Mobile Bay THE LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE FOR MOBILE AND BALDWIN COUNTIES
September 2018
THE ARTS ISSUE
PIGSKIN KICKOFF
Easy Game Day Eats for a Crowd
Redneck Fishing with
HOWELL RAINES
THE TIN MAN Folk Artist Leroyal
INSIDERS/ OUTSIDERS
ANN HEARIN and the Landmark Concert of Opera’s Renée Fleming
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CONTENTS | VOLUME XXXIV / ISSUE 9
SEPTEMBER 2018 40
Raines’ Way
On the 25th anniversary of “Fly Fishing Through the Midlife Crisis,” Howell Raines remembers fishing from days past.
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The Tin Man One folk artist’s homestead offers insights to his art, home life and personality.
56
Well Built
SAND ISLAND LIGHTHOUSE. PHOTO BY R. F. GLINIECKI.
Bay-area streets — and waterways — are rife with architectural gems worth admiring and conserving.
Howell Raines, Pulitzer Prize winning writer and former executive editor of The New York Times, still has a passion for storytelling. His latest tale is featured on page 40.
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CONTENTS | VOLUME XXXIV / ISSUE 9
SEPTEMBER 2018 26
ON OUR COVER The Ballet Company from Mobile Ballet dances in formation across the Civic Center stage en pointe wearing soft white tutus.
28
PHOTO BY ELIZABETH GELINEAU
20 9 EDITOR’S NOTE 11 CONTRIBUTORS 12 REACTION 15 ODDS & ENDS 16 SPOTLIGHT Good, messy fun at Round But Square 18 SPOTLIGHT The art of sign painting with Andy Scott 20 SPOTLIGHT Street artists leave their mark on the city 24 THE DISH
26 TASTINGS Biscuits and poboys at Sylvia’s — you’re welcome
52 SPOTLIGHT Fresh leadership comes to Mobile Ballet
76 ASK MCGEHEE The Mobile girl who ran away with a French baron
28 BAY TABLES Alabama alums kick off a new football season
64 HISTORY The women behind historic interior design in Mobile
78 IN LIVING COLOR Augusta Evans at home
36 AMAZING LIFE Ann Hearin’s legacy for the Bay-area art scene
68 SEPTEMBER CALENDAR Art exhibits, events and venues across the Bay area
POBOY PHOTO BY ELIZABETH GELINEAU FOOTBALL BAY TABLES BY ELIZABETH GELINEAU DEANTHONY DULANEY PHOTO BY ELISE POCHÉ
Don’t forget about Mobile’s vibrant music scene! We’ve got the lowdown on the lineups. Visit page 71 for a complete list of top talent coming soon.
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Mobile Bay VOLUME XXXIV
No9
SEPT 2018
PUBLISHER T. J. Potts Stephen Potts Judy Culbreth EXECUTIVE EDITOR Maggie Lacey MANAGING EDITOR/WEB Abby Parrott EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Amanda Hartin EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Hallie King PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Virginia Mathers ART DIRECTOR Laurie Kilpatrick EDITORIAL INTERNS Allison Daniels Jane Newby Katherine Schulte Jessica Sullivan
ASSISTANT PUBLISHER
EDITORIAL CONSULTANT
ADVERTISING
SALES MANAGER
Joseph A. Hyland Anna Pavao ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Jennifer Ray
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE
ADMINISTRATION CIRCULATION Anita Miller ACCOUNTING Keith Crabtree
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Cartledge Blackwell, Joshua Givens, Adrian Hoff, Tom McGehee, Howell Raines CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS
Summer Ennis Ansley, Matthew Coughlin, Elizabeth Gelineau, Adrian Hoff, Michael Mastro, Elise Poché, Chad Riley ADVERTISING AND EDITORIAL OFFICES
3729 Cottage Hill Road, Suite H Mobile, AL 36609-6500 251-473-6269 Subscription inquiries and all remittances should be sent to: Mobile Bay P.O. Box 43 Congers, NY 10920-9922 1-833-454-5060 MOVING? Please note: U.S. Postal Service will not forward magazines mailed through their bulk mail unit. Please send old label along with your new address four to six weeks prior to moving. Mobile Bay is published 12 times per year for the Gulf Coast area. All contents © 2018 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
A Colorful History
I
n 1936, south Alabama, like the rest of the country, was suffering cruelly from the Great Depression. Many citizens were out of work, businesses were closing and families struggled to make ends meet. But the Works Progress Administration, among its many contributions, created the Federal Art Project which hired out-of-work artists nationwide to create murals the likes of which artist Diego Rivera had made popular at the time. These WPA murals depicted history and everyday life and came to embellish post offices, courthouses and scores of other civic buildings across the nation. Mobile was the lucky recipient of one of these murals when local artist John Augustus Walker applied and was granted $145 to complete 11 panels for Mobile City Hall — what is now the Mobile History Museum. These post-impressionistic oil paintings depict the history of our town, from the building of Fort Charlotte to canoe fights with native peoples, through the end of slavery and the introduction of the locomotive. The mural about Fraternity could have been painted from a recent Mardi Gras, although the artist was inspired by Carnival of 1867. The figures in each panel are heroic in pose and intensely colorful, outlined in bold cobalt blue brush strokes. Despite changes to the former Southern Market building over the years, as well as numerous battles with hurricanes, these murals stand as a reminder, as the WPA says, of a time when dreams were not allowed to be destroyed by economic disaster. Fortunately, we live in a time when the arts are flourishing in Mobile. From traditional mediums like opera, ballet and the symphony, to outsider art and avant-garde street art, there is a means of expression for every dream. Just step out into one of the area’s booming art walks and witness the creativity happening and the throngs of people waiting to celebrate it! MB is showcasing the arts in many iterations in this issue: studio art, dance performance, architectural milestones, the murals for contemporary times, and more. It’s a beautiful time to be alive and creative in south Alabama!
Maggie Lacey EXECUTIVE EDITOR
maggie@pmtpublishing.com
FRATERNITY BY JOHN AUGUSTUS WALKER. PHOTO FROM THE GEORGE F. LANDEGGER COLLECTION OF ALABAMA PHOTOGRAPHS IN CAROL M. HIGHSMITH’S AMERICA, LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, PRINTS AND PHOTOGRAPHS DIVISION
UNDER
COWBOY UP I CAME HOME WITH THIS TIN COWBOY FROM OUR PILGRIMAGE TO MEET FOLK ARTIST LEROYAL, THE PERFECT ADDITION TO MY FUNKY ART COLLECTION!
[LOVE THIS ISSUE]
GO FISH WHAT A FUN AFTERNOON DODGING THUNDERSTORMS WITH CHARTER CAPTAIN PATRICK HILL TO CAPTURE SNAPPER FISHING IMAGES FOR THIS ISSUE. BOOK A PRIVATE INSHORE TRIP WITH HIM AT BAYSIDECHARTER FISHING.COM. PHOTO BY MATTHEW COUGHLIN
PUT YOUR FACE ON LOCAL PATRONESS OF THE ARTS ANN HEARIN WORKED ON MANY THINGS DURING HER TENURE AT VOGUE MAGAZINE, INCLUDING PICKING MAX FACTOR’S COLORS OF THE YEAR! LEARN MORE ABOUT HER AMAZING LIFE ON PAGE 36.
CENTER STAGE KATIA GARZA, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR FOR MOBILE BALLET, WARMS UP ON STAGE WITH ONE OF THE SCHOOL’S LITTLEST BALLERINAS BEFORE OUR PHOTO SHOOT, INSPIRING BIG DREAMS AND LOTS OF SMILES. PHOTO BY ELIZABETH GELINEAU
It’s time to submit your 40 Under 40 nominations! Celebrating its 10th year, this program recognizes the top individuals under the age of 40 who demonstrate leadership, professional excellence and a commitment to the Bay-area community. The new class will be honored at an exclusive reception in December and featured in the January 2019 issue. Deadline for nominations is September 14, 2018. Visit mobilebaymag.com for more info!
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EXTRAS | CONTRIBUTORS
Let Me Introduce Myself MB ASKED OUR REGULAR CONTRIBUTING WRITERS AND PHOTOGRAPHERS TO INTRODUCE THEMSELVES IN THE WAY THEY KNOW BEST: THROUGH THEIR WORDS AND PHOTOS.
Thirty years’ writer. Dislike giving age but it’s 237 in dog years.
Yesterday’s man at your service. JOHN SLEDGE, writer The architectural historian for the City of Mobile also chronicles the area’s maritime past.
EMMETT BURNETT, writer Emmett is an award-winning freelancer who has never missed a deadline or a chance to include a pun. CHAD RILEY, photographer His lucky wedding clients receive hand-made leather-bound albums of their special days. He has a background in ministry and a degree from Ole Miss.
ELIZABETH GELINEAU, photographer Elizabeth’s stock-in-trade is shooting weddings, but for MB she focuses her immaculate attention to detail on food.
TODD DOUGLAS, photographer This portrait specialist enjoys getting to know new people and always helps his clients stand out from the crowd.
JUSTIN CORDOVA, photographer Justin’s work focuses on beautiful architecture and interior design. A Baldwin County native, he now lives in New Orleans.
MATTHEW COUGHLIN, photographer Based in Florida, Matt provides dramatic portraits for MB when he isn’t shooting big-name athletes and sports brands.
History and humor, oft one and the same, make my life interesting. CART BLACKWELL, writer Cart is a historian, writer and the director of the Mobile Carnival Association Museum.
SUMMER ENNIS ANSLEY, photographer Summer is an interior designer who shoots homes for MB, combining her two passions with a creative eye. She lives on Weeks Bay in Fairhope.
A writer with an insatiable curiosity about Mobile’s long and colorful history. TOM MCGEHEE, writer Tom is a historian, writer and the museum director for Bellingrath Gardens and Home.
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EXTRAS | REACTION
Tell us how you really feel ... BUILDING MEMORIES
HISTORIC CHARM
On July’s “Ask McGehee” about the old Red Cross building on Broad Street
On July’s “Destination: Foley”
I read your article on Mr. Delaney and his building at Broad and Dauphin. I know he had the first Volkswagen dealership right after the war and had a long waiting list, it was so popular.
FRYE GAILLARD / PHOTO BY CHAD RILEY
- Matt Metcalfe
THE WRITE STUFF On July’s excerpt from Frye Gaillard’s memoir, “A Hard Rain” Once again, our special friend Frye Gaillard puts us at the scene, giving us the feelings along with the information that combine to make his writing so very special — just like Frye. - Maggie Mosteller I watched Frye for a little while on PBS the other night. What a strong man! - Natasha Harris
Love this history! Thanks for publishing it.
Sounds sweet to my heart. - Lynda McLean
COLORFUL PEARL On July’s “In Living Color” of Young Oyster Tongers My grandad and I have actually used those prongs before. Fun times and mucho work! - Chris Hinton
- Natasha Harris
Great vintage photo. Thanks for sharing! - Gayle Lammers
A REGULAR PICK-ME-UP
CELEBRITY BEACH
On Mobile Bay Magazine I look so forward to each and every issue of Mobile Bay. - Toni Myers-Wineman
It just gets more special with every little gem. Mobile Bay, you have stolen this Texas girl’s heart. - Deb Welch
OLD ROAD, NEW LIFE On July’s “A New Old Shell Road” I was disappointed you stopped the story short of McGill-Toolen, where millions of dollars were just raised and invested in this school. It would have been a more complete story if all three of the Old Shell Road high schools were included.
It has been my pleasure to be a colleague of Frye Gaillard’s at the University of South Alabama, who, as the article says, is always gracious. He is a true intellectual; a valued treasure for the state of Alabama.
- Danielle C. Nicholas
- Jim A.
- Amanda Allday
I absolutely love this. I was interested in the Blue Bird for years and thought it would make a fantastic spot for a restaurant!
On July’s “Tastings” about Playa I met Morgan Freeman there last week. If it’s good enough for Morgan Freeman, it’s good enough for me. - Kristina McKean
ONLINE SECRETS On Catherine Arensberg’s web-only story, “A Designer’s Secret Places to Shop” I love her. She is awesome. - Jody Potts Skinner
SWEETS FROM A READER’S KITCHEN On July’s “Bay Tables” Thanks for the inspiration, @mobilebaymagazine — ice cream sammies! - Meredith Montgomery
Want to share your thoughts and reactions to this issue with us? Email maggie@pmtpublishing.com. 12 mobilebaymag.com | september 2018
[MORE ONLINE]
Find additional local stories on mobilebaymag.com. Here’s what’s new on the website! Last Call: 40 Under 40 We are still accepting nominations for the 2018 class of 40 Under 40! Go online to submit a nomination today. All entries are due by September 14.
Soundtrack of September
PHOTO BY JESSICA SULLIVAN
Sing along while you read! Follow us on Spotify (search “mobilebaymag”), and find our September 2018 playlist filled with tunes inspired by this month’s issue.
Celebrating Street Art Browse our gallery of some of the most unique and impressive local murals that give color and character to buildings around town.
Bride Giveaway Follow Mobile Bay Bride on Facebook for details on how you can enter to win a free wedding announcement in the 2019 issue!
Join Our Email List Get the latest in fashion, food, art, homes, history and events delivered right to your inbox. Sign up for our email list at mobilebaymag.com.
