The 3rd No’Ala Magazine Renaissance Awards | UNA’s Bass Fishing Team: Hooked on Success | Healthy Meals
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March/April
80 MIX IT UP Big and bold or small and soft, you can’t go wrong with prints this spring.
PHOTOS BY PATRICK HOOD PRODUCED BY CLAIRE STEWART
18 SIX DAYS OF HEALTHY MEALS From soup to nuts, everything you need for a week’s worth of budget-friendly, healthy eating.
BY AMY COLLINS AND SARAH ARAH GAEDE PHOTOS BY DANNY MITCHELL
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46 HOOKED Get caught up in the lure of UNA bass fishing—hook, line, and sinker.
OLD ROLES, NEW RULES Five Shoals residents choose careers that make new “rules.”
BY LAURA ANDERS LEE PHOTOS BY DANNY MITCHELL
BY CLAIRE STEWART PHOTOS BY PATRICK HOOD
© Susan Rowe
54 WORDS & PICTURES 3 Anu Fields, Riverhill School boy’s basketball coach
No’Ala’s third installment of the Shoals’ best photography, poetry, and prose.
90 RENAISSANCE MEN Up close, and personal with No’Ala’s 2014 Renaissance Award winners.
BY ALLEN TOMLINSON PHOTOS BY ABRAHAM ROWE
editor’s letter « Allen Tomlinson
If
you ever get discouraged and think that the world is going crazy, we have some good news for you: all over the Shoals, there are people who are working hard every day to make our corner of the world a better place. That’s one reason No’Ala presents its Renaissance Awards every two years, an opportunity to focus on the unsung heroes in our community who are working hard behind the scenes to make this place so wonderful. If you’ve followed our Renaissance Awards through the years, you’ll notice that the people we name are not always in the news. They are rarely ever politicians, and some of them are not well known beyond their close circle of friends and business acquaintances. But all of them have one thing in common: they are passionate about what they do, and they work tirelessly to make a difference. There were 30 nominations for these awards this year; we’re sorry we only have room to tell you about five, but we are very happy to introduce you to them. Our panel, made up of past Renaissance Award winners, had a difficult time this year, because the nominees were so accomplished. If you know the five they chose, thank them; if you don’t know them, you will want to. They will restore your faith in the world.
There’s not much we can say about this past winter except that we are glad—and hopeful—that it’s almost over. This year promises so much, and in anticipation of a beautiful spring, we’re giving you recipes for healthy and easy meals that will help you feed your family and get ready for an active outdoor season. We’ll also introduce you to the UNA Bass Fishing Team, a group of young men who are bringing awards and attention to our area doing what they really love. We’ll give you a glimpse into the daily lives of people who work in jobs that might be considered non-traditional, and we’ll get you ready for spring with some beautiful, bold fashions. There’s a lot of color in this issue, which is the perfect way to move us into the most colorful season of the year! One of the things we’re passionate about, as a Shoals publication, is shopping locally. The local business owners in this corner of the state have an amazing selection of products, foods and services, and when we travel we are constantly told that we are the envy of the rest of the region because of our thriving retail shops and restaurants. (It’s actually fun to hear people talk about how difficult it is to find a parking place in downtown Florence—because it’s usually said with amazement, instead of frustration. We love the fact that our retail areas are such thriving hubs of activity!) Our dear friend Marigail used to compare shopping locally to watering your garden—the more you do it, the better things you’ll get from it. The best way to make sure that our local shops continue to provide us with everything we want and need is to patronize them. The next time you need something, take a minute and ask yourself if it can be purchased locally. Shop the Shoals, y’all—and the Retail Renaissance will continue! PS: We can’t wait to tell you about all of the things about to happen in the Shoals as the weather gets warmer. Florence May Days, Derby Day at UNA, the Riverhill Home & Garden Expo (with HGTV designer Vern Yip), Arts Alive, the Storytelling Festival, the Helen Keller Festival, and more…rest up, while you can. It’s going to be a busy year!
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contents March/April 2014 Volume 7: Issue 2 ••• C. Allen Tomlinson Editor-In-Chief David Sims Creative Director Contributing Writers Tracy Cobbs, Amy Collins, Sarah Gaede, Roy Hall, Sara Kachelman, Laura Anders Lee, Jared McCoy, Linley Mobley, Bonnie Roberts, Reese Shirey, Claire Stewart, Allen Tomlinson Contributing Photographers Armosa Studios, Amanda Chapman, Patrick Hood, Danny Mitchell, Abraham Rowe, Susan Rowe, Shannon Wells Advertising Director Heidi King Advertising Sales Heidi King, Myra Sawyer Features Manager Claire Stewart Business Manager Roy Hall Graphic Designer Rowan Finnegan
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Intern Chandler Richey ••• No’Ala is published six times annually by No’Ala Press PO Box 2530, Florence, AL 35630 Phone: 256-766-4222 | Fax: 256-766-4106 Toll-free: 800-779-4222 Web: www.noalapress.com
everything else 14
Calendar
106
Events for March-April 2014
34 70
Kudos Check It Out BOOK REVIEWS BY THE FLORENCE-LAUDERDALE PUBLIC LIBRARY
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Market BY CLAIRE STEWART PHOTOS BY DANNY MITCHELL
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Back Talk “What Piece of Literature Has Had the Most Impact On You?” BY CHANDLER RICHEY
The Vine “Chill Your Reds”
Standard postage paid at Florence, AL. A one-year subscription is $19.95 for delivery in the United States. Signed articles reflect only the views of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors. Advertisers are solely responsible for the content of their advertisements. © 2008-2014 No’Ala Press, All rights reserved.
BY AMY COLLINS
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Food for Thought “My Favorite Kitchen Tools” BY SARAH GAEDE
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Bless Their Hearts “The Do-Little Life” BY ROY HALL
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Parting Shot
Send all correspondence to Allen Tomlinson, Editor, at the postal address above, or by e-mail to atomlinson@atsa-usa.com. Letters may be edited for space and style. To advertise, contact us at: 256-766-4222, or sales@noalapress.com. The editor will provide writer’s guidelines upon request. Prospective authors should not submit unsolicited manuscripts; please query the editor first. No’Ala is printed with vegetable-based inks. Please recycle.
BY PATRICK HOOD Connect with us on Facebook: No’Ala Mag and Twitter: @NoAla_Magazine
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calendar
Seventh Annual Betty Martin Memorial Earth Month Kick-off 5:30pm; Free; Gas Design Studios, 109 W. 6th St., Tuscumbia; (256) 767-2909; shoalsearthmonth.com
Saturday, March 1 Belle Adair with The Dogwood Vandals 9:00pm; $5 advance, $7 at the door; 116, 116 E. Mobile St.; 116 Mobile.tumblr.com
Saturday, March 22 Quad Cities Wild Game Cook-Off 4:00pm; $35; Longhorn Arena, Tuscumbia; (800) 822-9453; alabamawildlife.org
Sunday, March 2 – Friday, March 7 Art of the State 2014 Exhibition Sun 1:00pm–3:00pm, Mon–Fri 9:00am–5:00pm; $5 adults, $3 students, and free on Sundays; Tennessee Valley Museum of Art, 511 N. Water St., Tuscumbia; (256) 383-0533; tvaa.net
Sunday, March 23 – Friday, May 9, 2014 Karen Graffeo: Collaborations Sun 1:00pm-3:00pm, Mon-Fri 9:00am-5:00pm; $5 adults, $3 students; Tennessee Valley Museum of Art, 511 N. Water Street, Tuscumbia; (256) 383-0533; tvaa.net
Tuesday, March 4 – Wednesday, April 9 Artistic Renderings of Youth Mon–Fri 9:00am-4:00pm, Sat and Sun closed; Free; Kennedy Douglas Center for the Arts, 217 East Tuscaloosa St.; (256) 760-6379
Monday, March 31 Songwriting at the Moon Showcase & Workshop 6:00pm-9:00pm; $20; Cypress Moon Studio, 1000 Alabama Ave., Sheffield; (256) 335-6961; cypressmoonproduction.com
Thursday, March 6 – Saturday March 8 George Lindsey/UNA Film Festival Various times; Free; Guillot University Center at UNA; (256) 765-4592; lindseyfilmfest.com Thursday, March 6 Mozart’s Requiem 7:30pm; Admission charged; Norton Auditorium, UNA; florencecamerata.com Friday, March 7 First Fridays 5:00pm; Free; Court St.; (256) 740-4141; firstfridaysflorence.com Robert Ellis 8:00pm; Admission charged; 116, 116 E. Mobile St.; 116mobile. tumblr.com Saturday, March 8 Huff N’ Puff 15K Race 9:00am; Sheffield Parks and Recreation Dept., 2901 19th Ave., Sheffield; (256) 383-0783; huffnpuff15k.com Sunday, March 9 Shoals Symphony presents: Spring in South America 2pm; Admission charged; Norton Auditorium, UNA; (256) 765-5122; una.edu/shoals-symphony Thursday, March 13 – Sunday, March 16 King Midas and the Golden Touch Thurs–Sat 7:00pm, Sun 2:00pm; $5 children, $9 students, $12 adults; Shoals Theatre, 123 N Seminary St.; (256) 764-1700; gingerbreadplay.com Saturday, March 15 – Sunday, March 16 Shoals Flea Market Sat 9:00am-7:00pm, Sun 10:00am-5:00pm; Free; North Alabama State Fairgrounds, 65 Sportsplex Dr., Muscle Shoals; (731) 8032205; theshoalsfleamarket.com Wednesday, March 19 Kyle Eastwood in Concert 7:00pm; $75; $125 VIP meet-and-greet; Norton Auditorium, UNA; Benefits Christmas for Kids and Shoals Scholar Dollars. (256) 4431297 or debbiedskb@yahoo.com Thursday, March 20 Shoals OnStage: Quartetto Gelato 7:30pm; $15 students, $25 and up non-students; Norton Auditorium, UNA; shoalsonstage.com
Thursday, April 3 Girlfriend Gala sponsored by Success By 6 6:00pm; $60; Pickett Place, Florence; (256)764-5892; uwnwal.org Friday, April 4 First Fridays 5:00pm; Free; Court St.; (256) 740-4141; firstfridaysflorence.com Saturday, April 5 Historic Sheffield Walking Tours 10:00am; Free; Sheffield Municipal Building, 600 N. Montgomery Ave., Sheffield; (256) 383-0783 Historic Tuscumbia Walking Tours 10:00am; Free; Cold Water Books, 101 W. 6th St., Tuscumbia; (256) 383-0783 Walking Tour of Historic Florence 10am; Free; Location TBA; (256) 740-4141; visitflorenceal.com Seventh Annual Shoals Earth Day Fest 10:00am-5:00pm; Free; Sheffield Municipal Building Lawn, 600 N. Montgomery Ave., Sheffield; (256) 767-2909; shoalsearthmonth.com Tuesday, April 8 UNA Distinguished Event: A Strangeness Thrills My Heart: The World of Sallie Independence Foster, 1861-1887
April 16 Salvation Army Empty Bowl Luncheon
7:00pm; Admission charged; Norton Auditorium, UNA; (256) 765-4208 Saturday, April 12 Defending the Natchez Trace 9:00am-4:00pm; Free; Colbert Ferry Site, Mile Marker 327.3, Natchez Trace Parkway (Near Cherokee); (256) 383-0783; natcheztrace.org
Saturday, April 19 Walking Tour of Historic Florence 10am; Free; Location TBA; (256) 740-4141; visitflorenceal.com Historic Sheffield Walking Tours 10:00am; Free; Sheffield Municipal Building, 600 N. Montgomery Ave., Sheffield; (256) 383-0783
Walking Tour of Historic Florence 10am; Free; Location TBA; (256) 740-4141; visitflorenceal.com
Historic Tuscumbia Walking Tours 10:00am; Free; Cold Water Books, 101 W. 6th St., Tuscumbia; (256) 383-0783
Historic Sheffield Walking Tours 10:00am; Free; Sheffield Municipal Building, 600 N. Montgomery Ave., Sheffield; (256) 383-0783
Saturday, April 26 Walking Tour of Historic Florence 10am; Free; Location TBA; (256) 740-4141; visitflorenceal.com
Sheffield Second Saturday 2:00pm-8:00pm; Free; Montgomery Ave., Sheffield; (256) 386-5606
Historic Sheffield Walking Tours 10:00am; Free; Sheffield Municipal Building, 600 N. Montgomery Ave., Sheffield; (256) 383-0783
Historic Tuscumbia Walking Tours 10:00am; Free; Cold Water Books, 101 W. 6th St., Tuscumbia; (256) 383-0783 Wednesday, April 16 Salvation Army Empty Bowl Luncheon and Silent Auction 11:00am–1:00pm; $15; Marriott Conference Center, 800 Cox Creek Parkway; (256) 764-4432 Saturday, April 19 – Sunday, April 20 Shoals Flea Market Sat 9:00am-7:00pm, Sun 10:00am-5:00pm; Free; North Alabama State Fairgrounds, 65 Sportsplex Dr., Muscle Shoals; (731) 8032205; theshoalsfleamarket.com
Tenth Annual Swampers 5K & 1 Mile Race 8:00am; $12 and up; Muscle Shoals Middle School, 100 Trojan Dr., Muscle Shoals; (601) 891-8212; swampers5k.com Historic Tuscumbia Walking Tours 10:00am; Free; Cold Water Books, 101 W. 6th St., Tuscumbia; (256) 383-0783 Monday, April 28 Songwriting at the Moon Showcase & Workshop 6:00pm-9:00pm; $20; Cypress Moon Studio, 1000 Alabama Ave., Sheffield; (256) 335-6961; cypressmoonproduction.com
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scene
Back row: Grayson Blake, Graham Heard, Haleigh Hodges, and Hannah Greene; Center row: Krystina Bole, Hayley Heard, Cid Mendez, Isabelle Planz, and Drew Botts; Front: Fred Mitchell
Tommy Mathis and Sarah Voorhies
Jason Greene, Katie Eubanks Ryan and Holley Hamm
Front row: Kim Ingram, Amenia Kirkmon,Judy Underwood , Kaytrina Simmons,Brenda Reeder, and Bridgett Sims; Back row: Dwight Ingram and Donell Underwood
Lylie Rohling, Lee Pieroni, Laura Hamner, and Kelly Morton
Above: 4th Annual McCutcheon & Hamner Shoals Margarita Ball december , · suntrust tower
Lauren and Tom McCutcheon with Laura and Joel Hamner
Brantley and Ralph Holt
Below: Hospice of the Shoals Fall Benefit Concert september , · shoals theatre
Susan, Lillie, and Randy Myer Jamie McFarlane, Chad Burdine, Marie Lewey and Rob McFarlane
Halley Phillips and Robbie Burdine
Britt, Brandy, Fowler, and Scout Blanton
Kelly Marcano and Sheila McNutt Corey and Debbie Collum * Names for photos are provided by the organization or business featured.
