One
OF A KIND
TEAMWORK DRIVES MORE AUTOMOTIVE JOBS INTO JASPER
April
May
June
Yo r o z u C o n s t r u c t i o n P r o g r e s s Yorozu Automotive Alabama is the fourth auto supplier to call Walker County home. The company is constructing a state of the art metal stamping facility in the Jasper Industrial Park to supply suspension and other components to multiple automotive manufacturers.
Contact:
Walker County Development Authority Phone: 205-302-0068 Web: wceida.com 2
Walker Magazine
summer 2016
Here is a great place to call home.
There’s something different about the way everyone cares for one another in our community, and you’ll find it’s the same way at First Bank of Jasper. Turn to us for the financial products and services you need. Because here is a great place to be your friend, your neighbor and your bank. 205.221.3121 firstbankofjasper.com
Banking products are provided by Synovus Bank, Member FDIC.
volume 4, issue Divisions 4 of Synovus Bank operate under multiple trade names across the Southeast.
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VOLUME 4 • ISSUE 4 • SUMMER 2016
FromTheStaff... magazine Established October 2012
PUBLISHER James Phillips EDITOR Jennifer Cohron ART DIRECTOR Malarie Brakefield CONTRIBUTORS Johnathan Bentley, Jennifer Cohron, Elane Jones, Brian Hale, Ron Harris, Lea Rizzo, Rick Watson Advertising Jake Aaron, Jerry Geddings, Renee Holly, Liz Steffan, Tammy Wood Business Manager Charlette Caterson Distribution Michael Keeton Walker Magazine is a publication of and distributed seasonally by the Daily Mountain Eagle, a division of Cleveland Newspapers, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or stored for retrieval by any means without written consent from the publisher. Walker Magazine is not responsible for unsolicited materials and the publisher accepts no responsibility for the contents or accuracy of claims in any advertisement in any issue. Walker Magazine is not responsible for errors, omissions or changes in information. The opinions of contributing writers do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the magazine and its publisher. Our mission is to promote Walker County and to showcase its many attributes as a quality place in which to live, to work and to play. We welcome ideas and suggestions for future editions of the magazine. Just send us a brief note via email. © 2016 Daily Mountain Eagle Walker Magazine P.O. Box 1469 Jasper, AL 35502 (205) 221-2840 email: walkermagazine@mountaineagle.com 4
Walker Magazine
This issue of Walker Magazine wraps up the fourth year that our staff has brought the people of Walker County this product that highlights the many positive aspects of our community — past, present and future. In this issue, the uniqueness of our community comes front and center with our photo essay and story on the Walker County Arts Alliance public art project. The nearly 60 colorful mules that can be found throughout our area have a backstory that goes deep within Walker County’s history. Another peek inside our county’s history found in this issue of Walker Magazine is the story of Dr. Carl Jesse and how he worked tirelessly to open Walker College in the late 1930s. In conjunction with our piece on the founder of the college that has served Jasper for nearly a century, we have also included the story of Thornton Chapel, an Army chapel that became a landmark on the Walker College campus after it was relocated to Jasper. One former Walker County resident helps bring history to life as Tom Walker leads the efforts at American Village in Montevallo, providing a place for people from throughout the Southeast to see a visual representation of revolutionary United States. Our “From the Vault” feature for this edition spotlights the Dora Centennial celebration, which took place in August 1986. This is an event that I attended as an 8-year-old child. The photographs in this piece brought back many memories from that day. Another story in this edition highlights the history of success current Dora wrestling coach Hezzie Morgan has had in that role. Morgan has coached many champions on the mat, but his tendency to build his athletes into outstanding citizens is his greatest accomplishment. We hope you enjoy your summer and this edition of this magazine.
::: Subscribe to Walker Magazine! If you’re an out-of-towner, get a year of great stories right at your doorstep. Call: (205) 221-2840 Email: editor@mountaineagle.com
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James Phillips, Publisher
OnTheCover Sharon Hogg of the Walker County Arts Alliance stands by Dottie Mae. Photo by Ron Harris
GetHooked! For your entertainment we have placed this fishing hook (actual size) within the pages of Walker Magazine. This will be a permanent feature for our readers. We hope you enjoy searching for the fishing hook in each issue.
Happ y hunting!