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EXTRAS | ODDS & ENDS
Arts and Leisure text by HALLIE KING
Rainbow Connection One of the most well-known pieces of street art in the area is the boy painted onto the side of Blue Bird Hardware by street artist Priest, featured in July’s “Old Shell Road Revival.”
THE SEC FOOTBALL SEASON BEGINS
SEPTEMBER 1 and culminates with the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 1. No party foul here — learn how a few Alabama alumni kick off the season on page 28.
$150
BILLION
are spent on arts and culture in the U.S. each year, including museums and exhibits, books, audio, video, movies and live performances.
[ FAST FACTS ]
The month of September starts on the same day of the week as December each year but never ends on the same day as any other month in the year.
September is
CLASSICAL MUSIC MONTH
Learn about other street artists who decorate the city with color on page 20, and see more local murals on mobilebaymag.com.
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PHOTO BY JESSICA SULLIVAN
Orchestras and their instruments require time, talent and resources to succeed, and the Mobile Symphony Orchestra’s success is thanks in part to the work of Ann Hearin, featured on page 36.
PIECES OF WOOD USED TO MAKE A SINGLE VIOLIN
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PEOPLE | SPOTLIGHT
Brush Up on Fun The new Round But Square Studios — for kids and adults — encourages hands-on art appreciation and memorable creative moments. text by ALLISON DANIELS • photo by CHAD RILEY
N
o one likes traffic. However, the silver lining is that traffic sometimes gives us time to think (before the kids have been picked up, at least). For Ashley O’Connor, sitting in Old Shell Road traffic was where she realized her dream of opening up a creative space could become a reality. While passing the series of small shops that neighbor Dreamland Bar-B-Que near the I-65 service road, she noticed they had recently been repainted white, giving them a whole new look. They fit her vision of what opening her own studio could be. In the six-month span from January to June 2018, this vision came to life as she acquired the space, gathered materials, and made her own workplace with the help of enthusiastic friends like Eugenia Foster and Alyce Heggeman Head. Today, the space is home to the brand-new Round But Square Studios. O’Connor has always had a passion for art. After graduating from St. Paul’s, she went to the University of Virginia, earning a bachelor’s degree in studio art and photography as well as a master’s in teaching. She then returned to Mobile to earn an additional bachelor’s degree in art education from the University of South Alabama. From there, her teaching career began at St. Paul’s, where she taught art and started a photography program that is still thriving today. Five years later, she moved to New Orleans with husband Henry to teach at the Louise S. McGehee School for eight years. In 2005, this all changed when Hurricane Katrina gave the family of five the opportunity to move back to Mobile, where they have remained ever since.
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ABOVE Ashley O’Connor cheerfully shows off a plethora of colorful art from students and visiting artists at Round But Square Studios.
O’Connor’s motivation to open Round But Square was driven by the idea of providing a space for kids’ art classes, but also creating a place that people of any age could congregate to self-express and unwind, all while being inspired by the fine arts. She wanted to focus on giving local artists the chance to lead classes and share their own passions, whether that be in the form of painting, sculptures, mixed media works or even poetry. The studio can be rented as pop-up space for these artists to display their work and exhibit a show before moving to a larger space. After a successful summer full of camps, adult classes and dorm decor parties, Round But Square is looking ahead to see how it can continue to make an impact on the community. This fall, they will offer a variety of options to satisfy creative palates. Parties are available to book for any occasion: birthday, retirement, bridal, even Mardi Gras! One program women will want to pencil in is Girls’ Night Out. As she does with her kids’ camps, O’Connor will teach about various artists, emphasizing how their styles are all different. Since school has started up, Round But Square is also providing after-school classes as well as kids’ yoga to keep them active. Holiday activities will soon be up and running to give kids a wholesome alternative to screens, not to mention a chance to paint some homemade Christmas gifts for friends and family. Although the list of things to do at Round But Square may seem jam-packed, the studio is always open to ideas! MB
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PEOPLE | SPOTLIGHT
Signs of the Times A handicraft that faded out in the 1980s attracts a bright new star. text and photos by ADRIAN HOFF
A
ndy Scott paints signs and does traditional gold leaf gilding under the moniker New Hand Signs — a play on the fact that he’s a new hand at the once ubiquitous profession. Scott seems well-suited to nostalgic pursuits. He works out of a well-cared-for 1964 Ford van. His speech is liberally spiced with terms like “neat” and “cool.” He works to 1960s and 18 mobilebaymag.com | september 2018
’70s music, although it emanates from an iPhone, not 8-track tapes. But his serendipitous connection to sign painting dates back only a couple of years. When Chase Scott stumbled across a 1960s painter’s box, he thought it might interest his artistically inclined older brother, Andy. His gift sparked far more than mere interest. “It’s just so cool,” enthuses Andy, who
talks about Hollywood, California, sign painter Don Souder (the box’s original owner) like a long-lost friend and mentor. “That box definitely took me down a path. I dug into it, trying to figure out all of the tools he used and to learn everything I could about him.” Laughing, he admits to being “a little obsessed.” Obsessed? A thrift store copy of Edward J. Duvall’s 1952 classic, “Modern Sign
Painting,” became his most-read book. “It shows how to do so much: how to hold your hand, how to do the brush strokes. I started with these casual letters right here,” he continues, book in hand. “For six or seven months, I would sit at the kitchen table every night and draw lines, do ABCs. It’s crazy how long it took to get those strokes down.” Once comfortable with casual, Scott proceeded to block letters and script. “From there you can go on to serif and sans serif and eventually create your own style. It’s neverending,” he says. He’s not exactly starting from scratch. Scott briefly worked for a mechanized sign company before entering the University of South Alabama, where he earned a graphic design degree. As a student, he launched (and eventually sold) his own vinyl sign shop. That previous experience and collegiate coursework provided skill sets transferable to his new endeavor, although little of it influences the art itself. “It comes into play mostly in design. I can walk in, look at the space and tell them what works in there,” he says. “It also comes in handy when I’m designing logos and laying out signs. Plus, I know how to design large scale. I work comfortably, even when it’s really big.” For Scott’s generation of aficionados, sign painting can be a solitary pursuit. Older sign painters who’ve managed to stay relevant occasionally gather at Letterhead meets, where they share ideas, tips and techniques. A more seasoned recent convert, Aaron Taylor with Pensacola’s Brix Design, instructed Scott in gold leaf gilding. But, for the most part, he picks up technique from studying old signs and reading old books. “There’s only one school for sign painters, the Los Angeles Trade Technical College,” he laments. It wasn’t always like that. In 1982, Scott was born into a world where virtually all signs and billboards were painted. The largely unionized profession maintained strict aesthetic standards. A national network of specialized trade schools and demanding
apprenticeships spewed skilled artisans whose elegant, perfectly aligned and spaced lettering was painted freehand, not stenciled. But ’82 also witnessed the birth of computercontrolled vinyl plotters — machines that quickly mechanized the industry. Professional sign painting jobs evaporated. Sign painting’s current resurgence (like those of film photography and vinyl records) still leaves it a tiny, specialized niche within the industry it once ruled. New Hand Signs rapidly grew into a profitable sideline. But it won’t be replacing Scott’s day job anytime soon. “I kind of pick and choose the projects I do because it’s not a full-time gig,” he says. He enjoys variety. Work for El Papi Mexican restaurant included designing a company logo, gold leaf gilding on the front
ABOVE Scott finalizes the underlying black layer for Blue Muse, a tenant in The Exchange on Conception Street. LEFT The gold leafing on Chaleur Coffee’s front doors is one of many examples of Andy Scott’s handiwork around town.
door, plus interior and exterior signage. Delchamps Printing, by contrast, hired him to paint over someone else’s letters. Delchamps wanted old, faded-out signs to be legible without sacrificing the character that weather and age had given them. “When old signs fade out like that, you can see every single brush stroke, how everything was done. I could see the type of brush the guy had used,” Scott explains enthusiastically. “It turned out pretty cool. It was like breathing life back into something that someone did a long time ago.” MB september 2018 | mobilebaymag.com 19
PEOPLE | SPOTLIGHT
Red Cup Revolt Four core members of a local urban art group chat with MB about everything from inspiration and Instagram to how they met and the message they hope to send to society. text by JOSHUA GIVENS • photos by ELISE POCHÉ
T
he room was dimly lit, the tables bustling with local patrons, and a thick aroma of delicious food greeted me as I opened the door. This was my first time venturing into Kazoola Eatery and Entertainment on Dauphin Street, where I would soon be chatting with four of the most talented and ambitious cultural artists in the Mobile community. Visual artist DeAnthony Dulaney — founder and leader of the Red Cup Revolt movement — ignited an inspiring conversation that would challenge the standard perception of graffiti artists and their connections to the human spirit and local community. His fellow artists were thrilled
“URBAN ART IS, I THINK, REALLY DEFINED AS ARTWORK FROM THE INNER CITY THAT DEPICTS LIFE AND PEOPLE. IT’S ALL ABOUT PERSONAL EXPERIENCES, AND WITH ALL OF US BEING INNER CITY KIDS AND GROWING UP IN THE HIP-HOP
to join in and offer their profound insights as well. Now it’s your turn to meet DeAnthony, Brandin, Conzi and Michael or — as they are better known in the art community and with each other — DIPLOMAT, Stallworth, conz8000 and Deedz. DIPLOMAT: We got started around 2011. I was living in Atlanta at the time, trying to find my niche. I came up with “Red Cup Revolution” as a name for the group because I was really into the party scene, the “red cup life.” [Solo cups] I initially started thinking about the idea of an artistic revolution. How could I do something that would help bring people together from different walks of life? I thought, “Well, I’m an artist, so I could use that.” I decided to get with some friends I had known for a while from the area. I got with Stallworth and Conzi [and a few others] and formed Red Cup Revolution, which was eventually shortened to Red Cup Revolt. We wanted to have a platform for artists to really showcase their talent. A lot of artists don’t have the skill or the know-how to do their own art shows or put their work out there. In that process, we met Mike and everything, and we were like “Well, you’re part of the crew now.” (He and Mike laugh.) conz8000: There was already some mutual connection because most of us went to
CULTURE, THAT WAS EVERYDAY LIFE FOR US.” – DIPLOMAT
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RIGHT From left, Michael “Mike” Parden (“Deedz”), DeAnthony Dulaney (“DIPLOMAT”), Brandin Stallworth (“Stallworth”), Conzi Porter (“conz8000”) and Stallworth’s son, Chase.
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PEOPLE | SPOTLIGHT
“HATE IS BAGGAGE. LIFE IS TOO SHORT TO HATE. IF EVERYONE WOULD UNDERSTAND THIS, LIFE WOULD JUST BE SO MUCH BETTER FOR EVERYONE.” – Deedz
and fashion, it was inspiring. I hadn’t done anything like that in a while. I used to do shirts and canvases in high school. MB: Tell us a little about Stallworth Studios.
LeFlore High School together. It was a performing arts magnet school at the time. I’m a few years older [than the other guys], so I graduated ahead of them. But, DeAnthony contacted me. We were both in Atlanta and then came back [to Mobile] at the same time. He contacted me around 2013 on Instagram because he had seen some of my work and he asked where I was from. I told him I was from Mobile, and we eventually found out we were from the same school. But it still took me about a year to realize that this was what I wanted to do. I thought it was cool, but I was also working on a whole bunch of other art projects and I also started tattooing, which took up a lot of my time. DeAnthony actually came to the shop one day. He was real persistent. When he did that, I realized he was serious. He wasn’t playing around. (Group laughter.) MB: You guys formed your own group as artists. Are making connections with other artists important for your craft? DEEDZ: I had been doing stencil art until around 15 years old. I went to New Orleans 22 mobilebaymag.com | september 2018
one weekend and seeing it again really took me back. When I returned [to Mobile], I got back into it seriously, and I’ve been doing it ever since. When you see another artist’s work [like on Instagram], and it’s incredible, then it really inspires you. Honestly, Red Cup might not have even happened without seeing other people’s work on Instagram. That’s the awesome thing about art. My passion has never been stronger than it is right now, having met these guys and gotten into this group. Mobile doesn’t have many platforms for art. But, no matter who you are or where you’ve come from, everyone has had a red cup — a Solo cup — in their hand, partying and just being together with other people. DIPLOMAT: Connections are key. I didn’t realize it back then, but my tattoo apprenticeship was actually around the corner from Stallworth’s studio. That’s where we ended up having our first Red Cup meeting. There were about 10 artists in the group at first, but that all dwindled down to the main four. When I left the tattoo shop and went to Stallworth’s and saw all his artwork
STALLWORTH: Oh, it was just my house and garage. (Group laughter.) But yeah, I started out painting T-shirts. It really took off. We did shirts for various groups, social clubs, fraternities and all kinds of stuff. When I moved to Atlanta, I was living in a house with my cousin, doing music at the time. I took on some hip-hop projects. One day my cousin saw I was drawing on a digital tablet. He was like, “Yo, you draw on a screen?” I was like, “Yeah! It’s 2012! What’re you talking about?” He said, “No, man. That’s not the way to go.” And he got me back into drawing the real way. Period. I realized I had just bought the tablet because I had some money. But when I realized the kind of true art he was doing in Atlanta, that’s when I started really taking it seriously. MB: What has the response to your work been like at the local art walks and events? DIPLOMAT: Overall, the response has been good for real. DEEDZ: More than not. (Group laughter.) No matter what, there are always going to be haters. Some people are just going to hate ABOVE Pop culture icons and murals painted by the men of Red Cup Revolt line the streets of downtown Mobile.
because they’ve got hate in their hearts. (The group agrees in unison.) MB: Where do you all draw your inspiration from as individual artists? STALLWORTH: Energy, like from what I see in the culture and around me. DEEDZ: Instagram. I pop on there and see stuff [by other artists]. Then I go to my art room and start messing around. conz8000: Life experiences. The same things don’t inspire me all the time. Sometimes it might be what’s happening in the news, other times it could be my mom. I just want to contribute to creation. DIPLOMAT: Energy for me, too. Also, getting on Instagram, keeping an eye on what’s happening in the culture. I’m also big on pop art and I like to do things that people will recognize. I want to leave my mark so that people will remember I was here. MB: If you were to go viral as a group at the national level, what would be the message you would want to send to the culture, particularly the younger generation? STALLWORTH: Just to be inspired. You can do this. DEEDZ: Hate is baggage. Life is too short to hate. If everyone would understand this, life would just be so much better for everyone. conz8000: We got to coexist together. DIPLOMAT: Chill out. Take time to meet your neighbor. Learn about them. We all have things in common, whether you’re black, white, gay, straight, Alabama fan or Auburn fan. We want people to see that if you just pick up a red cup and put something in it, no matter what it is, and chill out and talk with other people, everything will be okay. We’re all in the same boat, and if it sinks, we’re all going down together. MB september 2018 | mobilebaymag.com 23
FOOD | THE DISH
Bite of the Bay MB’s contributing food fanatics share the local dishes that made them hungry for more.