Stan Simpson, Grace and Tony White, Rob McFarlane, and Dianne Letson Jerry Phillips and Marie Lewey
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6 DAYS OF HEALTHY MEALS photos by danny mitchell » text by amy collins & sarah gaede
Bowl, plate, and napkin from The French Basket
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MONDAY Three Bean Vegetarian Chili Not just vegetarian, but vegan! If chili is on your menu, why not make a lot? It’s comforting and convenient to have meals stashed in the freezer. Tip: If you don’t like your chili spicy, replace Ro-tel with plain diced tomatoes. • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
1 tablespoon olive oil 2 medium yellow onions, chopped 1 green bell pepper, chopped 2 large cloves garlic, minced 1 tablespoon light or dark brown sugar 1-1/2 tablespoons chili powder 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon dried oregano 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper 3 (10-ounce) cans Ro-tel original mild, undrained 2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained 1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained 1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper, and garlic; sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Add chili powder, cumin, and oregano, and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 30 minutes. Garnish as you please. Some of our favorite toppers are thinly sliced radishes, chopped red or green onions, toasted pumpkin seeds, pickled jalapeños, cubed avocado, grated pepper Jack or cheddar cheese, and sour cream. Arugula, Avocado, and Grapefruit Salad • 1 red grapefruit • 1 tablespoon grapefruit juice • 1/2 tablespoon red wine vinegar • 1 tablespoon olive oil • 1/2 tablespoon honey • Salt and pepper to taste • 2 big handfuls baby arugula • 1 avocado, sliced Peel and segment grapefruit. Squeeze juice from remaining pulp, reserve 1 tablespoon juice. Whisk together juice, vinegar, olive oil, honey, salt, and pepper. Toss grapefruit segments in dressing; let stand for 5 minutes. Lay arugula out on salad plates, top with sliced avocado, and spoon on grapefruit and dressing.
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Napkin (under plate) from The French Basket; silverware from Driftwood Home+Design
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TUESDAY Beef Eye Round Roast This healthy and delicious take on a usual roast will be well received by the whole family--and you can probably get the kids to eat these Brussels sprouts! • • • • • • • •
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 1/4 cup roughly chopped parsley 1 tablespoon fresh chopped thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme 3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed Kosher salt Ground black pepper 3-4 pounds Beef eye round
Combine the first five ingredients in a plastic zipper bag, seal, and shake to mix well. Add beef roast and marinate for one hour or overnight. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Remove roast from marinade, pat dry, and salt and pepper all over. Place in roasting pan. Cook for 20 minutes and check in several spots with a meat thermometer. When roast is 130⁰ in a couple of the spots, it will be a nice medium-rare. Remove the roast and let sit for five minutes. Slice thin and serve. Pan-Roasted Brussels Sprouts • • • • •
1 pound Brussels sprouts 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese Kosher salt Ground black pepper
Prepare Brussels sprouts by slicing off the ends and removing any brown spots or loose leaves. Slicing top to bottom, quarter the sprouts. Heat olive oil on medium-high heat in a skillet. Once hot, add sprouts and toss until well-coated. Add salt and pepper to taste and toss sprouts periodically until browned and tender, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with fresh grated Parmesan.
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Plate, napkin, and silverware from Driftwood Home+Design
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WEDNES Oven-fried Dijon-Buttermilk Chicken Only one baking pan to clean up! Tip: Publix will skin bone-in chicken thighs for you if you don’t want to do it yourself. • • • • • • • • •
1/4 cup buttermilk (or plain yogurt) 1 heaping tablespoon Dijon mustard 1 tablespoon honey 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/4 teaspoon crushed dried rosemary 1/4 cup dry plain breadcrumbs 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese 4 (6-ounce) bone-in chicken thighs, skinned
Combine the first 6 ingredients in a small microwavesafe bowl. Spoon 3 tablespoons of the mixture into a shallow bowl or pie plate; reserve remaining mixture. Combine breadcrumbs and Parmesan in a separate pie plate, or on a sheet of wax paper. Dip chicken in liquid; dredge in breadcrumb mixture. Chill at least 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 425⁰. Lightly coat a large baking sheet (with sides) with cooking spray and place in preheated oven for 5 minutes. Toss the potatoes (ingredients below) with oil, salt, and pepper. Place the chicken on one side of the baking sheet and the potatoes on the other. Bake for 25 minutes, turning chicken and stirring potatoes after 12 minutes. Microwave reserved sauce mixture on high for 20 seconds, or until warm. Drizzle over chicken. Add a little green to your plate and heat up a bag of frozen green beans for a nice complement. Roasted Potatoes • 10 ounces small red or Yukon Gold potatoes, cut in quarters • 1 tablespoon olive oil • Salt and pepper to taste
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Bowl, plate, and napkin from The French Basket; silverware from Driftwood Home+Design
THURSD Linguine with White Clam Sauce A great “pantry” recipe—one in which all the ingredients are commonly on hand. • • • • • • • • • •
2 tablespoons olive oil 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (preferably Italian) 4 garlic cloves, chopped 2 (6-1/2-ounce) cans chopped clams, drained, juice reserved 1/4 cup whipping cream 2 tablespoons dry white wine or vermouth 1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes 6 ounces dried linguine, freshly cooked al dente in salted water
Heat olive oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add parsley and garlic and sauté until garlic just begins to color, about 45 seconds. Add reserved clam juice, whipping cream, dry white wine, Worcestershire sauce, pepper and red pepper flakes. Simmer until mixture is reduced to thin sauce consistency, about 10 minutes. Add chopped clams and freshly cooked linguine to pot and toss over low heat until sauce coats pasta thickly, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Note: If doubling the recipe, use no more than 3 cans of clam juice. Easy Side Salad • • • • • • •
Baby arugula or salad greens Grape or cherry Tomatoes (halved) Sliced radishes Peeled sliced cucumber 1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar 1/2 tablespoon good olive oil Salt and pepper to taste
Place tomatoes, radishes, and cucumber in a salad bowl. Add 2 cups (1 big handful) arugula per person. Toss with vinegar, oil, and salt and pepper to taste.
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Plate and napkin from The French Basket
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FRIDAY Leftover Beef Roast Sautéed with Mushrooms and Rice Take the roast from Tuesday and create a completely new, delicious dish—we bet they will never know its leftovers. • Medium-rare roast beef round, sliced thin and cut in single-bite pieces. • 1 pound white or baby bella mushrooms, sliced • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley • 1 to 2 cloves garlic, peeled, minced or pressed • 1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped • 1/4 cup chicken stock • 1 cup cooked rice • 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese • Kosher salt Heat a cast iron or other skillet on medium heat on the stove. Add 2 tablespoons oil. Add chopped onions and cook until translucent, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook another 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add mushrooms and a sprinkle of Kosher salt, and cook for 5 minutes. Add sliced beef, chicken stock, cooked rice, and parsley. Sauté for about 10 minutes or until the stock cooks out but the pan is not dry. Add more stock or water if needed. The mushrooms should be tender and the meat moist. Salt and pepper to taste, if desired. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan.
How Long to Keep Leftovers: » Meats, cooked seafood, vegetables, pizza, soups, and casseroles should be eaten within three to four days.
» Potatoes or pasta salads should be eaten within three to five days.
» Rice, pasta, and hard-cooked eggs should be eaten within seven days.
» For desserts: Cream pies and fruit pies should be eaten within three to four days; cake and cheesecake should stay safe for up to seven days. Note: Desserts should be refrigerated. Source: homefoodsafety.org
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Bowl and napkin from The French Basket; silverware from Driftwood Home+Design
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SATURDA
SHOPPING LIST On Hand Items
Roasted Carrot Soup with Cumin and Balsamic If you have an enamel-coated cast iron Dutch oven, or something like it, this can be a one-pot meal. Otherwise, roast carrots and garlic on a baking sheet and transfer to soup pot afterward. • • • • • • • •
1 pound baby carrots 4 to 5 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed 3 tablespoons olive oil 3 cups chicken stock 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar Kosher salt Black pepper
Heat oven to 425⁰. Toss carrots and garlic with olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Roast uncovered for about 25 minutes, tossing once or twice during cooking, until carrots are browned and tender. If using a Dutch oven, move pot to stove top on medium-low heat and add chicken stock. Using an immersion blender, purée vegetables until no solids remain. Alternately, transfer in batches to blender and purée very carefully, allowing steam to escape every 30 seconds. Transfer back to soup pot. Add cumin and balsamic vinegar. Blend well and taste. Add more vinegar one teaspoon at a time if the soup is too tart. Oil and Vinegar Spinach Salad • • • • •
2 cups loosely packed spinach leaves (per person) 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1/4 cup good balsamic vinegar 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Whisk salt into vinegar until dissolved. Whisk mustard into vinegar until fully blended. Whisk in olive oil and mix until fully blended. Dressing will keep one week or so in the fridge.
Onions (white and yellow) Garlic Extra-virgin olive oil Red wine vinegar Balsamic vinegar Cider vinegar Dijon mustard Dry white wine or vermouth Brown sugar Honey Worcestershire sauce Chili powder Cumin Oregano Crushed rosemary Red pepper flakes Kosher Salt Ground Black Pepper Chicken Stock Brown Rice Thyme
Did you know food portions have almost tripled in the last 20 years?
1960 DINNER PLATE
To Buy Grape tomatoes Green bell pepper 10 ounces small new potatoes, atoes, es es, red or Yukon Gold Red grapefruit Avocado Baby arugula 2 6-1/2-ounce cans chopped clams 3 10-ounce cans Rotel original mild 2 cans black beans 1 can kidney beans 1 can pinto beans 4 bone-in chicken thighss 1 package green beans 1 pound linguine Bread crumbs 1/2 pint heavy whipping cream Buttermilk or plain yogurt Parmesan cheese (not the stuff in the green can) 3-4 lb. Beef eye round roast 2 Bunches fresh parsley 1 lb. Brussels sprouts 1 lb. Mushrooms, baby bellas or shiitakes 1 lb. Baby carrots Fresh spinach
9”
TODAY’S DINNER PLATE
11.5”
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End of life issues are challenging for the entire family...we understand. We are Hospice of the Shoals, the first hospice in the Shoals, and a non-profit organization since the beginning. We provide compassionate care for the entire family— because we understand.
256-767-6699 www.hospiceoftheshoals.org
Hospice of the Shoals—Share the Love! | noalapress.com | march/april
It’s been said that there are only two certainties in life: death and taxes. We’re more willing to discuss taxes than we are death, even though both tend to make us uncomfortable. Thank goodness for an organization like Hospice of the Shoals, the region’s only not-for-profit hospice. The oldest hospice in North Alabama, Hospice of the Shoals has enjoyed a long tradition of providing loving, compassionate, highly skilled care for patients with a life limiting illness, and for giving support to their families. Hospice of the Shoals helps maintain or improve the quality of life when the quantity of life can no longer be extended.