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Mayor Sonny Posey District 1 Jed Daniel Inc. volume 4, issue 4 1887
District 2 Danny Gambrell
District 3 Gary Cowen
District 4 Jennifer W. Smith
District 5 Sandi Sudduth
(205) 221-2100 | 400 19th St. W, Jasper, AL 35501 | www.jaspercity.com
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TableOfContents 8
From The Vault Dora Centennial
10
Find a Way or Make One Dr. Carl Jesse and the founding of Walker College
18
Chapel For Sale Army chapel relocates to Jasper
22
Photo Essay Mule Spotting
30
History Comes Alive American Village
38
Grappling With Success Coach Hezzie Morgan
18
10
44
Community Calendar What’s going on in the county
46
Snapshots Past events in Walker County
50
Why I Love Walker County Marcy Brown
30
22
38
AdvertisingIndex 43 - Allstate—Holladay Agency 15 - Bevill State Community College 43 - Blackwell’s Body Shop 47 - Candyland Daycare 42 - Carl Cannon 51 - Chamber of Commerce of Walker Co. 05 - City of Jasper 29 - Cordova Health & Rehabilitation 49 - Custom Shirts and Signs 16 - Daily Mountain Eagle 15 - Downs & Associates 03 - First Bank of Jasper 6
Walker Magazine
21 - First National Bank of Carbon Hill 29 - GCR Tires and Service 21 - Green Top BBQ 42 - High Point Furniture 17 - Honda of Jasper 16 - Hospital Discount Pharmacy 17 - Hyundai of Jasper 15 - Jasper Homes 02 - Jasper Industrial Development Board 07 - Jasper Mall 29 - Jones Accounting 21 - La Ti Da Salon
16 - Lavish 43 - Lamar’s Glass 43 - Los Reyes 46 - Manchester Auto Parts 52 - Nelson, Bryan & Jones 29 - Reliable A/C Systems, Inc. 48 - Sunrise Manor 02 - Walker Development Authority 29 - Williams Furniture 21 - Witcher Office Supply 15 - Young Jewelers
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Over 30 Specialty Shops Inside
Jasper Mall
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Bath & Body Works Belk Carol’s Cato Cellairis Chick-Fil-A Deb & Co. Factory Connection Fisher’s Men’s Shop Garfield’s Restaurant & Pub
General Nutrition Center Hibbett Sports JC Penney Joe’s Shirt Shop K-Mart Lin Garden II MasterCuts Moon Day Spa Nail Galaxy Photosshoots Prime Communications
Robin’s Nest rue 21 Shoe Dept. Subway Susan’s Hallmark The Children’s Place The Jewelry Doctor U.S. Military Career Center Yogurt Street Zales
Serving Walk er And Surroun ding Counties For 36 Years!
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From The
Dora Centennial: August 1986 Story by Jennifer Cohron Photos courtesy of the Daily Mountain Eagle
Dora residents celebrated the 100th anniversary of the city’s founding in August 1986. Grandstands were erected in the parking lot of the Dora Shopping Center to accommodate the crowd of more than 1,000 people who turned out for a parade on Aug. 2 featuring antique cars, horse-drawn wagons and drivers in period dress. U.S. Sen. Howell Heflin served as grand marshal. Dora’s new black fire truck, which cost $100,000 and was specially built, arrived in town just in time to become the lead vehicle. In honor of the centennial, old ordinances were honored throughout the month of August. A woman who sat on her porch with her legs crossed could be fined $25 for lewd behavior, and homeowners who had not swept the sidewalk in front of their residence by 10 a.m. could be fined $5.
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Find a Way or Make One Story by Jennifer Cohron | Photos courtesy of the Walker College Foundation
One of the earliest legends of Walker College is the small sum that Dr. Carl Jesse, the slender, energetic college president, carried with him as classes convened for the first time in September 1938. “There was a lively twinkle in his eyes,” Jesse’s wife, Myrtle, recalled years later, “but I could almost feel the tears in his voice. ‘I have 35 cents in my pocket this morning, very small capital to start on a venture like this, but by God’s grace the school shall grow and develop.’” Jesse referred to the school’s humble beginnings in a chapel speech in June 1944: “We joke about the fact that Walker College was opened with 35 cents. We say that because it is the language people understand, but I am telling you that it was opened with all the wealth in the world at its disposal. When Walker College opened, Christ preceded us up the steps.” Jesse, a minister’s son who spent several years as a concert pianist and served as president of a small college in Kansas from 1919 to 1925, came to Jasper in 1933 as an instructor for the Cheatham Conservatory of Music. In 1937, he and a group of like-minded community leaders began an effort to establish a junior college in Jasper. Mountain Eagle reader David C. Akins touted the project in a letter to the editor on March 24, 1938. “If we had a college in or near Jasper, the cost to the students of attending would be but little more than that of a high school. The various high schools of the county are now graduating about 250 boys and girls annually. Only about 20 percent of these can hope to go away to college,” Akins wrote. Two weeks later, a petition that included the names of nearly 300 high school seniors who hoped to one day pursue their education locally was published. Jesse served alongside a young attorney named Carl Elliott and Kelly Herring, commander of American Legion Woods Post No. 9, on an organization committee for the proposed junior college. Other supporters of the project included newspaper publishers E.H. Pierce and W.M. Massey and Jasper Mayor John Burton. Initially, the American Legion was sponsoring the movement, and the county board of revenue was expected to make a new, unoccupied almshouse building located two miles north of Jasper available for the college.
