knee, and life just gets better. But Speck is different. Speck can determine when he walks into the room who needs him the most. And at varying times, it was me and my mama. And, of course, when my brother Sam got really sick, Speck knew that instinctively and kind of just abandoned me and glued himself to Sam. Because he figured out who needed him the most. Dog people tell me that that is just usual, that’s just what happens with a good dog, but I haven’t had a dog of my own — just my dog. There have been family dogs, a lot of really great family dogs, but this is the one I went and got, you know? I went and got him on that mountain when he was starving to death, so he’s mine. We were saddened to hear about the death of your brother Sam in April. Like many readers, we felt we knew him personally through your stories. There are plenty of wonderful “Sam moments” in this book — which is your favorite? There are some that I’ll always remember. One of my happiest memories in this book stems back to an incident that occurred before we knew Sam was sick and I could still get mad at him. I don’t think people understand what a great luxury it is to be able to get mad at somebody, you know? But in the book’s introduction, I wrote about the day I came home, and Sam started telling me why Speck was in dog jail. He just started this litany of things the dog had done: peed on the tractor, peed on Mama’s flowers, run the cats, stole the cats’ food, cats flyin’ everywhere, chased the donkeys ‘round and ‘round in a
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circle and don’t think he even knew where he was taking ‘em. And just one thing after another, after another, after another — and just this disdain in his voice for the dog. My dog. Then a few years go by, and Sam’s sitting outside with one big hand on the dog’s head, kind of at peace in a bad time. And that just made it a little better. Did any classic dog literature inspire how you approached telling the story of Speck? Well, the first thing I did — and I shouldn’t have done it — was I went back and re-read “My Dog Skip” by Willie Morris, which was a simple, happy and delightful story about a boy and his dog. It was not about an old gimpy man and his dog. It was about a boy and his dog and the joy that that brings. There was just this happiness there. I don’t mean this to sound arrogant, but the prettiest writing in the book is just a simple paragraph where I say, “A boy should have had this dog, a tireless, terrible, indestructible boy. Every bang of the screen door would have been the start of a great race. Think of the mud puddles, alone. Think of the adventures. The days would flash by, time would catch fire.” And I think that regret over being an old man with a dog like this is probably the truest thing in the book. During the year, when you’re teaching writing in Tuscaloosa, where is Speck? I get the feeling neither of you particularly like being apart for too long. I’m in northeast Alabama at the farm with Speck most of the time, and I commute over to Tuscaloosa to teach. Someday, I hope to commute down to my place in Fairhope and spend some time again, if I can remember the way. Any food you really miss down this way? I’ve eaten a lot of lunches at a place out on Highway 32 in Fairhope called Saraceno’s. They have fresh vegetables and good fried chicken. I tell myself that really, really, really good fried chicken is actually not bad for you. Only bad fried chicken is really bad for you.
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But Speck’s not much of a traveler? No. Quite frankly, he knows that if he gets in the car, he’s going to the vet. Remember those old cartoons where you’re trying to move a dog or cat and they’ll put one leg on each side of the window seal or doorframe — he’s like that! But coming home from the vet, he just hops in there like a show dog. He knows that coming home it’s treats, Greenies, pats on the head, my mama telling him what a good boy he was, what a good brave boy. Speck’s part Australian Shepherd, and I read in a book that they’re supposed to be as smart as their owners. I know damn sure he’s smarter than I am.