PIZZERIA DELPHINA • 107 DAUPHIN ST. 375-1644 • FACEBOOK.COM/DELPHINAPIZZA
LUCY ROUSE WRIGHT, Volunteer, Christ Church Cathedral
TUNA TWO WAYS AT DAUPHIN’S “My husband recently surprised me with Dauphin’s at sunset — what a view! We began with the tuna poké special appetizer with sesame, soy sauce and sambal chili paste. Served raw with jasmine rice, pickled cucumber, ginger and pecans, the scrumptious fish was both beautiful and tasty. We continued the tuna theme with the Ono Island Tuna, encrusted in pistachios and sesame seeds and seared perfectly rare. Both the citrus butter and wasabi soy sauce were excellent complements.” DAUPHIN’S • 107 ST. FRANCIS ST. • 444-0200 GODAUPHINS.COM
JAY WATKINS, Managing Shareholder, Mobile Office of Maynard Cooper & Gale
VIETNAM PHO SOUP AT VON’S BISTRO “It is hard to think about hot soup in August in Mobile, but the Vietnam Pho Soup at Von’s Bistro is a great, light lunch option. Beef broth is loaded with tender rice noodles and seasoned with ginger, lemongrass, sprouts and eel sauce. I like it with shrimp, but you can also have it with your choice of beef or chicken. It comes with Sriracha sauce and fresh jalapeño slices, but I get those on the side to control the heat. Otherwise, it can really get your attention.”
WAGYU BEEF FROM SOUTHWOOD KITCHEN. PHOTO BY ELIZABETH GELINEAU
MICHON TRENT, Senior Director, Civic Engagement, The City of Mobile
MEATBALL PO’BOY AT PIZZERIA DELPHINA “This Pizzeria could be in any Little Italy across the county! I love sitting outside as the weather begins to cool. Usually I order a pizza, but now my new favorite dish is the meatball sandwich. The pomodoro sauce is in perfect proportion, the meatballs are flavorful and juicy and the melted mozzarella lends itself to the ultimate cheese pull.”
NOAH THOMPSON, Musician, Roman Street
WAGYU BEEF AT SOUTHWOOD KITCHEN “I love the Akaushi Wagyu Beef Kalbi at Southwood Kitchen, and I’m glad to see a restaurant like this opening up and doing well in my hometown. There is some serious culinary brilliance in the Korean barbecue marinade and ginger scallion sauce used in this dish. I could seriously eat it every day. I also highly recommend two glasses of Cabernet Sauvignon as the accompaniment.” SOUTHWOOD KITCHEN • 1203 US HWY
VON’S BISTRO • 69 ST. MICHAEL ST. • 375-1113
98 SUITE 3D, DAPHNE• 626-6676
VONSBISTRO.COM
SOUTHWOODKITCHEN.COM
What dishes made you drool and left you hungry for more? Share them on our Facebook page! 24 mobilebaymag.com | september 2018
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FOOD | TASTINGS
Sylvia’s Biscuits and Poboys text by HALLIE KING • photos by ELIZABETH GELINEAU
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ort Condé has been a tourism mainstay in downtown Mobile for over 40 years, teaching visitors about the area’s oldest inhabitants and fiercest rivalries. But something new and exciting is happening inside the replica fort, rebranded in 2017 as the Fort of Colonial Mobile, where the smell of good food will lead you right through the large iron gates into Sylvia’s Biscuits and Poboys. Gulf Coast Ducks, a land-and-sea adventure tour company started by Scott Tindle and brothers Grant Zarzour and Matt Zarzour, took over the Fort on behalf of the city in April of 2017. Not long after, that same team opened Sylvia’s, completing the transformation of the Fort into a full-service attraction offering history, adventure and now delicious Southern food, to boot. When it comes to the menu, it’s all about comfort food with local flair. The breakfast and lunch menus are peppered with “The One…” titles reminiscent of old episodes of “Friends,” describing menu items in a way that you would explain them to your family or your coworkers. There are breakfast plates such as “The One for the All-American,” piled high with larger-than-life pancakes, Bill-E’s bacon, creamy scrambled eggs and cheese grits; lunch plates like “The One Everyone
Says is their Favorite,” an unexpected spin on shrimp and grits that includes meaty cremini mushrooms and a tomato-forward sofrito sauce; and a multitude of tongue-in-cheek descriptions for fingerlicking biscuits and poboys with their own personalities. “We’re Southern, but we’re coastal. We’ve got this Gulf Coast vibe, but we’re not New Orleans. We’re our own thing,” says Tindle. “We’re this fusion of biscuits and poboys.” The restaurant’s unparalleled character is attributed in part to menu partnerships with local businesses such as Old Shell Market, Southern Fish and Oyster, ellenJAY, Reney’s Honey Butter and Bill-E’s Bacon. Sylvia’s should also be lauded for its sustainability practices, such as eliminating single-use plastic utensils, selling refillable cups while recycling any that are single-use plastic and distributing straws only upon request. “The only way we’re going to have fresh, sustainable seafood is if we keep the oceans clean,” says Tindle. “We are an environmentally conscious company across the spectrum.” Southern hospitality is their specialty, as interior signage delivering the phrases “you’re welcome” and “poboy love” implies. With a goal of five-star reviews in the forefront, Sylvia’s is prepared to please. MB
Sylvia’s • 8 a.m. - 2 p.m. T - Su. Private dinners available upon request. • 150 S Royal St. • poboylove.com 26 mobilebaymag.com | september 2018
• average entree price $10
FOOD | TASTINGS
THE ONE FOR YOUR HONEY
[ ON THE MENU ]
THE ONE FOR THE COASTIE
THE ONE FOR THE TAILGATE
THE ONE YOUR DAD WANTS
THE ONE FOR YOUR HONEY
Lump Gulf crab fresh from Southern Fish and Oyster is fried into a cake and topped with a savory fried green tomato, mixed greens and Sylvia’s signature chipotle remoulade sauce on French bread.
Bright red Buffalo-coated fried chicken is sandwiched on a French roll over a bed of crisp and tender lettuce, tangy housemade pickles and creamy blue cheese dressing for a well-rounded bite.
You know the one. Crispy, salty fried shrimp piled high on toasted French bread is complete with the classic lettuce, tomato and pickle combo and finished off with chipotle mayonnaise.
A handmade biscuit — a base that strikes the perfect balance of soft, sturdy and crumbly — encases tender fried chicken and fresh pickles before the entire thing is drizzled in Reney’s honey butter. Sweet!
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FOOD | BAY TABLES
Food, Football and Old Friends Six close friends, former roommates and (rabid) Alabama football fans gather to kick off a new season in style. text by MAGGIE LACEY • photos by ELIZABETH GELINEAU
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here they once sat in the student section of every Alabama home game, shakers in hand, yelling crazily at the players amidst a sea of coeds, they now gather over good wine and good food to cheer on the Crimson Tide. Times have changed. They’ve grown up and have kids of their own, but they have never forsaken their team. Anna Pavao, Elizabeth Otts, Lindsay Nagy, Taylor Baird, Chase Meador and Monica Kurth all met at Alabama as members of Kappa Delta. From the sleeping porch of the KD house, to the “yellow house,” to an apartment in Florence for a
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semester abroad, some combination of these women were roommates the whole way through their undergraduate experience, and the friendships have lasted. These days they might only see each other in carpool line or at an occasional just-the-girls beach weekend, but there is certainly no better excuse to get together than to kick off another (winning?) season of Alabama football. This game day they gathered at the Bairds’ to catch up on old times and the latest news on Nick Saban. Not all the husbands went to the University of Alabama, but they can rally for some good snacks and a few cold beers. “I have to pull for Alabama down here, there’s no choice,” says Jim Nagy, a Michigan alum and the new
executive director of the Reese’s Senior Bowl. But he adds, “There’s no suspense — they never lose!” He knows how to pander to his audience of Crimson ladies. While they watch the game, there is no shortage of laughter to go around. It’s ABOVE LEFT Elizabeth Otts, Taylor Baird, and Monica and Mike Kurth enjoy a big play by the favorite team. ABOVE MIDDLE The Ginger Old Fashioned, a small cut above your stadium bourbon and Coke, is the perfect game day refreshment. ABOVE RIGHT Lindsay Nagy, Elizabeth Otts and Taylor Baird enjoy some snacks and laughs during a commercial break. OPPOSITE Jeff Pavao, Anna Pavao (seated), Jim Nagy, Lindsay Nagy (seated), Bo and Chase Meador gather around the big screen in the Bairds’ Spring Hill living room.
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FOOD | BAY TABLES the kind of old jokes and random references that only happen among the oldest of friends. And while they admit they don’t get to watch many games together these days, some of the girls keep a group text running on Saturdays in the fall, always kicked off by Chase Meador for good luck. “We get really into football but are hardly ever together,” explains Anna. “We text each other the play-by-plays, lots of RTRs and an occasional ‘Oh no, my TV just froze!’” In person, the conversation touches on memories of the house mom they all loved, how their beverage choices have improved with age and what their kids are up to. But one eye is kept firmly on that crystal trophy that they will be cheering for all season long. MB
GINGER OLD FASHIONED SERVES 1
Nothing says SEC football like a good bourbon drink. Since your days of smuggling them into the stadium are (hopefully) behind you, why not make something special to enjoy in front of the big screen? 2 sugar cubes 6 dashes Angostura bitters 1 lemon slice 1 lime slice 1 orange slice 1 maraschino cherry 1 tablespoon grenadine 1/4 cup bourbon or rye whiskey Ginger beer
1. Place sugar cubes in the bottom of a rocks glass and sprinkle with bitters. Add citrus slices, cherry and grenadine. Using the handle of a wooden spoon, muddle ingredients. Add bourbon. 2. Fill glass with ice cubes and stir to combine and chill. Top with ginger beer and serve.
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GRILLED EGGPLANT WITH CITRUS YOGURT, CRISPY QUINOA AND HERBS recipe page 30 32 mobilebaymag.com | april september 2018 2018
CUBAN SLIDERS MAKES 24 SLIDERS
Feeding a crowd has never been so easy. No need to fire up the grill this game day — fill up your team with gooey, meaty Cubano sandwiches made by the batch instead! 24 Hawaiian rolls 1/2 cup Dijon mustard 1/2 cup mayonnaise 16 ounces deli ham 2 pounds sliced or pulled cooked pork shoulder 24 slices Swiss cheese 48 dill pickle slices (or more, to taste)
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 2. Unwrap rolls and use a long serrated knife to slice lengthwise through all the rolls at once, removing the tops. Spread mustard on the top half and mayonnaise on the bottom half. Transfer the bottom half of rolls to a large baking sheet. 3. Arrange ham, pork, cheese and pickles on bottom of rolls. Replace tops. Place a second baking sheet on top of sandwiches to “press them,” and top with a heavy skillet or other oven-proof heavy dish. 4. Bake sandwiches for 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted and buns are toasty. Serve warm. The sandwiches can be assembled several hours in advance. Just cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to bake.
TRUFFLE PARMESAN TOTS SERVES 6
Just the word “truffle” conjures decadence, but starting with store-bought potato tots keeps it fun and approachable. Warning — truffle tots are addictive. 4 cups frozen potato tots 2 tablespoons truffle oil pinch of kosher salt 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese 3 teaspoons fresh parsley, chopped
1. Place potato tots on baking sheet and bake according to package directions. 2. Drizzle truffle oil over potatoes, sprinkle with salt and toss to mix. Place on a serving platter and top with cheese and parsley. Serve immediately.