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“When Walker College opened, Christ preceded us up the steps.” - Dr. Carl Jesse
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At Right: Walker College was founded in 1938 and became part of the Bevill State system in 1998. Below: Dr. Carl Jesse stands in front of Davis Hall, the first building to be constructed at Walker College.
Then, on Aug. 25, 1938, the Mountain Eagle reported that the American Legion had withdrawn its sponsorship after the county announced that the college would be asked to pay $40 a month for rent. “Failure of the county to permit the use of the building rent free or at least at a greatly reduced rate is said to be the cause of withdrawal by the Legion,” the Eagle reported. In spite of the setback, Jesse insisted that Walker College would open in September in the Cheatham Conservatory. The committee estimated that the cost of equipment and operating expenses for the first year would be less than $10,000, which included teacher salaries. Following a survey of high school seniors, the committee found that annual tuition should not exceed $100 in order to be affordable for the maximum number of prospective students. Most of the furniture and equipment were secured through donations or bargain hunting. Six new typewriters were purchased on credit. Jesse also recruited three faculty members who agreed to work
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for salaries as low as $60 a month. “It seemed that ‘find a way or make one’ had become a slogan which was almost like a courageous battle cry. At last it had awakened the slumbering giant of inertia which was being transformed into a glorious community spirit,” Myrtle Jesse wrote in a summary of the college’s early years. Walker College opened on Sept. 15, 1938, with 34 students,
summer 2016
Photo By Jennifer Cohron
approximately half of whom were in Myrtle Jesse’s nursing program through People’s Hospital, and four faculty members, including Jesse. Six local men sat on the board of advisors. The new college’s motto was “Equal Opportunity for All.” In addition to serving as president, Jesse taught education and language courses. After the last class of the day ended, he could also be found sweeping and stoking the furnace.
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The staff of The Darda, the college yearbook, dedicated the 1939 edition to Jesse, “whose unflinching loyalty to his own high ideals has been an inspiration and a source of spiritual and intellectual growth.” Financial troubles and the push for a permanent home defined Walker College during its first decade. In October 1940, Sen. Lister Hill announced more than
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Top: Walker College students graduate in the early 1940s. Bottom: Dr. Carl Jesse, left, poses with students of the first graduating class of Walker College, 1940.
$18,000 in federal funding for construction of the college’s first building. The project, completed in 1942, was a joint venture of the Walker College Board of Trustees and the city of Jasper and received presidential approval through the Works Progress Administration. In January 1944, the Mountain Eagle reported that the college needed to raise $4,000 in order to remain open through commencement in 1945. Erskine Ramsey, a Birmingham philanthropist who made several large donations to colleges throughout the state, contributed $1,000 on the condition that the community raise the other $3,000. One year later, Ramsey agreed to donate an additional $1,000 if the community could once again meet his challenge. “Owing to war conditions, which have taken many boys into military service and girls into necessary works, the attendance at Walker Junior College has not been quite large enough to pay the faculty full salaries, but thanks to the public spirited citizens of the community, enough money has been contributed to make up the deficit,” the Eagle reported in March 1945. 14
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In June 1945, the Alabama Legislature overwhelmingly approved a $10,000 annual appropriation for Walker College. The appropriation was renewed in 1955. In December 1955, one era of Walker College ended and another began with Jesse’s death at age 67. Services were held in the college’s auditorium. At the time, Walker College consisted of one building and a dormitory, and the enrollment in 1956 was 32. Within four years, two new buildings had been constructed, enrollment had increased to 302 and Walker College had been accredited through the Southern Association of College and Secondary Schools under Jesse’s successor, Dr. David Rowland. After Jesse’s death, his widow recounted the struggles of those early years in a document she titled “Find a Way or Make One.” She concluded, “Years hence, the man will be forgotten. The earth will remember him no more. But we are sure that he would will it so. If his project, the thing for which he sweat blood and spent many sleepless nights, endures, he will not have lived in vain.” • summer 2016
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Chapel for sale
Story by Rick Watson | Photos courtesy of the Walker College Foundation
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Walker Magazine
summer 2016
Thornton Chapel
stands on a shady lot on Bevill State Community College’s Walker College campus. The original structure was one of the regimental chapels at Fort McClellan in Anniston. The military was concerned about the spiritual needs of the soldiers and sailors stationed there, so they held interdenominational services on Sunday. In 1960, Walker College president Dr. David J. Rowland read a newspaper story about the Army’s intention to tear the old chapel down to make room for a new hospital. He saw an opportunity to preserve a piece of history, so he wrote a letter to the property officer and bid $200 for the building. It’s unclear if the bid was the only one, or if the property officer based his decision on the bid or the college president’s military career. Rowland is a World War II veteran and retired from the Reserves as a colonel. Once the bid was accepted, the structure had to be moved from Anniston to Jasper. “We had two maintenance men, Willard Parris and Bart Jones, who stayed in Anniston two months disassembling the building and labeling each piece,” Rowland explained.