A patient is eligible for hospice care if they meet the following conditions: Their doctor and the hospice medical director certify that they are terminally ill and have six months or less to live if the illness runs its normal course. They sign a statement choosing hospice care instead of other Medicare-covered benefits to treat the terminal illness. Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance will still pay for covered benefits for any health problems that aren’t related to the terminal illness
It’s that not-for-profit designation that makes Hospice of the Shoals different. There are lots of other hospices in the area, but all of the others are privately owned, or-profit companies and corporations. On the other hand, Hospice of the Shoals does not exist for the benefit of shareholders, but instead for the benefit of its patients. They exist solely to provide loving, compassionate, highly skilled end-of-life care for patients with a life-ending illness, as well as practical, emotional, and spiritual support for their families. Hospice of the Shoals is a 501(c) (3), United Way organization overseen by an all-volunteer board of directors made up of local healthcare professionals and community-minded citizens. This organization has provided over a million dollars worth of care to patients who did not have the ability to pay, thanks to donations from hard-working volunteers and supporters throughout the Shoals.
Hospice of the Shoals provides an array of services to enable patients to live their lives as fully and independent as possible: Registered Nursing Services Social Worker Services Pain and symptom management Spiritual Support Bereavement Support Volunteer Services Certified Hospice Aide Services Hospice of the Shoals is blessed to have wonderful, caring professional staff, board members and volunteers. The organization could not exist without their love, compassion and hours of dedication to this agency. Volunteers and board members give countless hours making sure our patients, families and staff have what they need. They understand how important non-profit organizations are to every community, how they make a difference in the lives of others.
Hospice of the Shoals: Caring for people, not for profit.
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News, classical music and more 88.7 FM Muscle Shoals • 100.7 FM Huntsville www.apr.org
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kudos
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If you want to share some good news about a friend, neighbor, or colleague—or even toot your own horn—send your kudos to allen@noalapress.com.
Windows of Opportunity Thank a Farmer In December, L.O. Bishop was presented the Service to Agriculture Award by the Alabama Farmers Federation. Jimmy Parnell, the Federation’s President, bestowed the organization’s highest honor to Bishop, Colbert County Farmers Federation president. The Cherokee native and his wife, Grace, have been married 59 years and boast three children, six grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. The Bishops were named Alabama’s Outstanding Young Farm Family in 1966.
Welcome Back The Shoals welcomes back Georgia Carter Turner, longtime tourism public relations professional and Shoals native, to the Florence/Lauderdale Tourism staff as Communications Manager. She will work with local, state, regional, and international media to promote Florence and the entire Shoals area. Turner has worked in the tourism industry since 1985. For the past two years she has served as the Vice President of Tourism Development in Flagler County, Florida. A native of Sheffield, Turner received her degree in journalism Georgia Carter Turner from Auburn University and spent her early career as a newspaper reporter at the TimesDaily.
And the Nominees Are… On January 26th, Rick Hall was honored with the Grammy Trustees Award by the Recording Academy. This prestigious honor recognizes Hall’s 60 years of success in the music business at FAME Recording Studios, in Muscle Shoals. The Civil Wars also won their category at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards. The couple was named Best Country Duo/ Group Performance for From This Valley. Other North Alabama-related recognition went to the Muscle Shoals soundtrack, a nominee for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media and the Alabama Shakes, who were nominated for Best Rock Performance for Always Right.
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America’s Best Choice Windows, one of the fastest growing window companies with locations all over the United States, named ABC Windows of the Shoals as its 2013 Dealer of the Year. David Prejeant is president of ABC of the Shoals and has steadily built the business from the ground up. America’s Best Choice says they are looking forward to big things coming out of North Alabama in the upcoming year.
Alvis Has Entered the Building Congratulations to Rick Alvis for becoming partner at the Florence-based law firm of Holt, Mussleman, Morgan and Alvis. A native of Hartselle, Alabama, Alvis earned his B.A. from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and his Juris Doctorate from Samford University—Cumberland School of Law. He is a member of the Birmingham Bar Association and the Alabama State Bar, and is licensed to practice in Alabama, Tennessee, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. “We are delighted to welcome Rick to our firm,” said Ralph Holt. “Our practice was begun 52 years ago, in 1962, and we think Rick brings the skills required to help steer us into the next half century.”
Everything Old is New Again Recently, Florence Heritage Preservation Inc. presented three awards to citizens for their work in restoration and preservation of local buildings. • Celeste Pillow for the restoration of the building at 120 N. Court Street, which houses Odette • Michele & Chuck Hyde for the restoration of their Victorian home at 520 N. Walnut Street • Judge Inge Johnson for the restoration of the Federal Courthouse at 219 N. Seminary Street Thank you to these individuals for all of their work in the care and keeping of our beautiful historical Shoals landmarks.
Dorough Joins Florence Main Street Christina Dorough has joined the Florence Main Street staff as the full time Event Coordinator. She brings a great deal of experience in event planning and a love of downtown Florence. Christina is responsible for the wildly successful Florence Foodies program and has many more ideas for terrific promotions in historic Florence.
Who Needs A Vein Procedure? Ask Troy Youngblood Dr. Troy Youngblood is an avid runner. When he isn’t taking care of animals at his veterinary practice or spending time with his family, Troy keeps himself in shape by running. So when he developed varicose veins in his legs, the pain was getting in the way of his exercise routine. That’s when he came to Shoals Vein Center. Doctors Shelby Bailey and William Collignon performed a simple, painless and high-tech procedure that relieved Troy’s pain and allowed him to get back to his routine.
If you suffer from unsightly or painful vein problems in your legs, there may be hope for you. Shoals Vein Center understands all of the causes of spider and varicose veins, and can treat those problems to get you back to your routine, too. Ashamed of your legs? Is pain preventing you from doing what you love? Shoals Vein Center can help - ask Troy Youngblood, or Dr. Jimmy Gardiner, Anne Roy, Dr. and Mrs. Neal Clement . . . and many more!
Dr. Troy Youngblood, North Alabama Animal Hospital
S.K. Bailey, M.D., FACS • W.A. Collignon, M.D., FACS Certified by American Board of Veneous and Lymphatic Medicine Located in the Shoals Hospital Medical Office Building 203 Avalon Ave, Suite 100, Muscle Shoals, AL 35661 256-383-0423 • 866-383-0423 • fax: 256-383-0922 • www.shoalsveincenter.com
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Thirty years ago, the idea of a woman doing a “man’s” job, or vice versa, was pretty novel, and an indicator of how progressive we were becoming in breaking down gender barriers. Today, we hardly blink when we hear about female engineers or male nurses, but there are still a few occupations where the majority of participants are predominately male or female. We took a look at a few occupations in the Shoals where new rules apply to old roles, ro ole les, s a s, and nd d ffound ou ou ound one thing in common: comm co mm mmon mon on:: these thes th e e are dedicated dedi de di dicated di people pe le who love le lov ove ov e what wh hat they do do. You keep Yo u might want to ke eep e tthis his ishi sue reference—thirty years su ue as a reference—thirt ty ye ear ar ars now, frrom n from ow,, wh ow who o knows what at the e new will be? n ew rules rule ru les s wi ill b e?
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ANU FIELDS Boys Basketball Coach, Riverhill School Only 1.75% of boy’s basketball coaches are women. Did you have a mentor in your field that encouraged you along the way? “I had a coach while I was playing for the Sri Lankan national basketball team that taught me lessons I apply to my daily life. They really made me believe in myself. I hope I can create such an impact on the kids I coach.”
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MATT FULMER 5th grade teacher, Kilby Laboratory School Just 15% of elementary school teachers are men. Did you have a mentor in this field that encouraged you along the way? “My parents are my mentors as a teacher. They had a combined total of 66 years in education and they help me see the big picture of what I am doing each day—especially those days that I feel nothing was gained.”
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A Sweet Strangeness Thrills My Heart: The World of Sallie Independence Foster, 1861-1887 FEATURING Storyteller and Actress Dolores Hydock and Musician Bobby Horton
TUESDAY, APRIL 8, 2014 at 7:00 p.m. NORTON AUDITORIUM UNIVERSITY OF NORTH ALABAMA CAMPUS FLORENCE, ALABAMA FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC U NO TICKETS REQUIRED
For more information, call 256.765.4208, or visit our website at w w w. u n a . e d u / d i s t i n g u i s h e d - e v e n t s
Sallie Independence Foster was 12 years old and living in what is now Rogers Hall on the UNA campus when the War Between the States began. She kept a journal at the time, which continues through the war and for another 22 years, as Sallie grows to be a young woman and begins a family of her own. Storyteller Dolores Hydock and nationally known music historian and musician Bobby Horton interweave Sallie’s journals, letters, historical photographs, and music of the time to create a uniquely personal glimpse at a radically changing world.
Bobby Horto
n and Dolores
Hydock
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SARA BETH O’STEEN Assistant Project Manager at Brasfield and Gorrie Only 9% of those in the construction industry are females. What made you want to pursue this job? “Beginning at a young age, I was interested in construction and architecture. I originally went to Auburn University to pursue a degree in Architecture. I was cut from the program the summer after my first year and my architecture professors suggested interior design, which at the time was not appealing to me. I spoke with my uncle who had previously taught Building Science at Auburn and tried it out starting fall of my sophomore year. I immediately knew I had found my niche. It was so interesting to me to learn how a building came together— I loved the process.”
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NANCY TUNICK Rabbi, Temple B’nai Israel Only 16% of Rabbis in all denominations are female, but tides seem to be turning. Currently, between 40 and 68% of the rabbinic students at the major non-Orthodox rabbinical seminaries are women. What would you say to other women interested in pursuing a job as a rabbi? “The Rabbinate is a wonderful calling for women, as it combines study, nurture, creativity, and allows you to connect in a way that is very gratifying and at times actually feels maternal. The field is becoming more and more welcoming to women and that growing trend provides increased opportunities for women.”
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PATRICK HOOD Stay at Home Dad Just 3.5% of “stay at home” parents are fathers The decision to work inside the home has many benefits and compromises. What compromises and benefits have you found in your situation? “The benefits are obvious. I can set my own schedule. We can go on vacation during the uncrowded times and I get to spend as much time with my children as I want, which is a lot. The compromises are that I have to plan around my wife’s schedule, I am not a very good cook, and it’s very hard to get work done when I’m under the gun. Too many unexpected coffee breaks and personal errands get in the way sometimes.”
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Pet licensing begins in Florence in May. If your dog wanders, it’s a great way to help bring him home faster! Beginning May 1, if you live in the City of Florence, your dog will need a pet license, which can be obtained at the City Clerk’s office or at the Florence-Lauderdale Animal Shelter. The cost is $10 a year or $35 for a lifetime license (if your pet has been spayed/neutered). The tag you will receive helps workers and volunteers at the Shelter identify your dog and return him to your home quickly. It’s just one of the many benefits of pet licensing. For more, visit florencepets.org. Pet licensing is the responsible thing to do - especially if your Rover is a rover! This message is brought to you by the Florence-Lauderdale Animal Shelter and:
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UNA’s Bass Fishing Team Loves to Fish, and They’re Catching National Attention photos by laura anders lee » photos by danny mitchell
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Evan Horne casts a line into the Tennessee during a recent practice session march/april | noalapress.com |
The Tennessee River and the rich life it carries has been a draw for the earliest of settlers here. Over the centuries, the river, lakes, and their tributaries have provided an abundance of some 175 species of fish, including the prized smallmouth and largemouth bass. While the area has locally been known as a fisherman’s paradise, today it’s on the bucket list of anglers from all over the country wanting to cast a line for their chance at a big one. UNA’s football team is not the only nationally-ranked program at UNA. The UNA Bass Fishing Team is currently in second place among the more than 200 collegiate fishing teams, ranked by the American Collegiate Anglers. The talented team is getting valuable exposure for the Shoals as the place for bass fishing. Dawson Lenz, a sophomore from Atlanta, enrolled at UNA specifically for its bass fishing team. “I started my high school fishing team in Georgia, so when I saw the river two minutes from campus, I knew I wanted to come here,” he says. “There is no other college out there that gives a collegiate angler the opportunities to go to class, get my work done, and then be on the river from 1:30 to dark every day. The fishing team here has been the best decision I have made.” Rogersville native Robb Young started the UNA bass fishing team in 2008 during his freshman year. Since then, he has turned the program into a national powerhouse, and he has partnered with the Florence/Lauderdale Tourism Bureau to move the national collegiate championship from Texas to the Shoals. The BoatUS Col-
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legiate Bass Tournament, televised on NBC Sports and held at Pickwick Lake, attracts around 200 teams from as far east as Harvard, as far west as Washington State, and as far north as Canada. “When the tournament came here in 2012, and they saw how many fish were caught, how big the fish were, and how much fun the collegiate anglers were having, they thought ‘why in the world are we going to Texas?’” Robb recalls. After that, they were hooked, and tournament organizers signed a multi-year agreement with the Florence tourism bureau through 2017. “The Tennessee River is the mecca of bass fishing,” says Dawson. “Per acre there are more fish and bigger fish than any other place in the country. In Georgia, a good day was catching eight to 10 fish in a day; on any of the lakes here, you can catch 50 in a day.” Suzie Shoemaker, sports marketing manager for the tourism bureau, says the collegiate annual tournament generates more than $500 thousand to the local economy, which is really more when factoring in the financial impact of the anglers’ families. The new visitors center, which opens this spring at McFarland Park, will be a big perk for the May tournament. “It will be wonderful for us to be on site for anything that is needed, and we’ll have exhibits for the participants and their families to see the other offerings in our area, from music displays to an aquarium,” says Suzie. The NBC Sports coverage brings even more value to the area, showcasing the beautiful landscape along the riverfront as well as historic downtown Florence. “They go all over town and take a lot of b-roll footage,” Suzie says. This type of exposure simply cannot be bought. “We have been on national television, in the past year alone, more than six times—more than any other NCAA-regulated team at school,” says Dawson. “Two of the guys on a school tour last year had seen us on TV and came for a campus visit. I’m texting a kid right now who goes to Hoover High School, one from Illinois, and two from Florida who are interested in the team.” “There’s a lot of pride in showing off our community and the university,” adds Robb. Another source of pride is the number of professional fishermen who have come from the Shoals. Bassmaster Timmy Horton has reeled in more than $1 million in tournament earnings, and Jimmy Mason and Jonathan Newton are both from Robb’s hometown of Rogersville and attend his church. “I talk to them on a regular basis,” Robb says.