not ever gonna have to fight for a bite to eat. You’re not ever gonna have to fight for a place to stay. All you have to do is live.” If I could get him to understand that … because I think he knows I love him. I think he knows that. What do you think Speck would say back? He would probably tell me, “Well, dumbass, shouldn’t it be clear what I want? I want a Greenie or a Milk-Bone or both. I want some people food because whatever scientist said that people food is bad for dogs didn’t discuss it with dogs. I want some scrambled eggs, and
On the subject of intelligence, or better yet wisdom, do you think there’s anything we can learn from our dogs? It’s funny, you can raise your voice to this happy, ridiculous, brain-dead tone, saying, “Who’s a good boy?!” and a dog will pop around, and you think, That’s just the dumbest creature on the planet. But how does a dog walk into a room and know where the deepest well of sadness is? I don’t think we’ll ever know exactly why they do what they do, but the one thing I’m absolutely certain of is that they are a tuning fork for sadness. If you could talk with Speck for 30 seconds, and he could understand you, what would you tell him? I would get right in front of his face, and I would tell him, number one, stay away from the barbed wire. He runs full tilt toward the barbed wire, chasing cats, deer, turkey; he runs wide open at it and ducks at the last second. This is a one-eyed dog. So I would tell him, first of all, just be careful. Second, I would tell him that he doesn’t have to fret every time I walk out the door or every time I get in my pickup. I have to tell him every time, “I’ll be right back, I’ll be right back.” If I’m going to the airport, I’ll tell him that I’ll be gone a day or two and, oh, he’s just heartbroken and dismayed. He’s tried to crawl into a town car and then herd it back up the driveway. I’d just tell him, “Look, buddy, you’re not ever gonna be left alone again. You’re
the answer is pretty easy. I always thought I had something to say about the people where I grew up. There seemed to be an appetite for that that did not wane. But I can’t write about my people in a long-form book anymore. Maybe someday I’ll be able to write about Sam ... I realize now with a certain amount of shame that I often wrote about death as a new adventure, as a drama, and that’s just not what it is. It’s just a damn awful, black, miserable pit. And I don’t think I can try to write pretty about people as close to me as my brother. So, what do you do then? Well, I guess you do a novel. And you’ll try to do a novel that contains things you know something about. I’ve always wanted to step outside the foothills of the Appalachians and write about the Coast — write about those rivers that snake through those green tunnels down there, where you’re just as likely to see an alligator as a bull shark. Write about the struggle of living and dying among working people down there. I don’t know them down there the way I know the people up here. I didn’t grow up with them, but I think as a scene, as a scene, I would love to tackle the Coast. I’ve always been fascinated with white sand and blue water, but down there, on that side of Mobile Bay, there’s a murk to it. There’s a murk to the water, and you just wonder about all the things that are hidden by that murk. So yeah, I think I could probably pull a novel out of that somehow.
I want you to run out in the yard and play with me like I’m a puppy and you’re not a decrepit, broke-down, old, gimpy man.” Once the book is released, how do you think Speck will react to all the new attention? He’s a little bit of a ham. If rolling over on his back and pretending to swim upside-down will get somebody to laugh, he’ll do it. So there’s no telling what kind of monster we will create.
Well, we appreciate you taking the time to answer our questions, Rick. We didn’t mean to keep you for this long. This is my fault entirely. I guess the bottom line is, I don’t know when to shut up when it comes to talking about Speck. He may not be the best friend I’ve ever had, but he’s the most constant one. He’s the one that I needed the most right now. And I’m really lucky that he chose our mountain. MB
Do you already have your next project in mind? Everyone asks, and I’m grateful that they do ask, why I haven’t done a novel, and
Rick Bragg’s “The Speckled Beauty,” set for release on September 21, will be available for purchase at The Haunted Book Shop in Mobile and Page & Palette in Fairhope.
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THE ARTS | LITERATURE
Walking the Social Tightrope For manners-conscious folks like writer Audrey McDonald Atkins, the World Wide Web is a perplexing place. excerpt from the book THEY CALL ME OR ANGE JUICE by AUDREY MCDONALD ATKINS
I