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Photo By Rick Watson
Above: Dr. David Rowland paid $200 for Thornton Chapel in 1960. Top Left: Dr. David Rowland became President of Walker College in 1956.
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The college also had student volunteers who went to Anniston two days a week at their own expense to help in the project. Jimmy Kilgore of Jasper had a truck line, and he sent a truck over every week and hauled back the pieces. The City of Jasper Street Department prepared the lot. The original building lacked a basement, according to Rowland, and the lot had been a deep ditch. A company out of Cordova donated enough tile for a basement. Afterward, the tedious task of reconstruction started. Toward the end of the project, the team decided to brick the outside to make it fit in better with the other buildings at the college. The Masonic Temple in Birmingham donated a pipe organ for the chapel. People around Jasper gave money for paint and other things to get the chapel ready. Other than the wages for the two maintenance men, no money from the college’s budget went into the project. “The project was challenging, but it was a lot of fun,” remembered Rowland. Through the years, Thornton Chapel was used for weddings, concerts and various other community and college events. A Lutheran Church used the chapel to hold services for some years. Rowland thinks Thornton Chapel was a boost for community morale since Walker College was a private institution funded by an annual appropriation from the State Legislature and local donations. “The chapel project assured the community that it was not all ‘take’ by Walker College because we were giving back to the community,” Rowland said. Penne Mott, the current dean of BSCC-Jasper, called the chapel “a historical focal point of the campus.” She added, “It currently houses the music department, which contributes to the mission of Bevill State by enriching student lives intellectually and culturally.” • 20
Walker Magazine
Top Photo: A postcard of the original chapel located at Fort McClellan. Photo Set of Three: Workers reassemble the chapel on the Walker College campus.
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Sweet Magazine Rose Walker
summer 2016
Mule spotting Story by Jennifer Cohron | Photos by Daily Mountain Eagle Staff
Sharon Hogg had a lot of explaining to do when she started drumming up support for the Walker County Arts Alliance’s public art project in fall 2010. “We were trying to sell the first 20, and people would say, ‘You want me to sponsor what?’ They all imagined a real, live mule,” Hogg said. The idea was to paint 20 fiberglass mules and place them in high-traffic areas around the county in preparation for “Journey Stories,” a traveling Smithsonian Institution exhibit dedicated to American migration that would spend the summer in Jasper. WCAA board members were familiar with other public art projects such as Chicago’s Cow Parade and Austin’s GuitarTown. The arrival of “Journey Stories” in 2011 seemed like the perfect opportunity to do something similar that would turn local stories into works of art, attract tourists, increase awareness of the WCAA and raise funds for the nonprofit’s in-school art program. The board decided to make mules the focus of the project because of the beast’s historical importance. “Renowned for their hardiness, mules came to be the most important work animal in the state from the late 19th century until they were replaced by machines around the middle of the 20th century,” one publication of the WCAA explains. In the beginning, the board hoped to be able to find sponsors and artists for 20 mules. However, as interest grew, the effort expanded and became The 50-Mule Team Public Art Project. The mules that started appearing in front of businesses and public buildings in 2011 were as unique as the artists and sponsors who brought them to life. Walker, the hospital’s mule, wore scrubs. Lieutenant at Fontaine was dressed in camo and accentuated by the boots and dog tags of a local soldier. Crimson Blu symbolized the house divided on football Saturdays in the South, proclaiming “Roll Tide” on one side and “War Eagle” on the other. Local children helped paint four of the mules – Sleepy, Smokey, Daisy and Ed Mule Cation. When the Buddy Thorne family sponsored Heritage for Cordova, it fell to Billie Jo Hamby, who lost her home in the April 27, 2011, tornadoes that rolled through the city, to find a way to use art to help the community start to heal from the devastation. Her design incorporated images of the city’s famed In-
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dian Head Mill as well as Long Memorial United Methodist Church and downtown, both of which suffered extensive damage and had to be torn down. In a special tribute, shards of stained glass from the church were placed on Heritage’s hooves. Hamby, who painted five mules for the public art project, was meticulous about the details on Heritage because she knew that this mule had a special purpose. It was preserving history for future generations. “The mules came at a time of devastation after the storms changed the landscape in Walker County forever. They turned into history lessons, smile makers and backdrops for photo taking. They sure have changed the landscape for the better. Each one is a treasure,” Hamby said. The public quickly embraced Walker County’s whimsical mules. During the first year, dedicated mule spotters routinely stopped by WCAA’s office to show off their mule scrapbook. Dressing up the mules in feather boas, oversized sunglasses or holiday attire became a favorite pastime of some sponsors. Soon, the mules were featured on coasters, magnets, a poster and a calendar. Five years later, the project is still going. The map of