“Because of this team, we experience things that normal college students don’t get to experience. You get to wake up and see the sunrise, experience nature. You have the ambition and expectancy to catch fish, but at the same time you’re taking in so many things other than the competition itself.” —UNA bass fishing team member Robb Young
Having mentors of that caliber is a big advantage for the students. “It’s just cool because it’s like as a football player talking to Peyton Manning,” adds Dawson. Since his freshman year, Robb has grown the bass fishing team from a couple of guys to now more than 28; and they’ve had a few female teammates in the past. Many students like Robb and Dawson have their own bass fishing boat, and they march/april | noalapress.com |
pair up with students who do not have a boat. Each fall, the UNA team hosts qualifying tournaments internally, and the six students who accumulate the most points are selected to travel and represent the team. Most of the tournaments last one to two days, and each boat can bring in a total of five bass. The goal is to bring in the highest cumulative weight over the tournament. At the end of the day, all bass are released. Teams get penalized for killing a fish. Bass fishing is a mental game as well as physical. “Any tournament we will practice two days before, to see the pattern of where the fish will be feeding,” says Dawson. “It’s a puzzle every single time. We study the weather conditions and the water temperature. And then there is the physical fatigue. You get sore. You can throw and cast easily 1,000 times.” The sport also comes with its own set of challenges, as players are left to the mercy of Mother Nature. Unlike other sports where conditions are fairly stable, many things can go wrong in the great outdoors. For instance, Dawson and Robb competed in a tournament last year in Missouri in 30-degree temperatures and freezing rain. Out of 165 anglers, UNA placed first, second, and third. That’s impressive for a Southern team spoiled by good weather most every day of the year. Missouri was just one of about 15 tournaments the team competed in last year. The bass fishing team gets some funding from the school’s activities budget, but they must cover about half the travel expenses themselves. While Robb says he would like additional funding to cover more expenses and even set up a scholarship to recruit more high schoolers, he doesn’t let that get in the way of going out on the water. “Because of this team, we experience things that normal college students don’t get to experience,” says Robb. “Everybody has their hobbies and passions, but this is different. You get to wake up and see the sunrise, experience nature. You have the ambition and expectancy to catch fish, but at the same time you’re taking in so many things other than the competition itself.” | noalapress.com | march/april
“I started my high school fishing team in Georgia, so when I saw the river two minutes from campus, I knew I wanted to come here. There is no other college out there that gives a collegiate angler the opportunities to go to class, get my work done, and then be on the river from 1:30 to dark every day. The fishing team here has been the best decision I have made.” —UNA bass fishing team member Dawson Lenz
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Works by Armosa Studios Amanda Chapman Tracy Cobbs Patrick Hood Sara Kachelman Jared McCoy Danny Mitchell Linley Mobley Bonnie Roberts Abraham Rowe Susan Rowe Reese Shirey Shannon Wells
Forgive Me, Mother, I Have Grown Sara Kachelman My righteousness is gone. Its molted skin is on The dappled linoleum floor And I stand dewy, dazed, Musing on the ways To crawl back inside Forgive me, Mother, I have grown, Left to harvest what I sow All alone. I have grown tall enough To look down on this town, To look down on us. I have learned to listen, To feel and conceal, Because I run from what I hear, And now my righteousness is gone And I long To unsee, To unhear, To shrink back to size And put it back on.
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Jess | Susan Rowe
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Summer Trance Linley Mobley My head is down, eyes closed, chin tucked tightly. My toes swirl and swirl in the murky, green water beneath me, making small whirlpools that suck down grass clippings and dead leaves. The sweet scent of a freshly mown lawn fills the air as the hot Alabama sun summons more freckles from the depths of my shoulders. I sway with the motion of the ripples and the sound of the wake as it laps gently against the dock. I let the cool water droplets splash and roll down my shins, teasing and tempting me into the river. The air is hot and thick and unbearable, but this Southern summer trance I am in keeps me frozen in place. Back and forth, back and forth—the motion is dizzying and enchanting. A small, blue butterfly lazily flits around me and lands on my knee, its coiled tongue unfurling, tickling my skin as it laps up a bead of sweat. The leaves at the top of the oak tree behind me begin to rustle, the wind cascades down until it surrounds me. Through my closed eyes I can see the wind—the yellows, reds and purples carefree and dancing. I let the wave of the wind gently push me over. A splash and I am enveloped; every inch of me is held, caressed by the cool water. I am weightless. I hear the distant buzzing of boats; I feel minnows nipping at my toes and little bubbles shimmying up my ribs. Grabbing my knees, I curl into a ball, slowly exhaling all of my breath, letting the seconds tick by as I sink deeper and deeper, deeper and deeper towards the bottom of the river. The water becomes inky. My lungs begin to ache. My heart pounds in my ears. I feel a slight pull as the undercurrent catches my body. Chills run up my spine at the everpresent thought of lurking creatures on the muddy river bottom. Terrified and thrilled at the same time, I quickly push through the water, pulling myself closer and closer to the surface. I break through and fill my burning lungs with air. Raising my eyes to the sky, I allow my body to follow until I am floating on my back. I let the current tug me slowly along as I watch the marshmallow clouds float above me and I am thankful. Thankful for my roots and what this place has made me—a girl with a craving for red clay and the intoxicating scent of kudzu, a hunger for the pulsing song of cicadas, a thirst for the Tennessee River.
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Truck and Tree Abraham Rowe
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Cautionary Tales: True or False? Bonnie Roberts I have wanted to touch every space on Earth, but I, like everyone, have been allowed only so many steps. When Mama was eight it took all day to travel by buggy from the farm to Florence, Alabama and back. Fourteen miles in all. Mama took delight in telling me travel cautionary tales, especially about the giant who had to swallow a whole ocean to cross to the other side. She always wanted to stroll down the Champs-Elysée in one of her jaunty petits chapeaux. Never did. The closest she and Daddy came to taking steps outside safety— the edge of Mexico, in their seventies. Almost as soon as they arrived, the rumors Mama expected, maybe hoped for: Hepatitis, typhus, cholera. There was your mother, Daddy teased later, washing the tops of Coke cans, hosing down the truck, dusting my bald head. They retreated, as though pursued by a demon blaze of hot sauce. But Mama did tell me in a breathless, secret-kind-of-way that Mexico was exotic. Turquoise lines, like ocean waves, on earthen jugs, stucco houses with rounded archways, bouquets of fuchsia paper flowers tied with pale blue ribbons. In the sun, whirling yellow skirts made her eyes and Daddy’s hot and dizzy. And when she and Daddy had first arrived at the border, he had waltzed her over the line of her fears-a very slow, sweet, fragile dance in dust, into a new and wondrous world of allotted steps of love.
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The Artist Ben | Patrick Hood march/april | noalapress.com |
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Danny Mitchell
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Why are They Called Tiger Lilies? Reese Shirey Why are they called tiger lilies When they do not look like tigers, really? They’re not striped like a tiger And they don’t pounce and purr. In fact, they’re spotted like a leopard, silly. Why aren’t they called Leopard Lilies? To live up to their fearsome name, Tiger Lilies should not be tame. They should roar and gnash As people walk hurriedly past. Imagine just how that would be? If when a girl so young and pretty, Came up to smell you fragrant Tiger Lilly, And had the button bitten off her belly! What a fuss it would cause, If the Lilly had paws That swiped at peoples’ feet And bit them with its teeth. What a horrible monstrosity Would be the Tiger Lilly. It would be the King of the Flower Bed, With a crown on its spotted head. Feared by all the flowers below it, Underneath the throne where it would sit Roaring and growling And pouncing and prowling. It’s enough to make your stomach sour, Thank goodness it’s not real, Thank goodness the Tiger Lilly is just a flower.
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Amanda Chapman
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Chopin in the Shower Jared McCoy In the morning when you awake, before you make your breakfast bowl, give your ears a chance to partake of Nature’s quiet, private soul by listening in your shower to Chopin for half an hour. The notes, which glissando and fall like droplets, cascade over you and run up your nostrils and all like a sentient morning dew. In music you bathe, become clean and live the life inside the dream. Don’t think yourself silly or odd finding transcendence in the tub, finding yourself in touch with God while you, with soapy loofa, scrub. The dirt removed, your soul intact, cleansed by your nonsensical act. This music is life, filled with trills and happy accidental notes and highs and lows and wondrous thrills, bridges to cross the castle moats. In your kingdom, you are the prince; You are all beautiful nonsense.
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Armosa Studios march/april | noalapress.com |
The Geology of Me Tracy Cobbs I Fault lines crack the crust of my life. Tectonic plates of conflicting interests, values, desires slide and smash crash and slip send temblors through my soul. I can feel The Big One coming. II Under the stony surface fiery magma surges bursts forth occasionally from volcanic vents beneath the oceans of my eyes sending the salty water in hot rivers across the terrain of my face. III I drill and drill but the core remains out of reach.
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Tornado Kitties | Shannon Wells
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check it out » Florence-Lauderdale Public Library the events in Dealy Plaza from a fresh angle, but Dallas 1963 author authors Bill Minutaglio and Steven L. Davis have managed to do it. book, which reads more like a novel than a The bo of history, is not about the assassination itwork o but actually focuses on the City of Dallas in self, bu 1963, examining the political and social forces to a boil in the months and weeks leadthat came ca ing up to November 22, 1963.