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FOOD | BAY TABLES
JEFF PAVAO’S GAME DAY RIBS SERVES 8
Start early to get these amazing ribs ready in time for kickoff — you won’t be disappointed with the results. Jeff adapted his recipe from “How to Grill” by Steven Raichlen. 4 racks spareribs (4 - 6 pounds total) 6 cups apple cider, plus additional for spraying ribs 2 whole lemons, halved 2/3 cup barbecue rub 3 cups barbecue sauce
1. Prepare ribs by removing the membrane from the underside of the ribs. Slide a knife under the membrane and grab the edge of the membrane with a paper towel to pull it off. 2. Place ribs in a large pan. Pour apple cider and juice from lemons over the ribs. Marinate in the refrigerator, covered, for 1 - 2 hours, turning several times. 3. Drain the ribs and blot dry with paper towels. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the rub on both sides of the ribs, patting it onto the meat. Let the ribs stand in the refrigerator covered another 1 - 2 hours. 4. Choose chips or blocks of a fruit tree such as apple or cherry. Soak the chips in water for at least one hour prior to cooking. Grill ribs on a smoker over indirect heat at a temperature of 225 degrees for 4 - 5 hours. 5. After 30 minutes, spray ribs with apple cider and continue to spray every half hour until ready to brush with sauce. 6. Lightly brush ribs with one cup of sauce 20 minutes before the ribs are done. When ribs are fully cooked, the meat will have shrunk back from the bones about 1/4 of an inch and will be tender enough to tear apart with your fingers. If ribs start to dry out, wrap them in aluminum foil for the last hour of cooking. 7. Transfer ribs to a platter or cutting board. Sprinkle with some of the remaining rub and lightly brush with sauce. Let ribs rest for several minutes, then serve with remaining sauce on the side. LEFT Jeff Pavao brings his ribs off the grill. OPPOSITE MIDDLE Lindsay Nagy enjoys a good wine and the company of old friends.
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FOOD | BAY TABLES
CARAMEL BACON POPCORN
BACON-WRAPPED DATES
SERVES 10
SERVES 6
Making your own caramel may sound intimidating, but this crunchy, sweet snack is worth the extra work. Add some cayenne or hot sauce to the caramel for a caliente kick! Keep a bowl around for snacking anytime.
This recipe from Red or White’s executive chef Arwen Rice is a crowd-pleaser. One of their menu highlights, it is slightly more sophisticated than your typical football app, but it’s easy to prepare and the bacon will satisfy all the carnivores at the party.
6 slices of bacon 3 tablespoons vegetable oil 1/2 cup popcorn kernels 3 cups sugar 3 tablespoons unsalted butter 2 teaspoons fine sea salt 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda cayenne pepper, optional
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and arrange bacon slices evenly on sheet. Cook for 15 minutes, or until crispy and brown. Drain bacon on paper and dice when cool. 2. In a large pot with a lid, heat vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add popcorn kernels and cover. Cook, shaking pot occasionally, until most of the kernels have popped, about 4 minutes. Transfer popped popcorn to an extralarge bowl sprayed with cooking spray. Stir through the popcorn and remove any unpopped kernels. 3. In a large saucepan, combine sugar, butter, salt and 1/2 cup water. Cook over high heat, without stirring, until the mixture becomes a light golden caramel, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, coat a large rubber spatula with cooking spray and set aside. Remove caramel from heat and carefully whisk in baking soda and optional cayenne pepper. The mixture will bubble up considerably, so stir continuously. Fold in bacon pieces and immediately pour over popcorn. Toss with coated rubber spatula until all of the popcorn is evenly coated with caramel. 4. Spread popcorn in a single layer onto a large baking pan and cool to room temperature, about 15 minutes. Once cool, store in an airtight container.
12 jumbo pitted Medjool dates 1 4-ounce log blueberry goat cheese 6 slices thick-cut bacon, cut in half 12 toothpicks Honey, for drizzling Balsamic vinegar, for drizzling Toasted chopped almonds, for garnish
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and set aside. Place 1 teaspoon of goat cheese inside the cavity of each date where the pit formerly was and press to close. Wrap one half-slice of bacon around each date and secure with toothpicks. Place 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheet. 2. Bake dates for 10 minutes, then flip and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes or until bacon is browned. Let cool for 5 minutes on the sheet pan, then remove toothpicks. 3. Place dates on a serving platter and drizzle with honey and balsamic vinegar. Top with chopped toasted almonds. Serve warm.
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PEOPLE | AMAZING LIFE
Ann Bartlett Hearin A young dancer’s talent and tenacity became the foundation for a life of giving back to the arts.
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text by HALLIE KING portrait by MATTHEW COUGHLIN
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ith a dusting of Manhattan’s soot on her face and a twinkling gleam in her eyes, a sprightly young blonde walks from her East 78th one-bedroom apartment to 420 Lexington: the front door of Condé Nast, headquarters of, among other publications, Vogue. She greets the secretary before heading to her desk alongside the fabric editor. She joins editor-inchief Jessica Daves for lunch at the Colony; later on she drinks martinis out of a coffee mug, because it’s payday. It’s 1963 in New York City. Ann Bartlett Hearin, the daughter of William Hearin — publisher of the Mobile Press-Register succeeding Ralph Chandler — and Louise Chamberlain Hearin, has been a lover of the arts since her earliest days. As a high schooler, Hearin danced for Madame Rose Palmai-Tenser at the Mobile Opera. She even remembers leaving graduation parties early in order to attend rehearsals. Music was her lifeblood. “I started in ‘The Marriage of Figaro.’ I was in the wings for four hours, so I learned the music, ” she says. “That’s how my love for opera began.” Jaunts to New York in the wake of her father’s business trips for the newspaper ignited Hearin’s longing to explore the city on her own. She penned letters to companies that captured her attention, including CBS, a Wall Street hot spot and Vogue.
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PEOPLE | AMAZING LIFE
ABOVE Hearin poses with violin soloist Chee Yun at a private recital and dinner for Mobile Symphony Orchestra donors. RIGHT As the 1958 Queen of the Mobile Carnival Association, Hearin attended numerous events in a gifted ermine shawl, among other lavish, feminine accessories. OPENING PORTRAIT Stunning antiques and vintage accessories cover every wall, tabletop and open space in Hearin’s Point Clear home.
She concluded that broadcast journalism and finance weren’t for her, but she had a connection with a Vogue secretary who, like Hearin, graduated from Sweet Briar College in Virginia. She landed a job as a secretary at the magazine and settled in the Big Apple. To live independently in a city unknown was a testament to Hearin’s youthful tenacity and grit. She attempted to bunk in the famed Barbizon Hotel for Women, to no avail. Instead, she roomed with fellow Mobilian Margaret Taylor in a marble-facade gated apartment neighboring Bergdorf Goodman president Andrew Goodman’s daughter — a fact the Mobile duo never learned until a summer blackout sent all occupants to the streets. A regular gift from her maternal uncle was two tickets to two performances per year at the Metropolitan Opera. She dreamed of performing in ballets and operas in the big city, but she worked late hours as Vogue’s assistant fabric editor and never had the spare time to do so. She contented herself with living vicariously through the performers she 38 mobilebaymag.com | september 2018
admired as she stuck by the fabric editor’s side day after day, revisiting the 250 houses they covered in a constant cycle. As the years drew on, Hearin’s desire to remain in New York subsided. “I couldn’t stay in my job. I either had to go forward or not at all,” she says, her Southern drawl as prominent as ever. She wasn’t devoted to fabrics like a contender for the head fabric editor position should be, and she still had an Alabama spirit. “I love New York, but I was becoming a New Yorker. I didn’t want to become like a New Yorker; I didn’t want to lose that southern softness. So that’s why I came home.” She did return to New York in brief spurts, however, to attend ballet classes that advanced her work teaching with Eileen Cowles at her local dance studio. Hearin, a master of her craft, retained some of her New York momentum and pace, leading her to focus primarily on teaching dancers who were more advanced in their skills. She was committed to furthering the arts in Mobile, and remains
“We need the arts, Mobile does. It’s part of our menu. That’s what makes Mobile grow.” fervent in her devotion still to this day. “Ann Hearin knew that music and art in general are basic requirements of the human soul,” says Hearin’s longtime friend Genie Inge, who knew her from a young age as a fellow dancer at Cowles’ studio. “We always looked up to her because she was a beautiful dancer herself in her young years. She was always exposing herself to the arts.”
Hearin’s Philanthropy: Helping Mobile Grow On Sept. 12, world-renowned soprano Renée Fleming will grace the stage of the Saenger Theatre alongside the Mobile Symphony. The program will brandish the names of the event’s sponsors, including the Hearin-Chandler Foundation. Started in 1936 by Ralph
Chandler as the donor and William Hearin as the trustee, the foundation’s legacy during its 55-year tenure includes over $33 million in contributions to various causes throughout south Alabama. Several of the visual and performance arts grants contributed in the past 10 years — $1.5 million worth, in fact — were donated in honor of Hearin, including the Ann B. Hearin Lakefront Lobby at the Mobile Museum of Art, the Ann B. Hearin Lobby at the Saenger Theatre and the Ann Bartlett Hearin Main Lobby in the fine arts building of Spring Hill College. One of the significant phrases on the bulletin will display those same six words: “In honor of Ann Bartlett Hearin.” “I love the Symphony, they like me. It’s a mutual give and take,” says Hearin. “We need the arts, Mobile does. It’s part of our menu. That’s what makes Mobile grow.” More than three years in the making, Fleming’s performance will be a landmark event for the city. Hearin and the foundation generously supported Fleming’s appearance, just as they did of cellist Yo-Yo Ma in 2012. They also helped fund a custom-designed orchestra shell campaign to advance the acoustics in the Saenger. Honoring Hearin with a gala is the most fitting of ways to thank her for her consistent efforts. “Hearin-Chandler was interested in doing something to honor Ann, and we felt like this concert was the perfect opportunity,” says Mobile Symphony CEO Celia Mann Baehr. “She is very familiar with all of the art forms, which makes her not only a strong supporter but a very well-educated, informed patron.” Despite her life in and love of New York, Hearin is a Bay-area citizen through and through. She resides permanently in Point Clear with her 7-year-old pug, Lulu, but has very fond memories of the other side of the Bay — serving as the 1958 Mobile Carnival Association Queen, for example, and dancing in the city on any number of stages. Giving back to the arts is another way to leave the mark of her unwavering legacy. Her name is visible area-wide, and her influence on every sector of the art scene has molded Mobile into a more culturally prominent city than ever before. MB september 2018 | mobilebaymag.com 39
On the 25th anniversary of his best-selling book, a noted angler and writer remembers fishing of days past while on a Gulf Coast quest with his family. text by HOWELL R AINES
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t’s been 25 years since my book, “Fly Fishing Through the Midlife Crisis,” made the best-seller list of The New York Times. I was pretty much a fly fishing purist in those days when I was more tolerant of the irritants of airplane travel and willing to fish anywhere in the world that struck my fancy. Now I tend to identify more with the 15th chapter of that book, which is entitled “Back Sliding Down the Redneck Way.” The chapter elaborates on an autobiographical statement that appears in the opening pages: “I was born in the Heart of Dixie and raised in the Redneck Way of Fishing.” If you are one of those Southerners still touchy about the word “redneck,” stop reading now. To me, it connotes the joys of live-bait fishing that I learned on Guntersville Lake and on the Gulf waters at Panama City. Now that I’m back on the Gulf Coast at Mayberry-by-the-Bay, better known as Fairhope, I’ve drifted back to the basics with the notable exception that I try not to kill any fish that I’m not going to eat right away. It’s usually not much of a sacrifice, since I find freezing takes the bloom off the flavors of redfish and speckled trout. I do bend the rules, though, when it comes to freezing the two species that have Proustian resonance for me, crappie and red snapper.
PHOTO BY MATTHEW COUGHLIN
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TOP Howell Raines proudly shows off a bonito caught off the panhandle of Florida. MIDDLE Snapper bounty from a 2017 fishing trip with three generations of Raines men. BOTTOM AND OPPOSITE Howell’s son, Jeff, helps his own son, Jack, reel in the big one.