mules now stretches from Rastovius in Carbon Hill to Nellie in Parrish, Patchy in Sumiton and Sweet Rose in Oakman. The latter was sponsored by the Gulledge family – Larry, Jonah and Jonathan – because they had so much fun traveling around the county to see the first 50 that debuted. “We wanted Oakman to be on the map, so to speak. I knew I wanted roses, and my husband used to call me Sweet Rose, which is how she got her name,” Jonah Gulledge said. The Gulledges have received numerous compliments about Sweet Rose since she took her place in the rose garden in front of their house in June 2014. There are now 57 mules on public display, four at private residences and five that are in progress. The project won’t go on indefinitely. At some point, the WCAA board will shift their attention to something new, but in the meantime, the mules remain one of the most visible and popular ways that the nonprofit is fulfilling its mission of bringing the arts to Walker County. “You still drive down the road and see some kid on the back of a mule taking his picture. That makes it fun,” Hogg said. •
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Eclipse Daisy
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Heritage
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Hope
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Story by Jennifer Cohron | Photos courtesy of American Village
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The little girl
simmered with anger as she watched a Redcoat berate an American colonist. Her fifth grade class was on a field trip to American Village in Montevallo shortly after its opening in November 1999. Founder and CEO Tom Walker had envisioned a place where young people could experience history firsthand by marching in George Washington’s Army at Yorktown, riding with Paul Revere to Lexington or listening to Patrick Henry give his impassioned “Give me liberty or give me death” speech. American Village grew out of Walker’s concerns about a growing national amnesia regarding the ideals on which the country had been founded. If today’s youth did not know that they were a part of “We the People,” then how could they be expected to be engaged citizens and preserve the legacy of self-government for the generations that would follow them? “Too often, we underestimate the influence that we can have as citizens. Ours is an ownership system. One person can make a difference. I felt like there were some things like that that needed to be taught,” Walker said. The fifth grader’s reaction to a Redcoat’s taunts proved in those early days that American Village was succeeding. Surprising everyone, including the staff member portraying the British soldier, she raced off the sidelines and kicked him hard in the shin. The employee was so caught off guard that he accidentally uttered an expletive, for which he was later reprimanded by Walker. “I said, ‘I can’t fuss because you’re really doing a great job to get that kind of reaction, but you know you can’t say things like that.’ We toned that scene down,” Walker said. Walker was about the girl’s age when he visited Mount Vernon, the U.S. Capitol and the White House with fellow safety patrol members from Birmingham’s Rocky Ridge Elementary School. Seeing places that he had read about in the “Book of Presidents” that his parents had given him for his 11th birthday solidified his love of history and fanned the flame of national pride in his heart. Walker earned degrees in history and political science with an emphasis in public administration from the University of Montevallo and Mississippi State University.
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In 1976, he moved to Jasper and took an administrative job with the Alabama Surface Mining Commission. His wife, Betty, taught in Parrish and Dora, and the couple’s first child was born during the four years that they lived in Walker County. In 1990, while serving as assistant to the president at the University of Montevallo, Walker first articulated the vision that would become American Village. In 1995, the Citizenship Trust was chartered by the Alabama Legislature as a 501(c)(3) non-profit educational institution. The first public funding was secured in 1998. Unused farmland on Highway 119 in Montevallo was chosen as the home for American Village. The 113-acre site was acquired on Washington’s Birthday in 1996. Washington Hall, modeled after Mount Vernon, and the Colonial Courthouse, inspired by the courthouse at Colonial Williamsburg from which the Declaration of Independence was first publicly read, 32
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were the only buildings that had been constructed at the time of American Village’s opening in 1999. The campus has now expanded to 183 acres and hosts more than a dozen structures patterned after important sites from American history. Beginning in 1994, Walker has worked with architect Mike Hamrick to craft a campus that helps young students as well as adults feel that they have stepped back in time to a moment when history is in the making rather than a date in a textbook. “The problem with history is we know how it turned out. In the retelling, it loses some of the suspense and the drama. What we try to do is put the kids in the middle of scenes where the people in that moment had not a clue whether it was going to be successful or not. When Benjamin Franklin comes out of the Constitutional Convention and is asked what form of government had been produced and he says, ‘a republic if you can keep it,’ he really doesn’t know,” Walker summer 2016
Above: Historical interpreters cross a replica of Concord’s Old North Bridge. At Right: Tom Walker, founder and CEO of the American Village Citizenship Trust, began gathering public support for a living history classroom in 1994.