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck Adult Fiction Call Number: F STE (In Adult Fiction Section) LT F STE (In Large Print Section) In 1939, The Grapes of Wrath was published and quickly became a bestseller and a cultural milestone. John Steinbeck’s novel about the plight of migrant workers during the Dust Bowl served as both a call to action and an ambitious and innovative literary work. The novel explores a number of social issues, including the suffering of the poor, the uncaring nature of banks, the industrialization of farming, and the changing roles of women. The novel alternates between chapters that focus on the Joad family’s journey to California and chapters—often written in a Biblical style—that put the Joads’ journey into context of the larger changes happening throughout the country. This structure makes the novel both a quiet, personal narrative of one family’s struggles and a grand exploration of concepts like fear, loss, hope, classism, and our connection to the land. April 2014 marks the 75th anniversary of The Grapes of Wrath, and Florence-Lauderdale Public Library and the University of North Alabama are honoring this anniversary with a series of programs related to the novel and Steinbeck. Visit flpl.org/grapesofwrath for a schedule of events, which include literary and history discussions, films, and more. (Jennifer Butler Keeton) Dallas 1963 by Bill Minutaglio and Steven L. Davis Adult Nonfiction Call Number: 940.54 BRA (In Nonfiction New Arrivals Section) Fifty years after the tragic and monumental events of November 22, 1963, it’s difficult to find a book that approaches
IIn Dallas, 1963, we meet ultra-conservative figures such as the Southern Baptist crusader Rev. WL Criswell, oil magnate HL Hunt, Texas Congressman Bruce Alger, Dallas Morning News editor Ted Dealy, and D Gen. Edwin Walker (whom Oswald was later accused of trying to assassinate), as well as progressive figures like department store mogul progr Stanley Marcus and Civil Rights activists Juanita Stanl Craft and Rev. Rhett James. We are also introduced to Russian expatriate and CIA operative George De Mohrenschildt and his strange young Marxist protégé Lee Harvey Oswald. The book makes it is easy to see why Kennedy’s advisers urged him not to go to Dallas. Dallas 1963 is a great addition to the corpus of JFK assassination literature. (Lee Freeman) The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II by Denise Kiernan Adult Nonfiction Call Number: 976.873 KIE (In Adult Nonfiction Section) Imagine being recruited for a job without knowing any of the details about where you would be staying or what your job entailed. The entire situation is shrouded in mystery and intrigue. The only thing that anyone can tell you is that everything will be taken care of. In Denise Kiernan’s The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II, women throughout the United States were told just that. They were also told that their work at Oak Ridge, Tennessee would help bring World War II to a swift end. The book follows the stories of Dot, Celia, Helen, Kattie, and other women, as they labored away in plants and cubicles located in a city that practically sprang up overnight. Kiernan also includes detailed information about the crucial element that bound all these girls together and helped end the war: tuber alloy. Captivating, inspiring, and well-written, the stories found in this book provide insight into women’s roles during World War II and how their efforts helped bring about a new, dangerous, and exciting age in American history. The Girls of Atomic City is the perfect book to read in March, which is Women’s History Month. (Kristen Tippett Briggs)
The Borrower by Rebecca Makkai Adult Fiction Call Number: F MAK (In Adult Fiction Section) Rebecca Makkai’s debut novel, The Borrower, is a humorous and imaginative tale that follows 26-year-old children’s librarian Lucy Hall and her favorite patron, 10-year-old Ian Drake, on a cross country road trip in search of Ian’s fictional grandmother, a ploy he designed to get Lucy to help him escape his overbearing mother. Ian’s mother sends him to weekly anti-gay classes and imposes strict limits on which books her reading-obsessed son may bring home. Lucy feels compelled to save Ian, and while technically she has kidnapped him, she is also the kidnapped. A difficult boyfriend, a challenging father-daughter relationship, and a stranger following closely on their trail adds intrigue and plot twists that deliver life truths and a great story. I first fell in love with Makkai’s beautifully crafted prose—it reads so naturally one forgets just how much work writing demands—in a short story in a literary review. She continues to publish short fiction in various publications, and her work has been chosen for four consecutive years of The Best American Short Stories (2008 through 2011). Makkai’s second novel, The Hundred-Year House, will be out this summer. (Amy Collins) Divergent by Veronica Roth Young Adult Fiction Call Number: YF ROT (In Young Adult New Arrivals Section) BP YF ROT (In Young Adult Books on Playaway Section) Divergent is the first book in a series and will be coming to the big screen in March. In the wake of The Hunger Games, one cannot help but notice similarities. Where the themes of The Hunger Games center on classism in an oppressive social caste system, Divergent revolves around factions segregated by their personality traits and social tendencies. In a dystopian future, the city of Chicago is segregated by five factions: Abegnation, Dauntless, Erudite, Amity, and Candor. The heroine, Tris, transfers from Abegnation, a faction centered on piety and selflessness to Dauntless, a faction that prides itself on risk-taking and bravery, after discovering in a simulated aptitude test that she is “Divergent,” a dangerous label that could get her killed. She struggles through the entire book to really discover what that means and why she is dangerous to the social system in power. There is almost a formula to the story line, but the dialogue is full of great oneline deep thoughts. Roth’s writing is direct and undecorated. Divergent would be a great read for young minds dealing with themes of identity and social justice. (Christi Britten)
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Ginger Willingham and Melissa Moore Brittaney and Adam Gooch, Jerica and Jason Wood, Morgan and Gary Nichols, Glenn and Nick Thwing Natalie and Tony Faggioni Russell and Leslie Pigg
Alisha Haataja, Selena Miller, and Dana Coleman-Aldridge
Joel Scott and Marie Waxel
Debra and Timm Glass
2014 Shoals Heart Ball february , · marriott shoals conference center
Randall and Jack Dressler
Bob and Marsha Carter
Catherine Baroco and Keith Sims Elizabeth Berry and Ian Berry
Mark and Stacee Miller Sean and Amy Rhuland * Names for photos are provided by the organization or business featured.
Debra Dombrowski, Jackie Hendrix, Whitney and Max Barnett
Bethany Oliver and Ben Fisher
The Joseph Naidu Foundation is a coalition of healthcare providers who are committed to helping screen and educate people for a variety of health conditions, so that they can know - and seek treatment - if serious conditions exist. These health screenings are FREE, and take place in a variety of locations. Joseph Naidu was 43 when he died of a massive heart attack. To honor his memory, his family and friends created the Joseph Naidu Foundation, to encourage health screenings and healthy living so that others would not have the same fate. These screenings, for PAD, heart disease, diabetes, hypertension and other serious conditions, are FREE. Knowing if you have a treatable illness is the first step toward preventing a premature death.
To learn about health screenings near you, or to schedule a FREE screening for your business, church or organization, please visit www.jnfoundation.net march/april | noalapress.com |
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market » Claire Stewart » Photos by Danny Mitchell
BCBG Lace Top ($68) Jewell’s (256) 712-5988
Vineyard Vines Belts ($49.50 each) Jar & Co. (256) 768-1004
Alyssa Purse ($49.95) Andy’s The Professionals (256) 767-2800
Love Applique Pillow ($175) The French Basket (256) 764-1237
Black and White Diamond Fleur De Lis Necklace, 14k White Gold and .52 ctw ($1,210) Jamie Hood Jewelers (256) 381-6889
Personalized Folded Notes ($14/pack of 10) PSI Fine Stationary (256) 764-8061
Stone IPA ($6.99) Unobtanium ($12.99) Beer Glass ($3.49) The Wine Seller (256) 766-1568
Patterned Party Glasses ($7 each) David Rasmussen Walnut Trays ($54, $88) Odette (256) 349-5219
march/april | noalapress.com |
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market » Claire Stewart » Photos by Danny Mitchell
Earth Grace Handmade Bracelets in Sterling Silver and Swarovski Crystal (Ranging from $64-$94 each) Side Lines (256) 767-0925
Seahorse Earrings & Necklace ($27.95 each) Andy’s The Professionals (256) 767-2800
Company C Carpets (Indoor/ Outdoor Rugs starting at $50, Flatweave Rugs starting at $70, Tufted and Hooked Wool Rugs starting at $80) Driftwood Home + Design (256) 349-5981
Opus 22 Limited Edition FFOX6 for CFCF Humidors ($1,150) Truly Cigars (256) 275-3601
Bird Dog Bay Cufflinks ($74/set) PSI Fine Gifts and Apparel (256) 764-8061
Kickee Pants Onesies ($34.99 each) Amavida (256) 445-2248
Chewbeads for Moms ($29.50 $36.99) Amavida (256) 445-2248
Mantoni Sport Coat ($175) Leo Martin (256) 381-1006
Chalk Paint ($14.95, $36.95) Down on Main Street Antiques and Uniques (256) 412-0867
march/april | noalapress.com |
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scene
Rosario Saya, Cheri Barnes, and Susan Beckett
Rep. Greg Burdine, Lt. Gov. Kay Ivey, Chris Isaacson, Sen. Roger Bedford, Sen. Tammy Irons, and Rep. Mike Ball Grant Bennett and Clyde Brisendine Cameron Isbell
Randy Allen and Rus Harper
Keith Cox and Merrill Nall
Stephan Tomlinson, Paul Clark, and Steve Bond
Above: Alabama Forestry Association Regional Reception
Paul Clark and Eli Epps
Below: Come Home for Christmas to Cherokee december , · cherokee, alabama
december , · river bottom grille, florence
Layla Wallace, Evan Rhodes, Elle Reese Rhodes, Lydia Wallace, Josie Wallace, and Liam Wallace Mayor Terry Cosby, Howard Glover, and Sandi Hendrix Tammy Woodis Ann-Marie Hall, Miss UNA 2012
Chuck Bradford, Harris Chapel Baptist Church
Sandi Hendrix
Santa Jonathan Melton
* Names for photos are provided by the organization or business featured.
Whoville Grinch, Bodkins family
For rehab, assisted living or long-term care, we never forget we’re caring for someone you love... If you or a loved one needs help, Glenwood understands. You want to entrust the care of your loved one to a compassionate and caring place, and we never forget that. We offer rehab services after surgery or illness, assisted living for those who need a little looking after but can still live independently, and long-term care, for those who need roundthe-clock attention. We are dedicated to quality, and we work to earn our great reputation every day. Most of all, we never forget that we are caring for someone you love!
Rehab • Assisted Living • Long-Term Care ____________________________________ 211 Ana Drive, Florence, AL 35630 • 256-766-8963 www.glenwoodhc.com
march/april | noalapress.com |
Jude Connally Tunic ($168) Vaubel Bracelet ($1,355) Marigail’s Background fabric by Thread
| noalapress.com | march/april
photos by patrick hood » produced by claire stewart hair and makeup by nancy finnegan
For some, prints can be intimidating—we aren’t sure if they are too loud, we don’t know if they are flattering, or we don’t know what to pair them with. But this spring, prints are the way to go for everyone. In the next few pages, find some daring fashion choices from local retailers that are sure to shake up your closet. Throw your inhibitions out the window because when it comes to prints, go big and go bold.
march/april | noalapress.com |
Striped Pants ($49.95) Bracelets ($19.95 each) James and Alma Pierre Dumas Naomi Shoe ($34.95) Austin’s Shoes Background fabric by Thread
| noalapress.com | march/april
Requiem
The Florence Camerata presents Mozart’s masterpiece, in conjunction with the UNA Chorus and the Shoals Chamber Singers. Performance is March 6, 2014, 7:30 p.m. Norton Auditorium, UNA Tickets $15 / $8 students Available at Kennedy-Douglass Center for the Arts or online at www.florencecamerata.com
march/april | noalapress.com |
Bird Dress ($141) Necklace ($84) Audie Mescal Background fabric by Thread
| noalapress.com | march/april
Dress (Starts at $175) Nicole Nicole Clothing and Design All fabric by Thread
march/april | noalapress.com |
Raincoat ($313) Village Shoppe Hunter Boots ($140) Alabama Outdoors Background fabric by Thread
| noalapress.com | march/april
march/april | noalapress.com |
Bell-Sleeved Dress ($49.95) Earrings ($15) Market House Background fabric by Thread
| noalapress.com | march/april
march/april | noalapress.com |
2014 NO’ALA
RENAISSANCE AWARDS text by allen tomlinson » portraits by abraham rowe
| noalapress.com | march/april
NOMINEES Arts and Culture Walt Aldridge Mary Settle Cooney Alan Flowers Kathryn Rice Business and Leadership Larry Bowser John Cartwright Natalie Chanin Halley Phillips-Yeager George Pillow Gordon, Douglas, and David Ruggles Education Nancy Anders Vince and Callie Brewton Jim Green Ann Cooper Perry Bill Strong Science and Medicine Dr. David Colvard Dr. Patrick Daugherty Dr. Therese Lango Dr. Robert Webb Service and Spirituality Deborah Carter Vicki Goldston Jenny Hill Hall Wilson & Kristi Mitchell Pastor Charles and DeTamera Orr Tommy Pirkle
march/april | noalapress.com |
2014 N O’ALA R ENAISSANCE AWARDS
R ENAISSANCE PERSON OF THE YEAR
B ILL STRONG , PH .D. RECIPIENT IN EDUCATION A Renaissance person is someone who is proficient in more than one area, and Bill Strong exemplifies that perfectly. If you know him from his tenure at the University of North Alabama, you know he is an energetic and talented teacher who has helped build a geography department into a major draw for new students coming to UNA. If you know him from his interest in the martial arts, you know he has achieved the second highest ranking in the United States in his art. If you know him at all, you know the common thread in all of this is his ability to teach. “I grew up in Henderson, Texas,” said Bill, “and I went to the University of Texas on a track scholarship. I majored in anthropology, but I also took a geography course and loved it.” Loved it so much, in fact, he earned his Doctorate degree there in geography, with a focus on India, a place he visited and conducted research two different times. When he heard about a teaching job in Florence, he interviewed and accepted the position, thinking he would come here for a couple of years and then move back to Texas. That was 42 years ago. In 1964, while he was a student on the track team, he was looking for a way to train off-season. He discovered Tae Kwon Do and continued with this martial art after he arrived in Florence. In 1985, he began studies in Tang Soo Do under Grandmaster Jae C. Shin, who was Chuck Norris’s instructor in Korea. He is a member of the board of directors of the World Tang Soo Do Association (WTSDA) and serves as its secretary-general. There are more than 150,000 members of this association in 35 countries, and this summer at the World Championships, Bill will be promoted to the 8th degree Grandmaster rank and become only the third Grandmaster in the WTSDA.
when he talks about the careers his students have taken—business managers at software companies, owners of geo-technology companies, locating pathways for high-tension utility wires, locating cell towers, planning for the use of natural resources and conservation, or studying post-disaster recovery. “The employers tell us that our students do well, and the starting pay is good for geography majors,” Bill said. “Geography today has a tremendous technology base and our department is on the leading edge of geospatial technology,” he said, “and even though most of the country tends to lack geoliteracy, our students learn not only a strong knowledge base but also critical spatial thinking skills. A few years ago the US Department of Labor listed three fast-growing career fields in bio-tech, nano-tech, and geospatial tech, and “our geography department does a fine job preparing students with geospatial technology skills. When I was working in India, right out of college myself, it was the beginning of the computer and satellite age. It’s a different world today.” His first overseas project was in India studying how farmers made decisions about planting and growing crops; the second time there, he studied human migration from the countryside into the cities. The only thing that has not changed, based on his world–wide travels and work in Bangalore, India: “people are nice wherever you go,” he said with a smile, “and that helps me learn the culture of the area.” What fascinates Bill—and what energizes his students—is learning the way humans do things, and where they do them. “Geography incorporates culture, attitudes, psychology, and perceptions,” he said. “History is the study of ‘when’; we study ‘where’ and ‘why there’.” During all of this time, Bill and his wife, Rachel, whom he met at college, raised two daughters, Rita and Morgan. Both daughters are UNA graduates, and along with Rachel hold black belts in Tang Soo Do. Rachel earned a masters degree in counseling and had a career at TVA, specializing in EOC counseling and compliance.