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PHOTO BY MATTHEW COUGHLIN
I have lived long enough to see two major epidemics of football mania, those triggered by Bear Bryant and Nick Saban. And I have seen two major episodes of red snapper mania on Gulf waters, that of the 1950s and the one now raging among voting-age Alabamians about the laws governing the snapper catch. A cultural anthropologist could measure the state of red snapper derangement in any number of ways. My favorite is the fact that the congressman who represents me in Washington is dead set against the universal health care that is so badly needed in rural South Alabama, but never misses a chance to speak out against federal interference on state snapper rights. The snapper wars have revived because for the first time since the ’50s there are enough of them to fight over. Shortly after the end of World War II, my father opened a motel on a deserted stretch of beach 16 miles west of Panama City. One of the services he provided to guests was to tell them which party boats to avoid. As a 6-year-old, I helped with the research by strolling the municipal dock with him when the boats came in with their catches strung up for inspection. Any captain that had too many grouper to suit my father was stricken from his recommendation list. People from Birmingham and Atlanta were paying $165 a week to stay with us, and he wanted to send them home with red snapper, not “coarse” black grouper or “wormy” red grouper. By the 1970s when my brother and I fished his boat on the snapper banks off our motel, it was hard to find a snapper on our usual spots. One day, I asked a grizzled old cracker at the marina what had happened to the fish, and he summarized it thusly: “Son, they all went to Birmingham and Atlanta in Igloo coolers.” Simplistic perhaps but true as a parable about overfishing that escalated when hand lines were replaced by electric reels and skilled amateurs competed with the commercial fleet. All that changed with an uncharacteristically sensible form of environmental intervention by Alabama legislators, who usually devote themselves to defending industrial polluters of the five rivers flowing into Mobile Bay. The tens of thousands of legally installed artificial
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PHOTO BY MATTHEW COUGHLIN
reefs in the northern Gulf mean there are more red snapper than ever for the taking. The other essential component is the catch limits, which commercial fishermen, who like to describe themselves as an endangered species, want to erase so they can return to 20th-century levels of excessive harvesting. I comfort myself that at 75 I’ll be stranded ashore before they can wipe out the species once again. Meanwhile, my grandson Jack has been exposed to the magnificent red snapper in my son Ben Raines’ amazing honey hole off Orange Beach. We’re already planning that come Memorial Day next year, three generations of Raines men — Jack, his dad Jeff and his uncle Ben — will once again have the pleasure of dropping cigar minnows over the side of my center console boat. As for crappie, it is the fish that even more than red snapper brings out the liar in me. Pennsylvania has its own redneck fishing tradition, but fortunately it focuses on hatchery trout rather than the fish that Northern anglers call calico bass. My late brother Jerry Raines, whose devotion to the species reached OCD levels, and I were surprised to discover a largely ignored crappie fishery near my summer home in the Pocono Mountains. In time, our catches caught the eyes of fellows in bass boats, and we were glad to comply with their requests for instruction. We said we favored Cabela’s
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1/32 ounces Marabou jig in white suspended about three feet under a cork. We neglected to mention that we impaled a lively minnow on the jig’s hook. Deep-fried crappie or snapper, sweet onions, homegrown tomatoes, homemade tartar sauce — north or south, freshwater or salt, their captures described truthfully or with Trumpian mendacity — these are the jewels in the crown of the Redneck Way of Fishing. MB
Howell Raines is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and an author of four books. He has worked for Alabama news outlets, The Atlanta Constitution and St. Petersburg Times. He joined the Atlanta bureau of The New York Times in 1978. In his 25 years at the Times, Raines held many positions, including national political correspondent, White House correspondent, editorial page editor (1993-2001) and executive editor (2001-2003). In 1993, he won the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing for “Grady’s Gift,” a New York Times Magazine article. He has written four books: “Whiskey Man” (a novel), “My Soul Is Rested” (a history of the civil rights movement),“Fly Fishing Through the Midlife Crisis” and “The One That Got Away” (memoirs). He and his wife divide their time between homes in Fairhope and Henryville, Pennsylvania.
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THE TIN MAN A pilgrimage to a folk artist’s homestead studio reveals some of the wonder of his craft and personality. text by MAGGIE LACEY • photos by MATTHEW COUGHLIN
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ou’ll know when you have arrived at Leroyal’s house. The fences are painted with vibrant colors and sayings of all random sorts, many of which are misspelled. Animals and people cut from scraps of tin are nailed to every fence post. The tiny home, which was once covered from top to bottom in graffiti as well, perches right on the edge of Highway 41. There’re mostly only overloaded logging trucks and slick pickups making their way to hunting camps heading up and down this stretch of road between Monroeville and Camden, but MB came all this way for folk art. Leroyal Finklea is a man of many talents, known as a fisherman, horseman and deer cleaner extraordinaire, but his art is what drew our attention. A couple of Mobile boys hunt nearby and first heard of Leroyal as the guy who rode his horse down the middle of Highway 41, headed to the convenience store for some
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refreshment. But he could also clean a deer in 15 minutes for just $25, and after many hunting seasons where these same Mobilians visited his shed to watch him deftly wield his knife, the men and Leroyal got to know one another. We tagged along on a visit to get to know him, too. His yard is neat as a pin, except for the graffiti and signage. A few years ago, he cut down all of the trees on the property he inherited from his late mother so that none would fall on his house. “I’d have nowhere to go if I lost the house!” he explains. “And now I don’t have to worry about goin’ no where. I only leave maybe two to three times a month.” He lives off the land as much as he can, strapping a few fishing poles to his bike when he and his dog, Jethro, head down to the creek. He claims to know all about living from the woods in a way that most people have forgotten in modern times, including hunting from the back of his gaited stallion, Spot. “I had 16 horses at one time,” he says,
“THERE’S NOTHING TO DO UP HERE IN THE COUNTRY. I HAD A LOT OF SCRAP AND THOUGHT, I CAN DO SOMETHING WITH SOME OF THIS STUFF! I CAN CUT AND DRAW.” – Leroyal Finklea ABOVE Leroyal adjusts the riding gear hanging in his tool shed. OPPOSITE A sampling of Leroyal’s art scattered around the property shows the spontaneity and fun of his work and how the cowboy theme runs throughout.
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“WHEN I WAS WORKING CONSTRUCTION, WE’D START DRAWING ON SCRAP WOOD AND SHEETROCK. JUST SEE HOW GOOD YOU ARE WITH YOUR HANDS. ANYTHING THAT COMES TO YOUR HEAD.” – Leroyal Finklea
admitting that so many hooves and mouths took a toll on the small piece of property. More than seeing himself as an artist, he boasts, “I’m a cowboy.” Now with only one horse to manage, the pasture is perfectly groomed and thriving, a lush green like his garden. It is late summer and he has just sown one last crop of pink eye peas, while tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers are ripe for the picking. “People say I got a green thumb, but I don’t know. I’m not gonna say.” The produce mixes in beds with flowers and fruit trees on all sides of the house. “Next year, I plan on having flowers go from my fig tree all the way to the road.” Then he adds with a smile, “ ’Cause the ladies like flowers.” TIN MASTER Leroyal’s given name is Leroy but says as the youngest boy in his family he was called Bay Bay as a child. He is a self-taught artist. His first jobs were in construction, and he used to draw on the scraps of wood or sheetrock during his lunch break just to see what he could do. He and some of the other workers would have contests to see who could cut the most intricate shapes with the saws. He began cutting shapes to
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decorate floats for the parades in nearby Frisco City, where he lived for a good part of his life. “I’m known in Frisco City now,” he tells us. Always a man to take on the odd job, he once saved a truckload of scrap from a shed someone paid him to tear down and haul off. It gave him plenty of material for cutting his shapes. A shop owner in nearby Camden saw his work and asked if she could sell a few pieces. “She said, ‘You can make some money out of this stuff! But make it in tin ’cause tin lasts longer.’ Well, I saw I could make $5, $10, $15 off just some tin! That’s more than you can get for a truckload taken to the junkyard,” he says. Leroyal takes his scrap tin out to busy Highway 41, with its logging trucks whizzing by at terrifying speeds around blind curves, and lays it out on the road to get the ridges out and beat it smooth. He cuts and paints cowboys, wild turkeys, little dancing ladies and chickens. Mostly he makes art for himself, but he doesn’t seem to mind selling it, either. The house, with its graffiti and vibrant colors, used to be the main attraction of Leroyal’s property, but he sided over it a year or so ago. He says too many people stopped to take pictures, and one day
he found himself face-to-face with a few heavily armed fellas who wanted to take a look around. We got the impression these were not hunting firearms. Leroyal realized the house might be drawing danger along with the artistic interest, and he covered over his masterpiece. But the fences and yard art remain a colorful tribute to one man’s desire to make art for the pure joy of it. THE VALUE OF FOLK ART Art historians and gallery owners often disagree on the exact definition of folk art, also called outsider art, but in general it is art that is handmade, from recycled materials, by a self-taught artist, depicting common forms that everyone can appreciate and understand. There’s nothing esoteric here, and while some may disagree with the importance of the art or the skill level involved, the beauty is in the fact that the maker is producing it simply because it is fulfilling to do so. There is also much disagreement in the art world about what folk art should be worth. Is it unethical to pay a man less for his art just because he does not have a fancy website, an art agent or the experience to know what similar works sell for in larger markets? When someone is thrilled to receive $10 for a scrap of tin, is it stealing to make the deal, take the art and run? Self-important art critics even argue that folk artists are best left alone so the commercial world does not corrupt their pure creativity with the pollution of commerce. Perhaps these are just the musings of folks with too much time and money. The answer is probably simple — that we can appreciate the beauty of a man making stuff because it makes him happy to share it with the world. MB
TOP Leroyal saw the intricate mailboxes being sold at local stores and set out to craft his own, a vintage red pickup truck. BOTTOM The back of the shed is piled high with scrap wood and tin waiting to be formed into something greater. OPPOSITE The tidy shed on Leroyal’s property holds saddle bags, a bike strapped neatly with fishing poles and a ceiling-mounted wench used to raise hogs and deer for cleaning.
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PEOPLE | SPOTLIGHT
Raising the Barre The international duo at Mobile Ballet’s forefront blazons a renewed vision for the city’s performing arts. text by AMANDA HARTIN • photos by ELIZABETH GELINEAU
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wisp of perfectly coiffed hair dangles gingerly, brushing against the prima ballerina’s rouged cheeks. As she pirouettes, the soft swoosh of tulle is audible amongst the delicate tinkling of music. Childhood hopes and dreams are spun with each rotation of the statuette, and when the music fades, a key is turned and the magic begins again. Music boxes hearken naiveté, a time of innocence and dreams of satin slippers and ornate costumes and jetés around a lit stage. Since 1987, the Port City’s real-life music box, Mobile Ballet, has provided a place for inspiration and dreams to grow. Despite rumblings of recent diminution, the school’s turn piece is wound and playing brightly again. At the center of the rejuvenation are husband and wife Katia Garza and Israel Rodriguez, newly appointed artistic director and ballet master, whose onstage flair, grace and strength rival their modesty, sincerity and vision — a vision for more than just ballet.
Prelude Born in the Mexican border-town of Piedras Negras, Katia began ballet classes at age 3, and by 10, she was dancing professionally. Her life appeared to be on track until a teacher’s remark about Katia’s size left her questioning her purpose. Not a typically framed classical ballerina, Katia was muscular, erroneous “proof ” she had no place in ballet. Her story is not unique, but the way she dealt with it is. The inspirational documentary, “Katia Garza: My Life in Dance,” chronicles her tenacity. “Don’t waste your time believing it,” the award-winning dancer, choreographer and teacher, now 42, would tell her former self. “I was comfortable accepting the fact I would never make it until someone told me I could.” In 1994 Katia met Israel, a Cuban native, who — like his wife — was already adept at surpassing expectations and breaking stereotypes. Israel began ballet at age 10,
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“I was comfortable accepting the fact I would never make it until someone told me I could.” thinking the dance form would make him lithe and limber, important traits for the then-aspiring martial artist. But by age 11, he was in leg casts due to severe knee pain, unable to walk for eight months. The now-49-year-old had to learn to walk again, and he knew he had to dance again — ballet had become part of him. Despite seemingly insurmountable obstacles, the word “impossible” didn’t exist. “I’ve always had this mentality that it depended on me to do what I wanted to do,” he says, a sentiment shared by Katia. “There should be no room in your brain for negativity.”
En Pointe From Monterrey to Orlando and points in-between, Katia and Israel say each place they have called “home” is chosen purposefully. The algorithm is simple: Find a city with great dancers, directors and community support. And they found it here. Not ones to be complacent, however, the couple makes it clear their goal is to humbly bestow their positivity, expertise RIGHT The couple’s costumes reflect their intricate past. Katia dons custom-made pieces, while Israel holds dear ensembles inherited from world-famous dancer, Fernando Bujones.
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PEOPLE | SPOTLIGHT
and vision upon Mobile Ballet. And that vision? “I want the community to feel that Mobile Ballet’s school and company belong to them,” Katia says. And that starts with remembering the school’s trifold mission: providing superior dance education, presenting quality performances and promoting the ballet to the community as an expression of the human spirit. “I want the “I want to put all my energy into these community to children and the community,” says Katia, her feel that Mobile veracious eyes and warm smile matching her “We are the ones in charge of bringing Ballet’s school words. the focus back to the kids.” She and Israel are and company doing just that. “The school is the heart of everything, and belong to them.” Katia and Israel welcome every child and find a way to incorporate each one into whatever is happening,” says Kendra Utsey, Mobile Ballet office manager. The new leaders feel these positive changes are imperative for the studio, adjustments they know
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will take time. Although Katia has a one-year contract, the couple is not thinking about leaving. “When I decide to do something, I want to do it to the fullest,” she explains. “We hope to make a big change in one year by bringing in more people to support us.” “We look forward to a long relationship with them,” Jill Ringold, president of Mobile Ballet’s board of directors, says of Katia and Israel. “They are true professionals, and their vast experience will take Mobile Ballet to the next level.” Adding to the board’s desire and his wife’s determination, Israel emphasizes that reaching their goals is a team effort. “It’s not just all about us,” he says. “It’s very important to have collaboration; parents and students have to trust us. We want people to support us and know us.”