remember Granny Mac coming home from the Eastern Star and saying, “I saw that Minnie Lee, and she didn’t say hello, kiss my foot, ner nuthin’!” Snubbed she was, snubbed! The social protocol had not been followed. She had not been acknowledged. It was easy then to identify when one had been given the brush-off. Social etiquette was clear — in part because there were vastly fewer considerations when tiptoeing one’s way through societal folkways and mores and also because the rules were plain. You spoke politely to your friends and acquaintances. You wrote your notes. You brought an appropriate covered dish or small gift. It was easy. Nowadays the social guidelines are fuzzy at best and downright obscure at worst. There are an infinite number of things to consider. Is it appropriate to send a thank you email? A thank you tweet? Maybe just a “TY” and a smiley face? Do I follow with a written note? What if I just add a few more exclamation points? It’s so tiresome to have to find a stamp. What if your tweet or post is not replied to? Do your friends suddenly hate you? Are they ignoring you? Was it what they had for lunch? Am I obliged to comment on everything? What if I never comment? Then I’ll be out of the feed/loop/know. Is that really all that bad? Why was Betty’s friend request accepted and not mine? Really now … Betty? What’s wrong with me? It was probably just a glitch in the system. Maybe she meant to click on my friend/ follow request and hit Betty’s by accident. Who would want to be friends with Betty anyway? Her macaroni and cheese comes out of a box. Tramp. On the proverbial flip side, am I obligated to be “friends” with more people than just my real, live, honest-to-goodness friends? Is my boss my friend? Do I really want my boss to know all about
my girl’s weekend in Destin? Or how about the creepy guy from high school/the mail room/the corner store? I don’t want to be his friend, but I don’t really want to make him mad either. Then there are the pictures. There’s the party I wasn’t invited to but all my friends were or, conversely, I got to go to, but they didn’t! Even if I don’t post pictures, what if someone else does? Do you even always know when your picture is being taken? And why in the world did Emogene post that shot of me where I was all shiny? My God, what is she trying to do to me? I didn’t post the one of her where her bra strap was hanging out … just wait, Emogene. And whilst I am sure none of my dear readers are given to philandering, don’t dare be somewhere you’re not supposed to be with someone you’re not supposed to be with! You don’t have to be a celebrity nowadays to find your collective mug on the worldwide web in flagrante delicto. Births, deaths, marriage, divorce, adoption, cohabitation, breakup — happy news, sad news, no news … it’s all out there. But do you really want to find out about the death of a relative or a friend’s divorce right after reading the daily lunch specials posted by the taco truck? What if your boyfriend suddenly changes his status to “it’s complicated” when you thought you were fixing to change yours to “engaged”? And who knew my cousin’s brother-in-law’s stepdad’s girlfriend was the leader of Republicans for Wicca? My aunt took up belly dancing? My great-uncle collects dolls? Was that who I think it was on that float dressed like Carmen Miranda? Should I make a mention? Ignore it? Can’t wait for Thanksgiving this year! It really is all too much for the manners-conscious to bear. The slights! The provocations! The ramifications! Where does it all end? Best to remember the old adage: If you can’t say something nice, stay off the internet and come sit by me. 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
Is it true that a Delchamps was located on Conti Street in midtown Mobile? text by TOM MCGEHEE
The much-lamented chain of grocery stores traced its beginnings to a small building at the intersection of Texas and Bayou streets. Alfred Delchamps had previously worked in the Chickasaw shipyards during World War I and, with less than $1,000, started the business in 1921. Alfred’s younger brother, Ollie, soon joined him, and they moved into larger quarters at 450 Canal Street, followed by a second location at the intersection of Broad Street and Springhill Avenue. The grocery business was rapidly changing in 1920s America. For generations, customers entered a market and stepped up to a counter where an order was given to a clerk. The customer would stand there until the items had been retrieved, and then the clerk would wait on the next customer in line. On Fridays after the weekly paychecks had been cashed, it was not unusual for a line to stretch out the market’s door as late as 11 p.m. as each customer requested the items they needed as well as five cents of this or 10 cents worth of that. As cities grew following World War I, this process had to change. The result was the revolutionary idea of the self-serve grocery store.
A Pair of Firsts In 1928, the Delchamps brothers opened the first supermarket in Alabama at 660 St. Louis Street at Washington Avenue. It was fully self-service with the exception of the meat counter. By the following year, there were six Delchamps locations around town,
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stretching from Canal Street to Upham Street, back when the city limits were at Florida Street. The Midtown building on Conti Street (not to be confused with the Downtown street of the same name) opened its doors in 1931 and had the distinction of being the first air-conditioned supermarket in Mobile. Unlike the St. Louis Street location, which was constructed of brown brick and had no architectural ornament, the Conti Street location was finished in a tan-colored brick with classical detailing around the entrance and roofline. Another reason for this building’s unique appearance may stem Above Few would recognize this unique Midtown building as having been built to house an early Delchamps grocery store. It adjoins the former residence of founder Alfred Delchamps. PHOTO COURTESY TOM MCGEHEE
from the fact that Alfred and his siblings lived together on nearby Hannon Avenue at the time. Within two years, Alfred had married, and he and his wife, Lucille, built the Colonial Revival home at 101 Houston Street, which backed up to the grocery store on Conti Street. Both are constructed of the same brick.