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said. Twelve historical interpreters, many of whom have been at American Village since its opening, portray the men and women who worked together to forge a new nation. Educational programs are offered for all grade levels, and the theme changes according to the season. The signature program is “Liberty,” which tells the story of how and why America is free. In November, visitors exchange gifts with a Native American tribal chief and participate in the first Thanksgiving feast. In February, students learn about the executive branch during Presidents’ Days. President George Washington and King George face off in a game show called “Choose Your George.” Before American Village opened, Walker worried that teenagers might be too self-conscious to take part in some of the activities. He credits the talent and dedication of the interpreters who never stop studying about their character for making the experience 36
Walker Magazine
so realistic that students of all ages can’t help but respond. “It’s different than being an actor on a stage because you’ve got some distance there. This is up close and personal. They may ask you about your mother or something personal about your life. You have to not only know it but have it come out of you like it is part of who you are,” Walker said. Though the stories retold at American Village are taken from the past, the ultimate goal of Walker and the staff is to encourage visitors to make connections to the present, especially concerning their civic responsibilities. One of the newest additions to campus is the National Veterans Shrine and Register of Honor. Dedicated on Washington’s Birthday in 2014, the shrine pays tribute to the men and women who have worn the uniform of their country as well as the loved ones who sacrificed along with them. Individuals can register a veteran for free at www.veteransregisterofhonor.com. The photos, videos and biographical sketches subsummer 2016
More than half a million school children visited American Village in its first 15 years of existence. American Village is located on 183 acres along Highway 119 in Montevallo. American Village will be closed July 23–Sept. 6 for renovations.
mitted during the application process are turned into mini-movies available for viewing during a tour of the facility. Although war creates the backdrop, it is not a war memorial. Instead, visitors are reminded that every veteran is someone’s child as they make their way through a series of galleries that answer such questions as “Who are our veterans?” and “What do we owe them?” “It’s not just enough to write the words on parchment. It came at a great cost. If we can remind visitors of that, then maybe we take more seriously our job to honor that service and to use our liberty in constructive ways,” Walker said. • volume 4, issue 4
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Walker Magazine
summer 2016
Grappling
with success Story by Brian Hale | Photos by Brian Hale and Johnathan Bentley
One June
morning at the Walker County Wrestling Club, Hezzie Morgan instructs his wrestlers on certain moves they could encounter at the upcoming camp they’ll be attending. Some of his veteran grapplers demonstrate the techniques on junior members of the squad, while Morgan critiques with a watchful eye and takes notes on how improvement can be gained. The camp will allow his wrestlers to further hone their skills in preparation for the 2016-17 season, where their overall abilities are tested against some of the state’s best grapplers, eventually leading to the Supersection Tournament — the gateway to the State Championship Tournament to decide who will hoist the title trophy. Behind the long-time wrestling coach is the Dora Wall of Fame, where Morgan’s legacy of producing elite-level athletes are listed in the program’s state and section title holders, as well as those grapplers who have attained All-American status. Since Morgan’s initial posting to the Dora wrestling team in 1982, the program has become one of the state’s most renowned and respected teams — with wrestlers who are highly regarded for both their skill on the mat, as well as their discipline and character with which they carry themselves. Ironically, however, Morgan’s path to leading the Bulldogs’ program didn’t begin with his immediate hiring but by
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Photos on this page: Coach Morgan at various State Championship tournaments at the VBCC in Huntsville, Alabama.
an accidental occurrence. Morgan began his career teaching physical education to special needs students throughout the county whose lives had been affected by such conditions as spina bifida. Following a stint at Curry where he coached football and basketball, he arrived at Dora — where fate intervened while he watched one of the wrestling team’s matches. “During the match, I began to yell instructions to the wrestlers to stand up, sit out and switch. The guys who were on the team at that time didn’t know any of the moves; neither did the coach. The principal was not aware that I knew anything about wrestling. I relayed to him that I had competed in high school and at college. He immediately asked me to go down and help those boys. Behind the bench, I started showing them different moves. I came to learn that the team had never won a dual meet, only individual matches. It was decided on the spot that I would become the assistant wrestling coach,” Morgan said. “The following year, I became the head coach and over the course of the season, we defeated the area champion at that time, Oak Grove, and proceeded to bigger and better things. The guys got to the point where they loved the sport, knew what they were doing and built a nucleus of wrestlers who were really dedicated.” Morgan’s initial squad was comprised of football players, who eventually became all-county selections and over the course of a few seasons went to the state championship. As Morgan had been introduced to wrestling to improve his football skills, he had done the same for Dora’s football players — ultimately resulting in great success for both programs. “Football and wrestling going together has been a no-brainer for me. The conditioning, discipline and mental focus needed in wrestling enhances football abilities, so that’s why the top football coaches will encourages their players to wrestle, or if there’s not a program that exists at the school, they’ll have a team started,” Morgan said. Football and wrestling further showed their link for Morgan in Michigan, where he coached following a period at Walker. One of his proteges was former Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl running back and NFL Hall of Fame member Jerome Bettis, as well as several other collegiate football players. Despite the successes he’s had at other programs, Morgan’s happiest tenure has been at Dora, where he returned in 2007 after his stop in Michigan. “I haven’t had as much joy coaching this sport as I have here at Dora. To come back here and see the amount of im40