Encore To know the dancers poised at Mobile Ballet’s helm is to understand Katia’s childhood revelation: In life, there are one or two people who make a positive difference in the lives of others. The energy the couple emanates is palpable, and an unfeigned desire to bring out others’ best seeps from each spoken word. But it’s the words that go unsaid, the hints of a larger, more purposeful story that linger long after encountering Katia and Israel. “Sometimes people think ballet is just for a certain audience,” Katia admits, “but we want to bring it to everyone. Ballet is entertainment, but at the same time, it is food for the soul.” MB “Katia Garza: My Life in Dance,” The inspirational documentary about her life and craft, is available on iTunes, Amazon and katiagarzamovie.com. Mobile Ballet Upcoming Performances Ovation – A Concert of Legends November 8, 2018 The Nutcracker December 15 & 16, 2018 For more information visit mobileballet.org.
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ARCHITECTURAL GEMS MOBILE BOASTS ALMOST TWO CENTURIES OF STELLAR ARCHITECTURE. MB ASKED SOME OF THE BAY AREA’S TOP ARCHITECTS AND DESIGNERS TO SINGLE OUT THEIR PICKS FOR STANDOUT STRUCTURAL DESIGN. text by K ATHERINE SCHULTE and JESSICA SULLIVAN
Mobile and architecture go way back — like, more than 200 years back. Today, we can still see this history displayed throughout the city, ranging from 1830s Creole cottages to 1960s midcentury beach houses, with plenty of noteworthy buildings in between. Each architectural style from each subsequent era brings a unique characteristic to Mobile’s rich culture, such as Greek Revival’s white columns and Queen Anne’s towers and wraparound porches. “Mobile’s architecture is like her people,” says architectural historian Cart Blackwell, “that artful balance of innovation and tradition.” Although the passing years bring with them constant deterioration, the city’s architecture is well-preserved and often maintains the classical identity of each structure. From small-scale residences to large-scale commercial buildings, Mobile Bay is rife with stunning designs, old and new. “One of my favorite buildings in the area is the Fairhope Pharmacy on the corner of Fairhope Avenue and Section Street. When I moved here in 2001, the facade of the building was covered in 1970s metal panels. After Hurricane Ivan damaged the panels in 2003, Ben Barnhill hired my business partner, Mac Walcott, to restore the building to the original 1910s facade. When this transformation occurred, it revitalized Fairhope’s downtown. I think of the vision it took a new Single Tax Colony and fishing community to invest in a significant two-story architecturally detailed building — the downtown was just a dirt road in 1910. It was instrumental in creating what would become the Fairhope downtown vernacular architectural language.” Ryan Baker, Architect, Walcott Adams Verneuille PHOTO BY MICHAEL THOMAS
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PHOTO BY MICHAEL MASTRO
PHOTO BY SHARON WHELTON PHOTO BY JESSICA SULLIVAN
19401970 MIDCENTURY ARCHITECTURE UTILIZED CUTTING-EDGE MATERIALS WITH OPEN, LESS FORMAL INTERIORS AND LARGE EXPANSES OF GLASS TO LET THE OUTSIDE IN.
Visitation Monastery Priest House (Gift Shop) Springhill Avenue The Convent of the Visitation was founded by the first bishop of Mobile, Michael Portier, in 1832 and moved into its first building in 1833. Completed in 1899, the priest house is a blend of the Gothic Revival and Romanesque Revival styles. A group of volunteers known as the Visitation Auxiliary opened the book and gift shop in the building in 1981.
Isle Dauphine Club Arch Winter, T. Howard Ellis and Carl Murmeister designed this midcentury clubhouse, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, more than 60 years ago. The circular design and glass walls were distinctive then and now. The restaurant in the clubhouse and the golf course, originally built almost completely upon sand dunes, still run today.
Government Street Presbyterian Church Completed in 1837, this is one of the oldest Greek Revival church buildings in the U.S. The interior of the church is the original design and is notable for having minimal alterations, including the original pews. It also has one of the oldest surviving distyle in antis porticos in the U.S., with columns between the main pillars.
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PHOTO BY SUMMER ENNIS ANSLEY PHOTO BY SUMMER ENNIS ANSLEY
“This is one of the few midcentury modern buildings in Baldwin County. It is a small beach house on Mobile Bay south of Mullet Point. Notice the rare sawtooth roof structure made from solid 2 x 12s on a 45 degree angle. It was designed in 1961 by one of the best known architects of the time in Mobile, Arch Winter. It is minimalist, modern and vernacular, all at the same time!”
18401900 VICTORIAN HOUSES WERE BUILT DURING THE REIGN OF QUEEN VICTORIA, FEATURING STEEPLY PITCHED IRREGULAR ROOFS, EXPANSIVE PORCHES AND INTRICATE DETAILS.
PHOTO BY R. F. GLINIECKI
Coleman Mills, Designer, WMCM Studio
PHOTO BY ROBERT ENGLISH
Bishop Portier House
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Built in 1834, the Bishop Portier House is a Creolestyle cottage designed by Claude Beroujon. The house is one and one-half stories with a centered hall from front to back.
Sand Island Lighthouse The current lighthouse, located on Alabama’s southernmost point, was built in 1864. Three others were built and lost before then, dating back to 1837. The tapered, cylindrical brownstone tower is complete with a balcony and a lantern. Because of erosion of the island, the lighthouse is listed on the “Lighthouse Digest” Doomsday List.
PHOTO BY MICHAEL MASTRO PHOTO BY SUMMER ENNIS ANSLEY
Oakleigh
Barton Academy
Tacon-Tissington House
This raised villa in the Greek Revival style was built in 1833. It is one of the largest T-shaped homes in Alabama, a shape that allows crossventilation. Designed by the builder and first owner, James Roper, the quarterturn cantilever staircase to the front door leads to what was devised as the living quarters despite being positioned on the second floor.
Built in 1836 as part of James and Charles Dakins’ Greek Revival movement, Barton Academy was the first public school in the state of Alabama. Barton Academy has undergone renovations in recent years and plans on opening again as Barton Academy for Advanced World Studies for grades six through nine. The $4.2 million dollar renovations covered repairs that brought every inch of the academy back to life.
Located on Government Street, the Tacon-Tissington House was built in 1901. The house was modeled after the 19th-century Queen Anne style that includes a deep entryway, corner tower and wraparound porch. From 1880 to 1910, Queen Anne’s asymmetrical facade popped up all over the U.S. in a different style than the original English Baroque.
Burgess-Maschmeyer House As a part of the Renaissance Revival style, the BurgessMaschmeyer House was built in 1907 by George Bigelow Rogers for Col. David R. Burgess. Burgess passed the house to his daughter who later left it to the Mobile Jaycees. It was then used by the University of Mobile as the president’s home, but is now a private residence.
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“The Robert Byrd house is an amazing example of American Arts and Crafts Architecture. Designed by renowned architect Robert Byrd, the home has little birdhouses placed in the gable vents, the architect’s signature. I love the indoor/outdoor connectivity — it originally had a koi pond that ran from the outdoor patio into the living space. The details are incredible. It has a movable wall in the dining room, a secret playroom in the rafters that can be accessed by a pull-down ladder from a bunk bed and a sunken soda fountain in the living space. With original cork flooring and stone throughout, the house is pristine.” Robert McCown, Designer, McCown Design
1860-1930 THE ARTS AND CRAFTS MOVEMENT FOCUSED ON ORIGINALITY AND SIMPLE FORMS, THE USE OF NATURAL MATERIALS AND VISIBILITY OF CRAFTSMANSHIP.
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PHOTO BY SUMMER ENNIS ANSLEY PHOTO BY FARLOW PHOTOGRAPHY
PHOTO BY SUMMER ENNIS ANSLEY
Old Thomas Byrne Memorial Library, Spring Hill College campus The library was completed in 1931 and designed by architect John Rogers as part of the “Greater Spring Hill plan.” He used Thomas Jefferson’s Virginia Statehouse design but added Palladian windows in his own style. Jefferson’s Statehouse was a copy of the Maison Carrée, a first-century Roman temple in France, but he used Ionic columns instead of the temple’s Corinthian ones. The Great Depression ended the Greater Spring Hill plan and the building now serves as offices and event space.
Richards-DAR House This Italianate-style home was completed in 1860, and architectural historians note it as one of the best-preserved mid-19th century examples of domestic architecture in Mobile. The house has a cast-iron veranda with figures representing the seasons, and the interior, made on a side-hall plan, has the original bronze chandeliers, a curved staircase, marble mantels and floor-length windows overlooking the veranda. The Daughters of the American Revolution now maintain and offer tours of the house.
Old City Hall/ Southern Market Old City Hall was built from 1855 to 1857 to serve as both a city hall and market. In 1910, a second floor was added to the building, enhancing the Italianate architecture. Old City Hall is home to the History Museum of Mobile, where more than 300 years of Mobile’s history continues to live on.
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“There’s a little house on George Street in Mobile. I know nothing about the house, the history or what’s behind the original front, but the face of this house makes me so cheerful every time we drive by! It’s hands down the most understated, well-proportioned small house in Mobile that I’ve come across. It has such charm and character for its small size!” Jeremy Portillo, Architect, Watershed
1790-1840
PHOTO BY JESSICA SULLIVAN
THE CREOLE COTTAGE ORIGINATED ALONG THE GULF COAST WITH A FULL FRONT PORCH AND HIGH GABLE ROOF.
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PHOTO BY MICHAEL MASTRO
PHOTO BY SUMMER ENNIS ANSLEY
Waterman Building
Georgia Cottage
Chinaberry
Now known as the Wells Fargo Building, the Waterman Building was completed in 1947 and is the seventh tallest building in Mobile. It was known for its interior ceiling murals and the monumental twelve-foot Waterman Globe built by Rand McNally. The globe, once a downtown landmark, is now located at the Mitchell Center on the University of South Alabama campus.
Built in 1840 by Colonel John Murrell for his daughter, Georgia Cottage is part Creole cottage and part Greek Revival style. The cottage has matching side wings and a hip roof and is prized for its history: Augusta Evans wrote two novels in it.
Chinaberry is a Creole cottage built in 1862. The house lacks hallways, instead connecting rooms with several doorways. The property houses a chapel and detached kitchen, tied to each other and the house by Old Mobile brick pathways.
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HISTORY | ARCHIVES
Mobile’s Designing Women Four matriarchs of style and artistic expression illustrate the development of the city’s chic mystique. text by CARTLEDGE BLACKWELL
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even make chartreuse a new black! Yearly trips to New York, and later Atlanta, brought a vibrancy of hue and richness of texture that found their way into homes across the Mobile region. The edible and organic figural arrangements featured at so many wedding receptions and Mardi Gras parties got their start at Kelly’s memorable fetes.
eal life Mobile’s “Designing Women” put the fictional characters of the 1990s sitcom in their place. Our city’s 20thcentury design history has its fair share of Julias, Suzannes, Mary Jos and Charlenes. A glimpse into the lives of Harriet Kelly, Irene Pintel, Maureen Haas and Martha Hamilton illustrates the entry of women into the world of business, the development of our city and the stories behind major landmarks we know and love.
Irene Rybalka Pintel
Harriet Kelly Harriet Kelly possessed both business sense and design flare. Her friend and protégé Genie Inge describes her as “working with both sides of the brain.” Active from the 1940s into the 1980s, Kelly defined an era and helped establish the city’s design field. One of the first women to graduate from the University of Alabama with a business degree, she established the Town Shop, behind the St. Charles Apartments at Government and Marine streets, a grand apartment block that she owned and administered — at a time when most women were not active in the professional world. The Town Shop offered more than shades, fabrics and other fittings. That small atelier functioned as a launching pad for other designers, Inge included. Kelly was known for her passion for and utilization of color. She could
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HARRIET KELLY
Irene Rybalka Pintel represents an exotic current in Mobile’s design history, so appropriate to our status as a port city. Hailing from venerable Eastern European gentry stock, Pintel’s family fled Russia after the Bolshevik Revolution. It was in Paris that she received instruction in design and married Victor Pintel, a Frenchman who worked for Mobile lumber merchant and philanthropist Ben May. The couple moved to Mobile in the 1940s. A cosmopolitan Parisienne of noble descent, Pintel soon won friends in the Port City’s cultured circles. A close friendship with Belle Roberts, wife of E. A. Roberts of the Waterman Corporation and an early woman real estate developer in her own right, brought with it commissions to redecorate the Grand Hotel and countless interiors. Pintel’s own Provident Lane (No. 12) home, a work of architect Edward Baumhauer, ranks among Mobile’s finest essays in midcentury design.
IRENE RYBALK A PINTEL
home is known today, most recently served as a venue for social events. In Haas’ day, the property functioned as a family home and business establishment. Eighteenthcentury and museum-quality pieces took center stage within the spacious rooms of her Italianate dwelling. Starting out in antiques, Haas would expand her operations to include interior design and accessories. She operated The Magnolias well into her 80s. By the 1980s, the home appeared as one of the city’s house museums, a mark of distinction befitting its chatelaine.