Expansion and Bust By 1941, Delchamps promoted the concept of having “a modern, well-equipped store in almost every neighborhood in Mobile.” They had two locations in the booming new town of Prichard, as well as 10 stores around Mobile and another in Pensacola. Alfred and Lucille’s residency on Houston Street was a short one. By this time, they had moved next door to brother Ollie in a subdivision still synonymous with the Delchamps name: Delwood. Mobile burst at the seams during the Second World War, and by 1953, the chain had vacated the Conti Street location for a new store on Government Street at the Loop. Looking back, the 1931 store does not appear to have had a parking lot, and this may well have added to the decision. Ralph’s Grocery operated briefly in this location before a dental supply company moved into the building. Since 1988, the former grocery store at 1755 Conti Street has been home to Soundworks, Inc., an audio productions studio catering to advertising agencies and film companies. That firm has preserved the character of an unusual Midtown building with an interesting history. The hugely successful Delchamps chain of grocery stores expanded over the years to include 118 locations. It lasted until 1997 when it was sold to Jitney Jungle and was a casualty of that firm’s subsequent bankruptcy. MB
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END PIECE | BACKSTORY
Peace, Love and Warriors Photo courtesy Mobile Press Register Collection, The Doy Leale McCall Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of South Alabama
“‘One, two, three, four, five — Davidson High don’t take no jive … Immediately after these nine girls were selected, they began practice. The University of Tennessee provided a cheerleading workshop where the girls learned new cheers and chants … Using their limber bodies and rhythmic cheers, the cheerleaders aroused that ‘good ‘ole Warrior spirit’ in nearly every student.” – from the pages of the 1976 “Toshoa,” W.P. Davidson High School’s yearbook
AH, AUGUST 1975 … The students of W.P. Davidson High School were heading back to school in the newly air-conditioned buildings (a feature added in the early ’70s), with “Jive Talkin’” by the Bee Gees or “Get Down Tonight” by KC and the Sunshine Band keeping time on the radio. Keeping students pumped up during games, however, was the job of the nine varsity cheerleaders pictured below. Their uniforms are a stark contrast from today’s more functional fit. Gone are the buttonup collared blouses, knee-length skirts and hard, rubber-soled saddle shoes. Also gone are some of the decade’s popular hangouts, such as Skatehaven, Cue Club No. 2, Dipper Dan’s Ice Cream, TG&Y and Tony’s Pizza. But what’s far from faded is the Warrior spirit and familial vein that runs deep in the heart of Davidson’s graduates, best summed by Edwina Strange Rolison, whose husband and four children graduated from her alma mater. She comments in the Facebook group, Mobile Nostalgia for Old Folks and Young, “Hopefully my grandchildren will also graduate from Davidson.” [1975 SEASON]
Top row, left to right: Taloria Edwards, senior; Cynthia McPherson, senior; Jamie Jordan, junior. Middle row, left to right: Shelly Griffin, junior; Darlene Smith, junior; Darcey Shuford, senior. Bottom row, left to right: Susy Seale, senior, captain; Pam Hanneman, senior, co-captain, Rose Burch, senior
Davidson Football Head Coach:
John Sklopan (3rd season)
Sept. 5 @ Fairhope, L, 6-13 Sept. 11 vs. Blount, W, 20-7 Sept. 18 vs. Shaw, W, 20-13 Sept. 25 @ Bay Minette, L, 0-26 Oct. 3 vs. McGill-Toolen, W, 7-6 Oct. 10 vs. B.C. Rain, L, 8-32 Oct. 17 vs. Murphy, L, 0-24 Oct. 24 vs. M. G. M., L, 14-15 Oct. 31 at Vigor, W, 27-12 Nov. 6 vs. Theodore, W, 21-12 Class 4A Regional 1 Standings (Area Record) Murphy, 7-0 Davidson, 5-2 McGill-Toolen, 5-2 Shaw, 4-3 Mary Montgomery, 4-6 Theodore, 4-6 Vigor, 1-5 Blount, 0-7
10
The day in May 1975 the Junior-Senior prom was held at Ft. Whiting — the theme was “Together”
1963
Year Davidson High School graduated its first class
1,500
Number of students Davidson High School can accommodate
36
Acres on which Davidson High School’s campus sits
Are you pictured in this photo? Do you have great memories from Davidson? Let us know! Email ahartin@pmtpublishing.com. 90 mobilebaymag.com | september 2021
92 mobilebaymag.com | march 2021