Walker Magazine
summer 2016
provement and watch kids grow up in this program and then witness as they go on to a promising life after high school is amazing,” Morgan said. “They’re always going to be my guys — no matter where life leads them. I love to hear the stories of all of the young men I’ve coached of the success they’ve become as professionals. I’ve had wrestlers that span all walks of life now — doctors, lawyers, business owners, members of the armed services. The list is tremendous in its size and scope, but it’s also heartwarming. These guys took their dedication to the sport into life after high school and showed talents that equaled success.” Beyond what each wrestler learns on the mat, Morgan also teaches the young men under his guidance about character, building an individual who is geared toward achievement in the classroom and in the community as profoundly as they are in matches and tournaments. “I draw comparisons between wrestling and life to help the guys see how it’s interlocked. There are two types of people in the world
— those who are whip-driven and ones, who we try to build them towards, are carrot-drawn. Perfection is their goal on the mat and in life — where they want their technique to be flawless, later on they’ll want their lawn, family and cars to be perfect,” Morgan said. “We want them to think of their future, like having a retirement system set in place and having insurance. Most of all, we want them to carry themselves in a way that demands respect, if it’s in the case of a person who has never met them before. Like anything else in life they’re involved with, their job is to be number one at whatever it is that they do — grades, appearance, reputation and later, their careers. If I can build a young man to be a great wrestler, but an even better person with a very bright future, I’ve done my job.” Morgan will be inducted into the Walker County Hall of Fame in August for his accomplishments molding athletes into champions and developing character. •
“I haven’t had as much joy coaching this sport as I have here at Dora.” - Hezzie Morgan
Above: Hezzie Morgan with Recio Winchester at the State Championship tournament at the VBCC in Huntsville, Alabama. volume 4, issue 4
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(205) 221-3216 volume 4, issue 4
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july-september
july call of the wild exhibit
The Bankhead House and Heritage Center in Jasper will present the Call of the Wild collection of Dennis Campbell July through September. Campbell, a native of Sipsey and lifelong resident of Sumiton, is a world renowned, award winning big game hunter, and his exhibit features animals from North America and all over the world. Exhibit hours are Tuesday through Friday, from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., and the third Saturday of each month from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Admission is free. Please call ahead to schedule a tour appointment for large groups of 10 or more. For more information, contact the Bankhead House and Heritage Center at (205) 302-0001.
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Walker Magazine
16 july 16 Mike beasley memorial poker run (205) 384-6942 The 16th annual Mike Beasley Memorial Foundation Poker Run will be held Saturday, July 16, from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m., beginning at Duskin Point Marina on the Walker County side of Lewis Smith Lake. The poker run benefits the Smith Lake Task Force Dive Team and other nonprofits that operate in the Smith Lake community.
path to the foothills
The Path to the Foothills free Summer Concert Series is a wonderful way to support local Alabama talent and participate in determining the music performed at the 2016 Foothills Festival. On Friday, July 16 and Aug. 13, a concert will be held on the Walker County Courthouse Square that will feature three local entries competing to perform on the Local Stage during this year’s Foothill’s Festival. For more information about the summer concert series visit the Path to the Foothills Facebook page.
summer 2016
august
9
2016–2017jasper city school year begins
Students attending the Jasper City Schools will begin the 2016-2017 School Year on Tuesday, Aug. 9. For more information, contact the Jasper City School Board at (205) 384-6880.
15
2016–2017 walker co. school year begins
Students attending Walker County Schools will begin the 2016–2017 School Year on Monday, Aug. 15. For more information, contact the Walker County School Board at (205) 387-0555.
18
September 9–10 foothills festival
high school football kickoff
High school football will kick off in Walker County on Thursday, Aug. 18, with a game between the Cordova Blue Devils and Mortimer Jordan Blue Devils at Hudson-Kirby Stadium in Cordova.
volume 4, issue 4
foothillsjasper.com
The 2016 Foothills Festival, the two-day free live music event sponsored by the City of Jasper, will feature a number of musical acts, kids activities and a variety of food and merchandise vendors located in downtown Jasper on the Courthouse Square. Admission is free. This year’s featured headliners will be the Gin Blossoms, Tonic, Deana Carter, Alvin Garret, Adam Hood, Vallejo, Hero The Band and more.