Martha Pillans Hamilton Martha Pillans Hamilton, like Maureen Haas, conducted business from her personal residence. Both ladies represented the last of a tradition — the genteel antiquarian. Every Southern town of any note possessed such gracious ladies. Like the Carolina parakeet, these grand dames are now sadly an extinct
MARTHA PILLANS HAMILTON
Maureen Cottrell Haas Whereas Harriet Kelly and Irene Pintel sought the new and latest trends, Maureen Cottrell Haas, affectionately known as “Miss Totsie” to family and friends, championed, if not pioneered, the beauty of the old. Haas and her husband, Dr. Toxey Haas, first set up housekeeping in the 1930s on Roper Street in the Garden District. As with many couples, they filled their home with furnishings from both sides of newly united tribes. Following her husband’s diagnosis of tuberculosis and subsequent early retirement from medical practice, Haas made a career out of her forays with furniture of the past, thus putting three sons through college. She honed her skills over the course of decades, including taking classes at Colonial Williamsburg. At a time when the architectural landscape of “Old Mobile” was beginning to erode, the Haases purchased and restored “The Magnolias,” a long vacant villa on Springhill Avenue. “Magnolia Manor,” as the Haas
MAUREEN COTTRELL HA AS
species. Hamilton’s Colonial Mobile Shop, as her son, respected lawyer and lobbyist Palmer C. Hamilton notes, is not only the oldest house on Government Street (No. 1407), but also the longest one to remain in family hands. The name “colonial” in Colonial Mobile Shop harks to the proprietress’ and her hometown’s equally illustrious heritages. From her grand Gulf Coast cottage, Hamilton offered one-of-a-kind objects from private collections. A rap on her front door afforded access into a world most rarely encountered, if existent at all now. Harriet Kelly, Irene Pintel, Maureen Haas and Martha Pillans Hamilton represent different facets of the interior design field. Consciously or unconsciously, they broke metaphorical — and in some cases, real — glass ceilings, while still maintaining the best of traditions. These designing women contributed more than their fair share to the chic and mystique of Mobile’s third golden age, that of the postwar boom. MB
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EXTRAS | CALENDAR OF EVENTS
What’s hot in September!
CHEF TASTINGS AT THE WHARF UNCORKED
SEPTEMBER 12
SEPTEMBER 3 THE MOONLIGHT CHASSE BALLROOM DANCE SOCIETY 7 p.m. Moonlight Chasse Dance is held the first and third Mondays of each month. Tickets: $10 for non-members; $7 for members. HOT WHEELS SKATING RINK, DAPHNE ESCHAMBER.COM
SEPTEMBER 6 “TEA FOR TWO” 2 - 4 p.m. Come enjoy a cup of organic, oolong Fairhope Tea and a different guest speaker every week. Tickets: $2 donation. FAIRHOPE MUSEUM OF HISTORY COFAIRHOPE.COM
SEPTEMBER 7 FAIRHOPE FIRST FRIDAY ART WALK 6 - 8 p.m. Visit local merchants in downtown Fairhope as they open late and highlight the art community. DOWNTOWN FAIRHOPE COFAIRHOPE.COM
SEPTEMBER 7 THE BLACK JACKET SYMPHONY PRESENTS AC/DC’S “BACK IN BLACK” 8 p.m. The Black Jacket Symphony puts their spin on AC/DC classics. Tickets: $22, $32. THE SAENGER THEATRE BLACKJACKETSYMPHONY.COM
SEPTEMBER 7 - 8 BULLS ON THE BEACH 6 p.m. doors open; 8 p.m. rodeo. Bulls on the Beach features cowboys riding live bulls, trying to hold on for the longest eight seconds of their lives. Festivities will include face painting, kettle corn and old-fashioned fun. FLORA-BAMA LOUNGE & OYSTER BAR FLORABAMA.COM
SEPTEMBER 9 THE MARKET AT THE PILLARS Noon - 4 p.m. Pick up goods from more than 40 local vendors while listening to tunes from local musicians. Free admission. THE PILLARS THEPILLARSOFMOBILE.COM/THE-MARKET
AN EVENING WITH RENÉE FLEMING 7:30 - 9:30 p.m. The Mobile Symphony brings the world-renowned classical singer to the Port City. Fleming has performed at prestigious events such as the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony and the Diamond Jubilee Concert for Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. Meet the National Medal of Arts winner during the Champagne Reception after the performance. Tickets: $30 - $150. THE SAENGER THEATRE MOBILESYMPHONY.ORG
SEPTEMBER 13 GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN 5:30 - 9 p.m. This “must do” event, benefiting the Ronald McDonald House of Mobile, is an evening for ladies 21 years of age and older and features heavy hors d’oeuvres from local area chefs and restauraunts, McTini’s and an unforgettable evening of manicures, makeovers, shopping, entertainment and more. Tickets: $50 - $60. GOVERNMENT PLAZA • RMHCMOBILE.ORG
SEPTEMBER 13 - 15 THE WHARF UNCORKED FOOD & WINE FESTIVAL The three-day event combines tastings of delicious food and tantalizing wines, live entertainment, demonstrations from renowned chefs, live and silent auctions, all garnished with a pinch of Southern flare and a dash of Gulf Coast hospitality. This event benefits Make-A-Wish® Alabama. THE WHARF • THEWHARFUNCORKED.COM
SEPTEMBER 14 DAPHNE FARMERS MARKET 2 - 6 p.m. Come explore the season’s freshest produce and local sundries. CORNER OF MAIN ST. AND SANTA ROSA, DAPHNE
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SEPTEMBER 15
SEPTEMBER 29
SEPTEMBER 30
BIG CITY TOYS’ GRAND OPENING 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Come celebrate Big City Toys’ move to a new location, 4504 Old Shell Road, with donuts and coffee, followed by face painting by Moonpie Mama. Goody bags will be handed out while supplies last. The gigantic dino and unicorn sprinklers will be turned on, weather permitting.
DELTA DASH 8 a.m. - noon. Get up close and personal with the Delta during this strength and endurance challenge.
3RD ANNUAL OKTOBERFEST 2 - 6 p.m. Come join the festivity, which features German food selections as well as polka music, stein hoisting, games and more! Tickets: $10 (ages 21 and up).
SPRING HILL • BIGCITYTOYS.COM
JUBILEE FESTIVAL 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Live entertainment, festival food, arts and crafts booths, kids activities and big-game-worthy big screens makes this Eastern Shore festival fun for the whole family.
SEPTEMBER 15 JUBILEE RACE FOR LIFE 6:30 a.m. - noon. The 5K & 1-Mile Fun Run, benefiting Bayside Medical Missions, features a certified course and lots of fun.
8900 LOWER BRYANT’S LANDING DELTADASH.ORG
LUNA’S EAT & DRINK, ORANGE BEACH LUNASEATANDDRINK.COM
SEPTEMBER 29 - 30 [ONGOING ACTIVITIES]
THROUGH NOVEMBER 25 art:WORK Explore the works of educators who are training the next generation of artists.
OLDE TOWNE DAPHNE • ESCHAMBER.COM
DAPHNE • JUBILEERACEFORLIFE.ORG
MOBILE MUSEUM OF ART MOBILEMUSEUMOFART.COM
SEPTEMBER 15
OCTOBER 5 - MARCH 31
11TH ANNUAL GO RUN 8 a.m. 5K. 9 a.m. Fun Run. Lace up for this run benefiting Mitchell Cancer Institute’s gynecologic cancer research. Be sure to stick around for the post-race party.
Jane Cassidy: The Undersea Well Cassidy fuses light and sound to form meditative environments filled with visual music. MOBILE MUSEUM OF ART MOBILEMUSEUMOFART.COM
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA MOULTON BELL TOWER • USAHEALTHSYSTEM.COM/GORUN
OCTOBER 5 - MARCH 28
MASSACRE ISLAND’S PIRATE SIEGE 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Celebrate Dauphin Island’s pirate heritage with treasure hunts and reenactments. Tickets: $8, for adults; $4, for children over 4.
JUBILEE FESTIVAL
SEPTEMBER 15 - 16
SEPTEMBER 28
OCTOBER 5 - FEBRUARY 10 Stephen Althouse: Metanoia 11TH ANNUAL GO RUN
SAINT PAUL’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH LIFE CENTER, DAPHNE • ESCHAMBER.COM
Examine concepts of feminism, femininity, home, marriage, family, race and Southern culture in Mobile native Monica J. Beasley’s work. MOBILE MUSEUM OF ART MOBILEMUSEUMOFART.COM
DAUPHIN ISLAND • DAUPHINISLAND.ORG
SPAGHETTI DINNER & BINGO 6 - 8 p.m. Come out the fourth Friday of each month. Dinner is served at 6 p.m.; games start at 6:30 p.m. Tickets: $5 for full-course spaghetti dinner; $20 for 11 games of bingo.
Monica J. Beasley: Feminism and Magical Thinking
Get inspired by Althouse’s photos of wood, leather and forged metal tools and artifacts. MOBILE MUSEUM OF ART MOBILEMUSEUMOFART.COM
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HEAR YE, HERE YE Whether you’re looking for boot scootin’ or easy listening, these live-music venues whet even the most discriminating palate. BLUEGILL
3775 BATTLESHIP PARKWAY, SPANISH FORT BLUEGILLRESTAURANT.COM
CALLAGHAN’S IRISH SOCIAL CLUB 916 CHARLESTON ST. CALLAGHANSIRISHSOCIALCLUB.COM
FAIRHOPE BREWING CO. 914 NICHOLS AVE., FAIRHOPE FAIRHOPEBREWING.COM
KAZOOLA EATERY & ENTERTAINMENT 558 DAUPHIN ST. KAZOOLAMOB.COM
LAIDLAW PERFORMING ARTS CENTER 5751 USA DRIVE S MOBILECHAMBERMUSIC.ORG
THE LISTENING ROOM
78 ST. FRANCIS ST. THELISTENINGROOMMOBILE.COM
MANCI’S ANTIQUE CLUB 1715 MAIN ST., DAPHNE MANCISANTIQUECLUB.COM
MOBILE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA 257 DAUPHIN ST. MOBILESYMPHONY.ORG
MOE’S ORIGINAL BAR B QUE 701 SPRINGHILL AVE. MOESORIGINALBBQ.COM
THE RIVER SHACK 6120 S MARINA DR.
THE SAENGER THEATRE 6 S JOACHIM ST. MOBILESAENGER.COM
219 DAUPHIN ST. SOULKITCHENMOBILE.COM
THE STEEPLE
251 ST. FRANCIS ST. THESTEEPLEMOBILE.COM VEET’S BAR 66 S ROYAL ST. THE WHARF 23101 CANAL ROAD, ORANGE BEACH ALWHARF.COM
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LEE ANN WOMACK
SOUL KITCHEN
SPECIAL MUSIC SECTION Enjoy this special Mobile Bay “Arts Issue” calendar, featuring big-name headliners and homegrown talent.
SEPTEMBER 5
OCTOBER 28
Champagne is regarded as a leading light in acoustic music, with a firm reputation for making festivals buzz and holding crowds in his palm. 8 p.m. Tickets: $20. Folk / Pop. THE LISTENING ROOM
The Lysander Piano Trio, a winner of the 2012 Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition, has been praised for its passionate playing and articulate imagination. 3 p.m. Tickets: $10 and up. Instrumental. LAIDLAW PAC
SEPTEMBER 16
OCTOBER 28
LYSANDER PIANO TRIO
TOTO
AN INTIMATE EVENING WITH DANIEL CHAMPAGNE
ARGUS STRING QUARTET The Argus Quartet is quickly gaining attention as one of today’s most dynamic and versatile young ensembles. 3 p.m. Tickets: $10 and up. Instrumental. LAIDLAW PAC
SEPTEMBER 19
LEE ANN WOMACK Womack’s 2000 single, “I Hope You Dance,” became her signature song. 7 p.m. Tickets: $28.50 - $45. Country. THE STEEPLE
SEPTEMBER 21
MIA BORDERS SOLO Her live shows are regularly praised as deeply funky, confident and cool. 8 p.m. Soul / Funk. THE LISTENING ROOM
SEPTEMBER 25
AN INTIMATE EVENING WITH CATHERINE BRITT Britt has toured, performed and recorded with some of music’s most respected names. 8 p.m. Tickets: $20. Country. THE LISTENING ROOM
SEPTEMBER 26
AN INTIMATE EVENING WITH ADAM HOOD For more than a decade, Hood has created a Southern sound that mixes soul, country and American roots. 8 p.m. Tickets: $25. Country. THE LISTENING ROOM
SEPTEMBER 30
OCTOBER 19
Self-identified as an American rock band but often categorized as Christian rock, NEEDTOBREATHE experiences success on hit radio stations. 7 p.m. Tickets: $21.50 and up. Rock. THE WHARF
U.K.-bred, The Struts have more than demonstrated a preternatural command of monumental crowds with their trademark tongue-in-cheek swagger of classic glam. 7:30 p.m. Tickets: $22.50 and up. Rock. SOUL KITCHEN
NEEDTOBREATHE
OCTOBER 2 SEETHER
This South African rock band gained mainstream popularity in 2002 with their No. 1 single, “Fine Again.” 8 p.m. Tickets: $39.50. Rock. SOUL KITCHEN
OCTOBER 6
ANDERSON EAST East’s song “Satisfy Me” was released in March 2015 and received consistent radio airplay. 8 p.m. Tickets: $20 and up. R&B / Soul. SOUL KITCHEN
OCTOBER 11
WHISKEY MYERS Fueled by larger-than-life performances honed tight from countless nights on the road, Whiskey Myers’ music is raw and emotion-filled. 8:30 p.m. Tickets: $15 and up. Rock. SOUL KITCHEN
THE STRUTS
OCTOBER 20 CHERUB
The duo’s sound is the perfect combination of string plucking, button pushing and knob turning. 9 p.m. Tickets: $20 and up. Electronic / Indie. SOUL KITCHEN
OCTOBER 23 TOTO
Celebrating their 40th anniversary, the award-winning band is currently in the middle of a major resurgence around the world. 8 p.m. Tickets: $39.50 and up. Rock. SAENGER THEATRE
OCTOBER 25 RILEY GREEN
Green was raised on the sounds of old traditional country, bluegrass and Southern gospel music. 7:30 p.m. Tickets: $19.50 and up. Bluegrass.