That’s no easy feat. Students of this martial art work their way through different levels, taking years to earn their way. When you achieve a certain level and meet the rigorous requirements for Master’s level, you must be invited to test by the Grandmaster. For the past 21 years, Bill has directed the annual Masters’ Clinic, which has been held at UNA where training and testing for the Master’s level occurs.
“I always wanted to be a good teacher,” said Bill. “I love learning, and I love imparting good thinking skills. Our goal is not to teach our students what to think, but how to think—and at the university, how to think geographically. In the martial arts, we teach thinking without thinking—we teach how to watch people and read situations so you can react to them in case of potential problems.”
For Bill, teaching is very much a part of his involvement in Tang Soo Do, and he has been training others in the Shoals area since 1975. “This martial art starts out as a physical exercise,” he said, “and it ultimately brings calmness and confidence. As you become secure in your skills and knowledge, your mind is alert, and you are confident in mind, body, and spirit.”
The hardest decision Bill ever made was to retire. “I wanted to move on and let others take it on,” he said, but he continues to teach and donates a large portion of his salary to the Isbell Scholar Program. The program was named for Raymond Isbell, who worked after retirement and donated his salary to scholarships. Bill’s gift goes to the William R. Strong Endowment for Geography Education.
It’s clear that he takes pride in his students, telling stories of young people whose lives were changed from Tang Soo Do. If you talk to any of them, you’ll find that they all regard him with tremendous respect, for his abilities to teach the skill as well as his own achievements as a Master. The same is true of his university students. His eyes light up | noalapress.com | march/april
And what’s next? Reading. Maybe studying landscaping—he’s already designed and built a Zen garden and fire pit at his house. And travel, of course; you can’t love geography and not love to travel, and his responsibilities as Grandmaster will require a great deal of it. One thing goes without saying: no matter where he goes and who he runs into, he’ll be teaching. That’s the common thread that ties it all together.
I always wanted to be a good teacher. I love learning, and I love imparting good thinking skills. Our goal is not to teach our students what to think, but how to think.” BILL STRONG
march/april | noalapress.com |
2014 N O’ALA R ENAISSANCE AWARDS
L ARRY BOWSER RECIPIENT IN B USINESS AND LEADERSHIP If you talk to Larry Bowser, you would never know what he has accomplished. It’s not false modesty. Larry Bowser is a team builder, and he believes the reason the Marriott Spa and Hotel and the Conference Center in Florence is so successful is because of the team there. Larry’s path hasn’t exactly been predictable. Growing up in Pennsylvania, in Amish country, Larry had a pretty normal and happy childhood. He decided he wanted to study accounting, and he had dreams of joining the Secret Service to work in forensic accounting. But while he was in college, he met a girl, and the girl moved to Tampa…so he did too. When he arrived, he needed a job, so he answered an ad in the newspaper and started working at a Sheraton there. “I loved the culture in the hospitality industry,” he said. “It’s a very positive work environment, and it’s truly a people business. I had found my calling.” He started his hospitality career as an accounting clerk, moving to Controller, working at properties all over the Southeast. He moved to Alabama in 1999 and became the V.P. of Finance for PCH Hotels and Resorts when RSA purchased the Marriott’s Grand Hotel in Point Clear. As V.P. of Finance he was part of the development of RSA’s Resort collection throughout Alabama. That’s when he discovered the Shoals.
says. “It’s funny to remember the early days, when we proposed this property and the Robert Trent Jones Golf courses; there was some fierce opposition. I got yelled at when I went to civic clubs to present the idea, and people called our project a “motel.” But the communities came together and built this thing, and it’s made a difference.” In fact, lodging taxes have increased by 112% in the past ten years, and tourism accounts for a huge number of jobs in the Shoals. Interestingly, the percentage of people who come to the Marriott to stay because of the golf courses is pretty small—only about 6%. “But golf is a huge attraction when you’re bringing in our core business, conventions and groups who use the Conference Center,” Larry said. “Our team pays attention to details, and that’s why we’ve won food and beverage awards and guest experience awards. It’s fun, these days, to attend international general manager meetings and stand up on the stage to be recognized for the experience we provide, next to hotels in Los Angeles and Chicago. Within the Marriott organization, people certainly know where Muscle Shoals is!” About 80% of the hotel’s leisure business comes from an hour’s drive away. And since the Marriott was constructed, many more hotels have been developed in the area, which is a good thing, in Larry’s mind. The more we become a destination, the better everyone in the industry—and the communities in general—will be. “I’m probably most pleased that this was a joint effort between both sides of the river,” he said. “Our leaders rolled up their sleeves and worked together, and we all benefit from that cooperation.”
“I first came to the Shoals back in 2001 to start working on the feasibility study for the RTJ Hotel and golf course project,” Larry said. “From the very beginning, I fell in love with this community. The natural beauty, the history, and the people all amaze me. At that time my job kept me on the road quite a bit, my father had just passed away and my daughter was two years old. My values changed, so when the opportunity came to put down some roots, raise my daughter, and become part of this great community, I was all-in. Growing up in Pennsylvania, I had heard all about Muscle Shoals music. I couldn’t believe that place that I had heard of all my life I was now going to call home.”
The hotel’s unique location on the banks of the Tennessee River also helps. Perched above historic Wilson Dam, diners at the 360 Grille get a panoramic view of Lake Wilson and the Tennessee River. There are 192 guest rooms and seven suites in the hotel’s six floors, and rooms have balconies that also provide beautiful and memorable views. And even though the property is only ten years old, it is currently undergoing a $3 million renovation that will affect every room and the restaurants. “We’re a group destination and a leisure destination,” said Larry. “I’m probably most proud of the fact that our staff takes pride in providing a wonderful guest experience. This is a demanding business—we never, ever close—but our team understands how to be engaged, and we never measure the hours we spend here. It’s more than a job—our business is a way of life.”
Another thing about Larry: when you talk to him, you realize that he really, really loves music. That could explain why the restaurant and bar in the hotel is called Swampers, and features live music seven nights a week. “Swampers is our attempt to tell the story of Muscle Shoals Music,” he said, “It’s a tremendous story and gives us a great sense of pride to be able to introduce that story to the many guests we have visit our hotel each year.”
It’s true that a great deal of the Marriott’s success comes from the team. It’s just as true that the man who put that team together and leads it every day had a tremendous influence on the success this property has had.
His love of music is one thing—his love for providing a great guest experience is another. Under his leadership, the Marriott Hotel and Spa in Florence achieved a number one ranking out of all of the Marriott Hotels in the chain in 2012. And last year, in 2013, Larry himself was named Hotelier of the Year by the Alabama Restaurant Association and the Alabama Hospitality Association. AAA has awarded this hotel its prestigious Four Diamond designation. “Tourism has a profound impact on the economy here,” Larry | noalapress.com | march/april
That two year-old child is now 13, and Larry is pleased to say she loves music as much as her father does. He’s also allowing himself to spend more time with her, especially since he knows the day is coming soon when she will be grown and gone. He and his wife, Vanessa, live on the lake, and the water brings him peace and calm; one of his favorite leisure pastimes is to take the boat out to the middle of the lake, turn it off, and listen to some good old Muscle Shoals music while catching a beautiful sunset over the Tennessee River. And then, it’s back to the office at the Marriott. There are people to tend to, a team to cheer on, and guests who are there to enjoy a unique experience. After all, this beautiful place never closes—ever.
From the very beginning, I fell in love with this community. The natural beauty, the history and the people all amaze me. At that time my job kept me on the road quite a bit, my father had just passed away and my daughter was two years old. My values changed, so when the opportunity came to put down some roots, raise my daughter, and become part of this great community, I was all-in.” LARRY BOWSER
march/april | noalapress.com |
2014 N O’ALA R ENAISSANCE AWARDS
TOMMY PIRKLE RECIPIENT IN SERVICE AND SPIRITUALITY Tommy Pirkle likes to help people. Tommy moved here when he was 11, after the death of his father; an older sister worked for TVA and urged the family to relocate to keep everyone together. Tommy graduated from Coffee High School and Florence State University (now UNA) with a degree in management. He served in the Navy; he met and married the love of his life, Peggy, and they began a family. “I got a job in business and one of my first assignments was to move to Birmingham and open an office there,” said Tommy. “The whole time, I wanted to come back to Florence.” An opportunity to become a juvenile probation officer presented itself, and the Pirkles came home. “Leah Fergerson, a social worker with Lauderdale County Department of Pensions and Security, advised me to get a graduate degree if I was going to continue working in the field of human services,” he said. “Leah was the person responsible for helping me set goals in my life.” With three children in tow (“all old enough to cry at the thought of leaving Florence,” he said), the Pirkles moved to Nashville where he earned a master’s degree in social work. An internship in psychology at Bryce Hospital in Tuscaloosa followed. “When I was at Bryce, Federal Judge Frank Johnson made a change in the way the state treated its mental patients,” said Tommy. “Instead of warehousing them, every patient was reevaluated and treated. I had a good supervisor, and I learned a lot. I never woke up dreading the day’s work.” In 1965, the Pirkles came back to Florence to stay. Tommy started working at the Muscle Shoals Mental Health Center as a therapist. After six years, he became their acting director, and shortly after that, the organization changed its name to Riverbend Center for Mental Health. When Tommy became director, Riverbend had four full-time employees and an annual budget of $120,000; when he left, in 1999, the budget was $7 million and the Center employed 165 people. The joy, for Tommy, was the help Riverbend was able to provide. Through its psychiatric, mental health, and substance abuse programs, patients were able to find help for a variety of illnesses and problems, and the Center grew. Construction on the current location, next door to ECM Hospital, started in 1969, and in 1970 it was opened. Tommy oversaw the establishment of the Riverbend Foundation; he also helped develop a program to provide college scholarships to individuals recovering from mental illness or substance abuse and their families. Here’s an interesting fact: Riverbend is responsible for Florence’s current curbside recycling service. Riverbend had developed a cardboard recycling program for its developmentally disabled clients for job training purposes. “After running the program for two years, we recommended to Mayor Eddie Frost that the City take it over and expand it to include curbside pickup,” said Tommy. Some of the original clients are still employed at the recycling center.
| noalapress.com | march/april
“One day, Nelson Starkey told me I should go see Mr. and Mrs. Robert Gray, a couple who lived on 104 lakeside acres in Colbert County. Mr. Gray developed the concrete building block, and they wanted to gift their property to a deserving non-profit organization. The value of the gift was in excess of $2 million,” said Tommy. Gray’s Landing became the site of a Riverbend substance abuse program. One of Tommy’s favorite projects during his time at Riverbend was the establishment of “Day By Day.” “There were three couples in our Sunday School class who had lost children,” he said. “Because Peggy and I have not experienced that, I felt professionally incompetent to help them, but we felt moved to do something.” The group has grown; Day By Day is a self-help group for bereaved parents, and they meet monthly. “Working with this group teaches you what grief really is,” said Tommy, “and I am happy that this is a helpful organization.” After retirement, Tommy got busier. He was an adjunct professor at UNA in psychology and sociology; President of the UNA National Alumni Association, and their Alumni of the Year in 2002; President of the Shoals Chamber of Commerce; Chairman of the Florence-Lauderdale Public Library Board of Directors; and he remains active at Woodmont Baptist Church, where he and Peggy were one of five couples who founded the church. He also ran for and was elected to the Florence City Council. “I’ve always been interested in politics, and decided to give it a try,” he said. He loved public service, but only served one term. “I couldn’t afford the alimony,” he said, laughing, because Peggy, who is a private person, didn’t like life in the public eye. One of the things he loves, these days, is working with dogs, and he volunteers at the animal shelter just to walk the dogs. He has also been instrumental in raising money for the new Florence Dog Park. There are three people Tommy lists as being greatly influential. The first was Leah Fergerson, who encouraged him to earn his graduate degree. The second was Givens Gallant, who was in charge of a youth group at Tommy’s church when he was growing up. “This group of rambunctious young boys presented a challenge to him,” said Tommy, “but through the years I have had time to recall his kindness, patience, and long-suffering. He was a true role model for me.” The third was his close lifelong friend, Jess Keller, a Florence attorney. “Jess offered me wise and practical advice, and when we differed in how we viewed life, he was always loyal and fair.” But there are so many others. “My advice to younger people is to take school seriously,” he said. “Get as many varied experiences as you can, and remember that volunteer work is very important.” Tommy and Peggy are perhaps proudest of their three children, Jania Harp, married to Ted; Debbye Hibbett, married to Chip; and Tommy, who lives in New Jersey and is married to Pam. The Pirkles have eight grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. The common thread throughout Tommy’s life is his unselfish devotion to helping other people. From his profession, helping those suffering from mental health or substance abuse issues, to his hobbies and volunteer work, helping bereaved parents or abandoned animals, Tommy Pirkle has a giving heart.