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SNAPSHOTS
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I.V. Rutledge, Misty Crafton and Patty Terry
Wanda Kohls, Carrie Patton and Viva Uptain
Ashley Tubbs, Whitney Guthrie and Jodi Dill
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Walker Magazine
#1 Auto Parts Store 4 Years In A Row! summer 2015
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East Walker Chamber banquet
Dr. Al Moore and Bill Fowler
Carolyn and Richard Lovelady
Johnnie Sue and Don Cummings and James and Marcy Brown
Chandler Aderholt, Ken Glover, Jennifer Weathers and Steven Aderholt
Billy and Kathy Doss
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6am to 6pm 47
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jazz in the park may 28, 2016 bankhead house
Fallon Carpenter, Wanda Carpenter, Kaden Carpenter and Rev. Billy Carpenter
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Walker Magazine
Family owned and operated. summer 2015
Jason and Paige McDaniel
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nauvoo car show
Dwight Byram and Jo and Ed Briggs
Jim Morris and Pat Morris
Mamie Wideman, Sheldon Keeton and Johnny German
volume 4, issue 4
49
Why I Love Walker County with Marcy
Brown
Story by Lea Rizzo | Photo by Jennifer Cohron
Marcy Brown currently serves as the city clerk for the City of Dora, where she’s been for the last three years. She is involved with a variety of projects around Walker County that are working to improve the county, including the ‘We Can Do That’ brand, Your Town Alabama and Leadership Walker County. Q: How long have you lived here? A: I have lived in Walker County my whole life. When I was in school, I kept saying, ‘When I get out of school, I am leaving this place. I am not coming back.’ And then what’d I do? I came right back because it wasn’t so bad after all. We’ve got heritage here; we’ve got history here. Take what we’ve got and restore it and preserve it for the future. A lot of people want all modern, but it was those older things that got us to where we are now, to progress and technology. I just want everyone to be proud that they can call Walker County their home.
Q: What do you think is the biggest challenge facing the county today? A: The biggest challenge right now, I think, is lack of jobs. I think that we need more industry, not just retail — I’m talking industry with good jobs where 50
Walker Magazine
individuals can work. Overall, besides the income and the lack of jobs, I think one of the biggest things that we face is the negative mentality. That is the biggest hurdle that we’re going to have to overcome, is to get the mentality out that we can’t do that, that’s not going to happen, it’s always been this way. But we’ve got to get people to see, if you can buy into this and believe in this [new ‘We Can Do That’ brand], anything is possible.
why I love what I do. I love being part of a team that believes we can make a difference because we can. It’s all about togetherness. What can we do together to make Walker County, not so much grow, but make it a viable, happy, lovable place that your kids, your grandkids can come to and make a life here. That’s what it’s about.
Q: Why do you love Walker County?
Q: How did you get involved with things like Your Town Alabama and the ‘We Can Do That’ brand? A: It started with Leadership Walker County. When I was at Parrish as the clerk, I started getting involved, going to a lot of the different meetings. I saw things in Walker County I didn’t even know existed. We’ve got little hidden treasures right here. Then I went to Your Town Alabama. The bug bit me even harder. And that’s
A: Because it’s my home. It’s where I’ve been raised. It’s the place that I want to be. It’s got such potential; it’s like the little engine that could. I think that’s what excites me so much, is the fact that I see how we are now, but I know the potential’s there. We have all the assets and resources at our fingertips. We’re centrally located, we’re at a great spot. We’ve got all the necessities and the resources that we need. It’s my home and I’m proud of it. I just want to make it better. summer 2016
LOL! Love O ur Locals!
Shop Local • Dine Local • Hire Local
Action Properties-Jasper
City of Dora
Honda/Hyundai of Jasper
Security Federal Savings Bank
Alabama Power Company
City of Jasper
Jackson Fikes Hood Brakefield
Simmons Agency
ALAGASCO
City of Parrish
Jasper Auto Sales
Southern Orthopedics
ALFA
City of Sumiton
Jasper Lumber Company
Southern Wood Chips
AT&T
Daily Mountain Eagle
Jim ‘N Nick’s
Southside Excavating
All Four Real Estate
Delta Transfer
Kilgore Green Funeral Home
Star Automotive
All State-Jonathan Holladay Agency
Downs & Associates
Kilgore Realty Co.
Urgent Care
Bank of Walker County
Drummond Company
Lacy Grice Insurance
Walker Baptist Medical Center
Birmingham-Gadsden Budweiser
First Bank of Jasper
Linda S. Burns Law Firm
Walker County Commission
Burgett Law Firm
Fontaine Intermodal
Miller Roofing
White Pepper Real Estate
Byars & Associates
Friendly Auto Sales
Patricia Frederick Law Firm
Williams Furniture
Carl Cannon Chevrolet
Hager Oil Company
Pinnacle Bank
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Haynes Downard
Reed Energy
City of Cordova
Henry Oil
Scott Crump Toyota
volume 4, issue 4
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