DON FELDER
Don Felder is renowned as a former lead guitarist of The Eagles, one of the most popular and influential rock groups of our time. 7:30 p.m. Tickets: $23.50 and up. Rock. SAENGER THEATRE
OCTOBER 28
AN EVENING WITH STEPHEN MARLEY Son of legendary Bob Marley, Stephen has already worn several hats in the music industry — producer, songwriter and singer. 7 p.m. Tickets: $30 and up. Reggae. THE STEEPLE
OCTOBER 30 LAUV
An American singer and songwriter, Lauv is known for his hit “I Like Me Better.” 8 p.m. Tickets: $20 and up. Dance / Electronic. SOUL KITCHEN
OCTOBER 31 ALLEN STONE
Stone began his career singing at his father’s church and is known for being able to express himself to a crowd of people. 8 p.m. Tickets: $20 and up. R&B / Soul. SOUL KITCHEN
SAENGER THEATRE
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[ONSTAGE PERFORMANCES]
SEPTEMBER 14 - 23
“SOUTHERN GOTHIC A PERFORMANCE OF TWO ONE-ACT PLAYS: ‘DESIRE, DESIRE, DESIRE’ & ‘PAPER THIN’ ” 7:30 p.m. F / Sa. 2 p.m. Su. On “Desire, Desire, Desire”: Another Tennessee Williams parody, from the author of “For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls.” Blanche DuBois is stuck in a house with a slobby Stanley Kowalski, who keeps yelling “Stella!” Stella left for a lemon Coke six years ago and never returned. On “Paper Thin”: Lucrece and Gerald have had a good marriage, in Lucrece’s opinion. Late in life, they had one son, as they’d planned, and now, after watching Gerald recover from heart surgery, Lucrece has reminded Gerald of another thing they’d planned on: getting a divorce. MOBILE THEATRE GUILD
OCTOBER 12 - 21
“THE MIRACLE WORKER” 7:30 p.m. F / Sa. 2 p.m. Su. This classic tells the story of Anne Sullivan and her student, blind and mute Helen Keller. CHICKASAW CIVIC THEATRE
OCTOBER 12 - 28
“LOST IN YONKERS” 7:30 p.m. F / Sa. 2:30 p.m. Su. Widower Eddie Kurnitz is financially strapped and heading south for work. He drops off his two teenaged sons to stay with his mother and sister Bella in their apartment above the family’s candy store. The boys must contend with stern Grandma, Bella and her secret romance, and Louie, her brother, a small-time hoodlum in Yonkers. THEATRE 98
OCTOBER 19, 21
“THE BARBER OF SEVILLE” 8 p.m. F / 2:30 p.m. Su. Rossini’s famous comedy about the lengths to which one will go to win love. MOBILE OPERA
OCTOBER 26 - NOVEMBER 4
“TOM JONES” 7:30 p.m. F / Sa. 2 p.m Su. Young Tom Jones, foundling and ward of Squire Allworthy, is deeply in love with Sophia and she with him, but her father has arranged for her to marry the Squire’s sneaky nephew (and heir), young Blifil. MOBILE THEATRE GUILD
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NOVEMBER 2 - 18
OTHELLO 7:30 p.m. F / Sa. 2 p.m. Su. Shakespeare’s “Othello” is a story about society, status and the nature of the outsider — but it is also a story about the love and trust between friends, and between men and women. JOE JEFFERSON PLAYERS
DECEMBER 7 - 16
MISS BENNET: CHRISTMAS AT PEMBERLEY’S 7:30 p.m. F / Sa. 2 p.m. Su. An entertaining and seasonal sequel to “Pride and Prejudice,” a period pairing of Mary with a gentleman as awkwardly bookish as herself and thus a celebration of nerd love in all its overeducated glory. CHICKASAW CIVIC THEATER
DECEMBER 7 - 16
THE EIGHT: REINDEER MONOLOGUES In this dark Christmas comedy, scandal erupts at the North Pole when one of Santa’s reindeer accuses him of sexual harassment. COMPANY11
SEE AND BE SCENE To paraphrase William Shakespeare, all the Port City is a stage. Check out these venues for upcoming productions. CHICKASAW CIVIC THEATRE 801 IROQUOIS ST. CCTSHOWS.COM
COMPANY11
1260 DAUPHIN ST. COMPANY11.ORG
JOE JEFFERSON PLAYERS 11 S CARLEN ST. JOEJEFFERSONPLAYERS.COM
MOBILE OPERA 257 DAUPHIN ST. MOBILEOPERA.ORG
MOBILE THEATRE GUILD 14 N LAFAYETTE ST. MOBILETHEATREGUILD.ORG
PLAYHOUSE IN THE PARK 4851 MUSEUM DRIVE PLAYHOUSEINTHEPARK.ORG
SUNNY SIDE THEATER 63 MIDTOWN PARK E SUNNYSIDEDRAMA.COM
THEATRE 98
350 MORPHY AVE., FAIRHOPE THEATRE98.ORG
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[OCTOBER HIGHLIGHTS]
OCTOBER 3 - 6 ALABAMA COASTAL BIRDFEST BirdFest is a great adventure no matter your level of birding experience. Opportunities to see birds, alligators, wildflowers and dolphins abound. Workshops offered at 5 Rivers Delta Center. Tickets: $22 - $70. 5 RIVERS DELTA RESOURCE CENTER WEEKSBAY.ORG
OCTOBER 5 - 6 TEN65 Converge on downtown Mobile and experience Ten65 — a free, two-day event that celebrates music, technology and culture in this awesome city on the rise. Lineup coming soon. DOWNTOWN MOBILE TENSIXTYFIVE.COM
OCTOBER 6 ALABAMA FESTIVAL OF FLAVOR Noon - 5 p.m. Sample some of the best local food, beer and wine provided by everything from food trucks to world renowned chefs. Kick off the festival by going to the Chicago Street Supper Club dinner on Thursday night. DOWNTOWN FOLEY ALABAMAFESTIVALOFFLAVOR.COM
OCTOBER 6 GULF SEAFOOD GALA 6 - 9 p.m. This year’s event commemorates the Isle Dauphine Club’s 60th anniversary. Enjoy locally sourced Gulf seafood, offered for your tasting pleasure with local craft beer and wines. Live music, displays of vintage Club photographs and a silent auction of original art round out the event. Tickets: $75 ISLE DAUPHINE CLUB DAUPHINISLANDARTS.ORG
OCTOBER 11 - 14 NATIONAL SHRIMP FESTIVAL 10 a.m. - 10 p.m. Sample some of the best shrimp dishes around while taking in more than 80 musical acts. GULF SHORES • MYSHRIMPFEST.COM
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OCTOBER 17, 20 WHO HAUNTS THE FORT 6 - 7 p.m. Bring your own flashlights for a guided tour of the known deaths and burials at Mobile Point from 1813 - 1910. Tickets: $12. FORT MORGAN • FORT-MORGAN.ORG
OCTOBER 18 - 20 GREEK FEST 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. Celebrate Greek culture with food, dancing, arts and crafts, a tour of the church and more. Tickets: $5; weekend pass, $10 - $12. ANNUNCIATION GREEK CHURCH GREEKFESTMOBILE.ORG
OCTOBER 20 WINE ON THE RIVER 4 - 8 p.m. Sample over 150 different varieties of wine from all over the world at this event benefiting Fuse Project. Food will be available for purchase. Tickets: $49 COOPER RIVERSIDE PARK WINEONTHERIVERMOBILE.COM
OCTOBER 27 ELBERTA GERMAN SAUSAGE FESTIVAL 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. The festival returns to continue its tradition of sausage, arts and crafts, carnival rides and live music. ELBERTA TOWN PARK • ELBERTAFIRE.COM
OCTOBER 27 BOO AT BELLINGRATH 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. Dress up your little goblins and enjoy a day full of Halloween fun at Bellingrath!
BOO AT BELLINGRATH
BELLINGRATH GARDENS • BELLINGRATH.ORG
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HISTORY | ASK MCGEHEE
Who was the impoverished French baroness who once lived in Mobile? text by TOM MCGEHEE
There was a baroness here, but she wasn’t French. She was actually born on a plantation called “Woodlands” near Claiborne, Alabama, in 1841. Emily Blount was the daughter of attorney Frederick Blount who had begun his practice in the booming area of Claiborne in western Monroe County in the 1830s. The Blount home featured a musicians’ gallery in the entrance hall and was the setting for many a party in the 1840s. The fortunes of Claiborne began to diminish, and by 1852 the Blount family had moved to Mobile and occupied a house on the southwest corner of Springhill Avenue and Lafayette Street. No photographs survive of that home, but it was impressive enough to have hosted Henry Clay a decade earlier. In 1858, Mobile had a French visitor named Henri de Riviere, who was described as “a tall military-looking man with a strong well-bronzed face.” America in the 1850s was enthralled with all things French, whether it was a dress or parlor furniture. Here was a handsome Frenchman, rumored to be a baron and a veteran of the Crimean War. Parlors in Mobile were thrown open to the visitor, who was surrounded by admirers — usually female. Their male counterparts were not as pleased by his presence. At one of their watering holes, Captain Harry Maury — a local wit — loudly declared Riviere “Count, no account and baron of intellect,” which had the room roaring.
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LEFT Emily Blount de Riviere (as pictured circa 1870 and 1900) led an elegant and — as some might posit — a scandalous life. PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE ERIK OVERBEY COLLECTION, THE DOY LEALE MCCALL RARE BOOK AND MANUSCRIPT LIBRARY, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA.
A Duel and an Unusual Elopement The subject of his joke was not amused and challenged Maury to a duel involving a pair of Colt revolvers at 12 paces. Maury shot first, and the wounded Riviere was brought back to town down Springhill Avenue, where one of the Blounts stopped the group and invited him in to recuperate. Just who extended the invitation is not clear. What is known is that when Frederick Blount returned from a legal matter upstate, he found his house empty of his wife,
daughter and Riviere. He chased the trio to Cuba and then New York while all of Mobile wondered just who Riviere was after — teenaged Emily or her attractive mother? The triangular elopement made its way into newspapers around the country. The chase ended in a New Jersey hotel, and Mrs. Blount explained she went along as her daughter’s chaperone. Riviere did not return to Mobile, but there was an arrangement for him to marry Emily once she was of age.
Baroness de Riviere Riviere returned to France, where he eventually came into his inheritance and baroncy. He wrote the Blounts and sent funds to cover their travel expenses so they could join him. The Civil War had erupted, causing the family to board a blockade runner to Cuba to get Emily to France for her wedding. As the Baroness de Riviere, Emily found herself living in a grand house in Paris while maintaining a villa on Capri. Her gowns came from the house of Worth, and her husband was honored for having chartered a ship from South America to provide exotic animals for the Paris Zoo. In time, Henri’s fortune shrank, while the number of his mistresses increased. Emily finally had enough and returned to Mobile with her two children. Baron de Riviere would die in a retirement home for French veterans in 1909 Eventually Emily’s funds ran low, and bit by bit she sold off her jewelry, artwork and other treasures she had brought from France. In her final years, she survived by the kindness of friends who invited her for all her meals, and she died in 1917 at the age of 76. Ironically, Emily never referred to herself as a baroness. She preferred the title of madame. MB Although Madame Blount’s home in Mobile was demolished long ago, “Woodlands” survives. It will be open to the public the weekend of October 12th. For further information, visit www.monroecountymuseum.org.
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END PIECE | IN LIVING COLOR
Augusta Evans, circa 1900 Original photo from the Gaillard family collection Colorization by Dynamichrome Limited
Writer Augusta Jane Evans, a cotton factor’s daughter, was born in Columbus, Georgia, but moved to Mobile at the age of 14. Just one year later, she wrote her first novel “Inez: A Tale of the Alamo,” which she presented to her family as a Christmas gift. According to historian and MB contributor John Sledge, “Three years later she followed up with ‘Beulah,’ which sold an astonishing 20,000 copies, and the proceeds allowed her family to buy the handsome country residence Georgia Cottage on Springhill Avenue. At 33, she finished her most successful novel, “St. Elmo.” Considered one of the most popular novelists of her time, Evans, who married Lorenzo Wilson in 1868, was the first woman author to earn more than $100,000, a record that would be surpassed by Edith Wharton.
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