My advice to younger people is to take school seriously. Get as many varied experiences as you can and remember that volunteer work is very important.” TOMMY PIRKLE
march/april | noalapress.com |
2014 N O’ALA R ENAISSANCE AWARDS
ALAN FLOWERS RECIPIENT IN ARTS AND C ULTURE When Alan Flowers was four years old, his older brother took piano lessons…and hated them. “He would come home and complain about having to practice, so I finally just said ‘I’ll do it,’ and I started playing. I loved it,” Alan said. “My parents asked the teacher, Mrs. Jackson, if I could begin taking lessons, and that’s how it started.” At age four. That love of performing, combined with a natural talent, has given Alan a very interesting life, and because of that, Alan has given the Shoals area performing arts scene opportunities unheard of for an area this size. Alan has been a performer, a teacher, an accompanist, a buyer for a downtown department store, a church organist, and a traveler. It has never been dull. Alan’s parents met in 1927 in Florence; both were associated with the college, where Alan’s mother taught dance for women and his father was the athletic department. Not the coach at Florence State—Alan is quick to point this out—he was the entire athletic department. “It was not uncommon then for each department to be just one person,” he said. (Flowers Hall, the athletic complex on Pine Street, is named for Alan’s dad.) Alan attended Kilby School, and describes his childhood as “wonderful.” There were auditoriums at Kilby and Wesleyan Hall, and Gladys Shepard, the drama teacher—actually, the drama department—was beginning to present productions there. Alan took a class from her, and became fascinated with live performance. He enrolled at the University of Alabama, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in music and a masters of music, both performance degrees. “I didn’t think I wanted to teach,” said Alan. “Mr. Bill Mitchell was a part of the First Presbyterian Church, and they needed an organist and choir director for the summer. They hired me, and I also began to teach piano and organ to students to supplement my income. The longer I stayed, the more I knew that I wanted to stay, and I made so many friends among the young adults who were making Florence their home.” That temporary, summer job lasted quite awhile—Alan retired from the Presbyterian Church last year, after 53 years. Alan began teaching chorus at Coffee High School, and then later at Bradshaw, and started directing shows. At Coffee, his students performed Li’l Abner in 1961; later, he would combine Coffee and Bradshaw students for a performance of West Side Story. In the summer of 1963, Alan went to Jim Spain, the director of Florence Parks and Recreation, with an idea to bring live performance to an even larger audience. “I suggested we create a performing arts program in the summers, which would feature local talent, and he was very supportive. We ran Florence Summer Theatre until 1974, until royalties got expensive and recruiting backstage volunteers became challenging.” Alan’s favorite summer theater production was Fiddler on the Roof, with local radio personality Jack Voorhies in the role of Tevya, but other popular plays included The King and I, Oklahoma, Hello, Dolly!, and The Music Man. While this was going on, Alan and friends Roz Klibanoff and | noalapress.com | march/april
Betty Jean Mitchell, along with others who were interested in live performance for the area, helped start Shoals Community Theatre, the group that now owns the Shoals Theatre in downtown Florence and whose Zodiac Players and Gingerbread Players have been a staple of performing arts in the Shoals. “Gladys Shepard, at the University, was the drama department and taught English and speech, and she was always able to take a miniscule stage, local students, and a good play and create good, polished shows,” said Alan. “She was a great inspiration. Glad knew the importance of good tech people, and she kept up with what was going on.” Following her lead, the Zodiac began performing in a space on Hermitage Drive that had been a garage, with a tiny stage and limited space, but “we were able to present some wonderful shows,” he said, “and one of my favorites was Equus, complete with a revolving stage and the horse costumes.” Another favorite was Cabaret. Alan married Curtis Parker, and after the birth of their two children, Irene and Loftin, Alan took on more and more work, adding organist and choir director at St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church to his list of jobs. He and Curtis also bought Cottage Florist on Court Street, but eventually found it too time consuming, especially with everything else he was juggling. So Alan went to Rogers Department Store, where he was the buyer for gifts and home for more than 20 years, until the Rogers family sold the business. It was a creative job, and the job sent him to New York four times a year on buying trips. “Our per diem was $35 a day,” he said, “but then that would pay for three meals and taxi fare, and I could take time in the evenings to see shows.” Alan and Curtis began taking groups to New York to see shows, too. “New York was affordable at that time,” he said. “For about $450, our travelers could fly out of Nashville and spend three or four days in the city, seeing shows every evening.” Contrast that with trips today, where a theater ticket alone can be close to $200! After the sale of Rogers, Alan began teaching full time at UNA, where he still teaches music appreciation and music history. He spends time in the warm months at his family’s summer home in Maine, close to children and grandchildren. “This is not a typical Alabama town,” Alan says. “Many years ago, when William Lyle Harris began the Muscle Shoals Concert Series, people here saw the best of the best, because that series brought great artists in for live performances. Patsy Hill had a world-class dance company here, and she taught people who went on to have careers in performance. When the Rosenbaums owned the movie theaters here, we got the very best films, and UNA’s drama department keeps growing and doing well. People became conscious of the arts, and with the growth of the music industry in Muscle Shoals, people were eager to become involved. There is tremendous talent here, and we’ve never been afraid to try new things.” This year is the second time Alan Flowers has been nominated for a Renaissance Award designation; it is not hard to argue that the arts are richer here because of his hard work and never-ending energy. But he’s not finished. “There are kids here who have never seen a live performance,” he says, “and everything they see is on a screen of some type.” It’s clear that he intends to do something to get those screens out of their hands, to spark a love for performance for the next generation…and beyond. The Shoals arts scene will be richer for it.
This is not a typical Alabama town. People became conscious of the arts, and with the growth of the music industry in Muscle Shoals, people were eager to become involved. There is tremendous talent here, and we’ve never been afraid to try new things.” ALAN FLOWERS
march/april | noalapress.com |
2014 N O’ALA R ENAISSANCE AWARDS
ROBERT WEBB , MD RECIPIENT IN SCIENCE AND M EDICINE You might not want to talk about it, but Rob Webb does. While end of life issues make a lot of us uncomfortable, Dr. Webb has spent the greater part of his career helping patients and families with the most final of all subjects: their death. Rob’s career didn’t start out that way. “I grew up in Saskatchewan, Canada, and attended the university in Saskatoon. I practiced as a family practitioner in Melfort, Canada, a town of 6,000 people about a hundred miles northeast of Saskatoon.” His practice was going to be pretty comprehensive, so he had additional post-graduate training in England in anesthesiology and obstetrics, and later in palliative care. In a small town in western Canada, a doctor had to be able to care for people from birth to death. As their sons, Chris and Jeff, grew up, Rob and his wife, Margaret, decided to take a year off and swap houses with a doctor in Australia. At the very last minute, the Australian government informed the Webb’s that only physicians who had studied in England, New Zealand or Australia were allowed to practice medicine there, so the Webb’s had to come up with another plan. “Let’s go to the States,” they said, so they started looking. It didn’t take long for them to find a spot in Florence, Alabama. At first, Rob worked at Florence Hospital, owned by Humana, and he continued to practice family medicine. But he also started working with nursing homes in the area, becoming the Medical Director at Glenwood Healthcare. By 2005, he had seen the need for palliative care, the care of patients who are suffering or dying, and became Board Certified in Palliative Care. He became the Medical Director for Hospice of the Shoals in 2006, the area’s only not-for-profit hospice, and he helped Eliza Coffee Memorial Hospital begin its palliative care program. “People ask, ‘how can you do this?’” said Rob. “I think this is an opportunity to practice true medicine, to provide comfort and soothing of symptoms. My goal is to prevent and relieve suffering.” Medicine has changed drastically in the past five decades, and so have attitudes about it. “Medicine has allowed us to prolong our lives,” he said, “but now we’ve gotten to the point where keeping people alive in some cases actually can cause pain and suffering. Sometimes, families will unintentionally ‘abandon’ their loved one to medicine, and they have unrealistic expectations about what medicine can do. That’s why one of the most important things we do is find out what the goals are.” There can be a prevailing feeling that medicine will prolong our lives indefinitely, and that there is always something else that can be done to cure a disease or prolong life. That’s not realistic; death is inevitable and ultimately medicine is unable to prevent it— nor should it. Dr. Webb thinks that the medical professionals, the patient, and the families have to have some serious discussions about
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what they want to happen. “We have to communicate with the patient and the family,” he says, to determine whether the patient is interested in prolonging dying or suffering at the end of life or in having a more comfortable and dignified death. “Many times, the patients choose comfort and dignity—it’s the families who can be the problem,” he said. “We see patients change from being anxious to being calm, comfortable and peaceful. We want to engage these conversations with grace, and we understand that although the patient might be ready, the families aren’t always.” That’s what Dr. Webb means by practicing true medicine—allowing the medical staff to provide comfort from pain and suffering when there is nothing more that can be done to cure the disease. “We cannot become cold or indifferent to death,” he said. “We just have to ask the question—what is the goal here?” If the patient chooses comfort, according to Dr. Webb, all kinds of opportunities open up, such as ignoring restricted diets so they can eat their favorite foods and spend time doing the things they love. “What is most important to you and your family?” he asks. “Do you want to enjoy the remaining days of your life? Eat and drink what you’d like, enjoy your remaining time, and stay away from doctors. It’s your choice.” Many times, as patients age, they develop multiple chronic health problems. One of the programs just started at ECM is called OASIS, which is coordinated by Cathy Shelton, who is also the Palliative Care Service coordinator. “Cathy even named the program,” said Dr. Webb. “It stands for Older Adult Specialty Inpatient Service, and it works with patients who are over 70 years old and are at high risk of developing delirium— because they may have a history of dementia, have a catheter, or have suffered from a stroke or other chronic disease. The OASIS program is located on the fifth floor of the hospital, and it allows us to deliver intense therapy to seniors who are acutely ill and who have these particular aging issues. Families are encouraged to stay with their loved ones while they go through the program, and we’ve been able to reduce the average length of stay to three and a half days. It’s a nicer experience for the patient, and we’re seeing some good outcomes.” And medicine continues to change, especially as baby boomers hurtle toward old age. “Although Canadians seem to be more palliative-oriented, it’s beginning to improve here. It’s an education process, for the patients, the medical community, and the public at large.” Rob and Margaret love the Shoals and consider it their permanent home. “I’d like to be able to practice medicine as long as I’m mentally able,” he said, although he admits there are times he’d like to slow down just a little. He’s as much a teacher as a doctor, and he’s developed tremendous knowledge about palliative care, aging, and end of life issues. As a doctor and as a teacher, he’s happy to have a conversation with you about how you’d like to live the life you have remaining. He always wants to emphasize, “there’s a difference between ‘living’ and ‘being kept alive.” You might not want to talk about it yet, but when you’re ready, you can always talk to him.
I think this is an opportunity to practice true medicine, to provide comfort and soothing of symptoms. My goal is to prevent and relieve suffering.” ROBERT WEBB
march/april | noalapress.com |
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back talk » Chandler Richey
“What piece of literature has had the most impact on you, and why?” “‘The Road Not Taken’ by Robert Frost. Some times in our lives we need to take the road less traveled. This was a good read I was able to share with my nieces.” —Bethany Oliver
Bethany Oliver
“Battlefield of the Mind by Joyce Meyer. It changed my thinking patterns by helping me to think positively.” —Adrienne James
Adrienne James
“The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba. The teen in this story created a windmill out of scraps to get money. It reminds us to make the best of what we have. “ —Christina Dorough Christina Dorough
“Skinny Legs and All by Tom Robbins. I read it in high school and am about to reread it this month.” —Bridges Crawford
Bridges Crawford
“I read The Stranger by Albert Camus in one of my college literature classes. The author had uncommon beliefs and he pushed me to think differently in my life.” —Sashera Pinto
Sashera Pinto
“I used to read Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein to my kids. We loved how quirky and imaginative it was.” —Debra Jeffreys
Debra Jeffreys
“I have a short attention span so the Nine Stories by J.D. Salinger sucked me in. I loved how descriptive the stories were.” —Jonathan Oliphant
Jonathan Oliphant
“Lee Iacocca’s book, Iacocca: An Autobiography, is the best book for a salesman. It reminds me that I can never take no for an answer.” —Ken Peoples
Ken Peoples
“My perspective on life was changed after reading The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglass Adams. It was like a literary hit of acid.” —Michael Brock Michael Brock
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back talk » “What piece of literature has had the most impact on you, and why?”
“To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I grew up without a father which made me enjoy reading about such a wonderful father figure like Atticus Finch.” —Ryan Etheridge
Ryan Etheridge
“I like dark pieces so I was drawn to the poem, ‘The Bells’ by Edgar Allan Poe. I find his work more interesting than Harry Potter.” —Garrett Blake
Garrett Blake
“Ulysses by James Joyce is one of the more important pieces of literature. I connected with one of the characters in the story. It is eye opening how insightful he is.” —Jared McCoy
Jared McCoy
“The Pursuit of God by Aw Tozer gave me an understanding of how God desires to know me. I also gained a hunger to know God as well.” —Evangeline Brock
Evangeline Brock
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the vine » Amy Collins
CHILL YOUR REDS This is the time of year when the weather in North Alabama gets extra crazy. We might expect snow flurries one day and 80 degrees with full sun two days later. Figuring out how to dress for these fluctuations is pain enough, there is also the dire concern about what to drink. The new vintage rosés will not arrive for another four to six weeks, and it’s not yet hot enough to indulge in a cold white. But when the weather gods shower us with perfect 72 degree love, the big structured reds that kept us warm against the bitter cold all winter (and didn’t we have plenty of that this year?) are way too heavy. My solution: keep some lighter reds on hand, serve them near room temperature on the cooler days, and chill them when it gets warm enough to move the party outside. Most of us have a general idea that white wines should be served cold and red wines at room temperature. That’s a very broad and simplified standard, and if you want to get into the science of aromatics, you’ll discover the particulars are indeed a bit more particular. The serving temperature of a wine is probably the most important factor in how it tastes. The colder it is, the more subtle, often hidden, the flavors. The warmer a wine, the more showy the aromas, alcohol, and flaws, if any. When a red wine is cooled, tannins become more obvious, dry and bitter, the acidity accentuated. Lighter reds that aren’t super dry can benefit from a cooler temperature without becoming overly astringent.
THE SERVING TEMPERATURE OF A WINE IS PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR IN HOW IT TASTES. THE COLDER IT IS, THE MORE SUBTLE, OFTEN HIDDEN, THE FLAVORS. THE WARMER A WINE, THE MORE SHOWY THE AROMAS, ALCOHOL, AND FLAWS, IF ANY.
One of my favorite red wines to chill is Beaujolais. Made from the Gamay grape, these wines are typically light bodied without a lot of tannin, often bursting with ripe strawberry and even bubblegum flavors, especially the Beaujolais Nouveau. When the wine is chilled down to around 64 degrees, the super fruity flavors calm down and the acidity becomes more apparent, making the wine more refreshing. They also tend to be versatile food pairing wines, from grilled meats to pasta to burgers to sipping on the back deck in the first days of spring. Another great red to chill is from the Bierzo region in Spain. The grape here is Mencía and is mostly planted in red clay soils on low rolling hills. The wines tend to be lighter bodied with soft tannins, though in recent years, a few producers are making more concentrated, structured wines. Still, cooling this one in the refrigerator for 20 minutes will make it more approachable and enjoyable in warm weather. It’s a good picnic wine, matches with a variety of foods and, like Beaujolais, is often an inexpensive buy. Austria’s most popular red wine grape, the Zweigelt, is also a good candidate for a chill.
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Widely planted throughout the country, most Zweigelts are simple, easy drinking reds meant to be drunk young. It’s common to see them bottled in the customary Austrian liter instead of the 750ml bottle, making them all the more shareable. A red wine that should always be served cold is Italy’s sparkling Lambrusco from the Emilio-Romagna region, which stretches across Northern Central Italy. Many Lambruscos are o-dry or sweet, and match well with high-fat cured meats, like dry salami, prosciutto, olives, and ďŹ rm salty cheese like Parmesan, and tangy ďŹ rm goat or sheep milk cheese. It’s quite festive with a dark chocolate dessert, too. There are also dry versions of the wine which can be intensely interesting and unusual. The traditional cuisine of the region is hearty, with lots of egg pastas topped with rich meat sauces (think bolognese). The bubbles in the sparkling Lambrusco complement the heaviness of the food and, traditionally speaking, are believed to aid digestion. In general, any light red wine that’s not too dry and has decent acidity will beneďŹ t from a cooler temperature. Big, tannic red wines are not the best choice, as a too cool temperature will make them even drier and chewier while masking the more developed and nuanced avors. Try one of the wines below with a slight chill, all of which are available in North Alabama.
Domaine Dupeuble Beaujolais 2011, France Sweet cherry and strawberry fruit, elegant, almost closer in structure and fruit to a Pinot Noir than a Gamay, with a hint of black pepper and nice long ďŹ nish. $15.99 J. Palacios Bierzo 2011, Spain Red berry fruit, sour cherry, a little wild and more concentrated than a lot of Bierzos but still drinks well with a chill. $24.99 Berger Zweiglet 2011, Austria Dark berry fruits, super soft tannins, light and easy drinking. Good producer of classic Zweigelt. 1 liter bottle $14.99 Bertolani Lambrusco Rosso All’Attica Asciutto & Corposo, Italy Don’t let the long name dissuade you. Very dry, sparkling with raspberry fruit, black pepper and earth notes. Perfect match for bolognese sauce. $14.99
Follow Amy at www.pigandvine.com for more stories and wine suggestions.
march/april ď™…ď™ƒď™„ď™‡ | noalapress.com | ď™„ď™ƒď™Š
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food for thought » Sarah Gaede
MY FAVORITE KITCHEN TOOLS I am fond of strudel and noodles and kittens, bewhiskered and otherwise, but I would not trade my sturdy oven mitts for the warmest woolen mittens. While I’ve been cooking seriously for almost 40 years, my quest for the perfect kitchen equipment is ongoing. I’m always open to being surprised by something new. I was an early adopter of the Cuisinart food processor, back in the 70s, when they weren’t loaded with safety features and were much easier to use. Although I never cut the tip of my finger off, my first one had to go back to the factory twice due to my unfortunate habit of fusing the steel blade onto the driveshaft while making dough. I don’t use it much any more, except for pizza dough, because I have discovered immersion blenders and mini-preps. Just stick the blender stick in a pot of soup or sauce and watch the magic happen. No more ladling hot liquid into the blender or food processor. A deal at under $40. The mini-
“PERHAPS EVEN MORE THAN MY ALLCLAD, I LOVE MY BIG LE CREUSET ENAMELED CAST IRON POT. IT WEIGHS A TON, AND COST A LOT. BUT ONE WILL LAST A LIFETIME.”
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prep is far more useful on a day to day basis than a big food processor. It makes bread crumbs, grinds nuts, chops herbs, and emulsifies salad dressing in a snap. You can find them for under $50. My friend Zac’s highest expression of affection is, “Love you more than my luggage.” Mine is, “Love you more than my All-Clad.” My first pan, pictured, was a promotional item at Bloomingdale’s, and cost a mere $15. Just like heroin, the first one is (almost) free. Thirteen years later, I think I’m done collecting. Nothing cooks better, it cleans like a dream, and lasts forever. I’m up to three saucepans, one regular and one non-stick 12-inch skillet, a sauté pan, and an odd pot that Henry’s boss gave us for Christmas last year. This is a gracious plenty, considering that a 3-quart saucepan with lid will run you around $170, although I’ve found lower prices on eBay and at TJMaxx. I would forego the copper-bottomed ones, unless you like to polish. Which I don’t. Perhaps even more than my All-Clad, I love my big Le Creuset enameled cast iron pot. It weighs a ton, and cost a lot. But one will last a lifetime. You can get by with a smaller one—they are often found at TJ Maxx at a good price. Lodge makes a perfectly good version for a lot less. I loved my $45 Henckels 8” stainless chef ’s knife for 39 years, until I was seduced by a trophy knife—the Miyabi 5000S by Zwilling J.A. Henkels, which my daughter, who received one for Christmas, describes as thrillingly sharp. Now my poor old knife is relegated to smashing garlic cloves. Three basic knives—chef ’s, paring, and serrated—are really all you need, and two of them are inexpensive. A good plastic-handled paring knife is less than $10, and the highly rated Victorinox serrated knife, which you can also use to slice tomatoes, runs around $30. Do not put any knives in the dishwasher, ever. And keep them sharpened—my husband does this for me, bless his heart. My current favorite kitchen gadgets are a Microplane for zesting citrus and grating Parmigiano Reggiano (the only kind to use), a little OXO whisk with a cushioned handle, and stainless steel measuring spoons that fit in jars of spices and run the gamut from 1/8 teaspoon to one tablespoon. But I’m also very fond of my well-seasoned wooden spoons. And my vintage T.G. Green Ltd. pudding bowls. And—well, you see where in my home my heart is.
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scene
Marilyn and Kenneth Johnson Beth Jordan, Gina Richards, Erin Beard, and Philip Gambrell Chris and Laurie Tant Maxie and Tom Foster
Sammy Akridge and Carolyn Eck Jim Steele, Jim and Joan Carringer
Cheryl and Charles Lee
Above: FFCU Retirement Reception for Maxie Foster
Sandre Nesbitt and Dallas Vaughn
Below: “Carl Casiday Creates” A Benefit for WICP
january , · pickett place, florence
november , westminster presbyterian church, florence
The audience Larry Young, Becky Norvell, Carl Casiday, Jack Sellers, and Allen Phillips
Carl Casiday Marg Webb, Ann Edwards, and Dana Blackwell
Sally Bryant and Mary Garner Carl Casiday * Names for photos are provided by the organization or business featured.
Eileen Nunnelly and Carl Casiday Amna Wilks, Brenda Gray, and Sandra Sockwell
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bless their hearts » Roy Hall
And while I’m hardly deaf to the usual objections to the do-little lifestyle—I’d point out that without the do-littles of the world, the leaders would have no opportunity to exercise their leadership skills.
THE DOLITTLE LIFE The biennial Renaissance issue is a special time in our publishing calendar here at No’Ala. From the time we call for nominations until the deadline for submissions, we are inundated with the names and accomplishments of people who make the Shoals the best place in the world to live. People who have asked themselves not what the Shoals can do for them, but what they can do for the Shoals. And that kind of leadership is a wonderful thing, to be sure. The world turns on the axis of inspired, forward-thinking leadership. So it’s an honor and a privilege to recognize their hard work—a civic necessity, really—because where would our community be without these people? But while the inspired and inspiring work of our leaders is well worth our praise and attention, there is another group of people without whom the ideas, hard work, and vision of our leaders couldn’t flourish; that’s the volunteer, of course. People for whom, perhaps, public speaking doesn’t come naturally. Folks who are temperamentally more inclined to help implement a plan or program rather than to devise one. But when there’s a fundraiser, there they are, addressing the invitations or gathering tickets at the door. Or when the needy line up at a soup kitchen for a hot meal on a cold day, the volunteers are there, at dawn, ladle in hand, ready to serve without pomp, circumstance or fanfare. Leaders and volunteers: the yen and yang of community-building. But there’s still one more group out there, a sub-section of the population, one whose contributions we don’t hear nearly enough about: the underachievers. People like me! You don’t hear a lot about us under-achievers. We’re not a proud, strutting lot. We don’t go around trumpeting how much we haven’t accomplished (mostly because trumpeting and strutting require effort, something we’ve mostly foresworn). If there’s a magazine or an awards gala that features our lack of work or our willingness to avail ourselves of other people’s ingenuity, I haven’t come across it. Which is not to say that those magazines and galas don’t exist; they may. But actively seeking them out violates the integrity of doing nothing. And while I’m hardly deaf to the usual objections to the do-little lifestyle—that sloth and torpor corrupt the soul and turn the mind into a barren wasteland—I’d point out that without the do-littles of the world, the leaders would have no opportunity to exercise their leadership skills. It’s the ideas the do-littles haven’t thought that the
leaders of the world are free to think. It’s the soup the do-littles will never, ever get up off their futons to serve that sits steaming in pots offering volunteers the opportunity to rightly feel noble. (You’re all welcome, by the way.) Some might point to the spiritual atrophy of doing nothing. I’d counter that objection by noting that adherents of doing nothing appear in some of the world’s most respected faiths. Why, the Buddha himself advocated the state of nothing-ness as a prerequisite for attaining Nirvana. At least that’s my impression. I haven’t actually studied Buddhism. Studying Buddhism requires, well, studying, which is pretty obviously a violation of the very principle of doing nothing, or so it seems to me. But once, years ago, before dozing off, I managed to watch half a Tom Cruise movie called The Last Samurai, a film I’m almost certain had Buddhists in it, and that was my take away. But don’t quote me. And it’s not that studying is a violation all do-littles hold dear. I’m a do-little, and I’m also a proud graduate of the University of Alabama. I earned my degree in theatre, by acting, which is as close to doing nothing as a sentient human could possibly hope for, as well as providing ample practice for a lifetime of doing nothing for a living. Even collecting the degree required no effort on my part. After four and a half of the best, nothing-doing years of my life, I came home to my Tuscaloosa apartment to find a FedEx letter waiting for me. Inside: one red leather-bound diploma! I had accumulated, it seemed, all the necessary credit hours in my major—a major which I could have sworn I’d declared some years earlier as English. But apparently not, as The University of Alabama had conferred upon me a Bachelors of Arts in Theatre, and I saw no reason to object. Nor did I see a reason to continue to attend any more classes that semester, a fact I can’t help but imagine did nothing to improve my GPA, which, let’s be honest, was probably not all that stratospheric anyway. But, sadly, the realities of post-collegiate life intervened and in the years following my accidental matriculation, I’ve learned that the do-little lifestyle isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Rewards for doing little aren’t exactly overflowing. The under-achiever’s life isn’t fabled in story and song. Our granite heads will never peer down earnestly and wisely (and groggily) from Mount Rushmore. We don’t get a lot of keys to cities—not even Detroit. And despite the ample opportunity our lack of initiative offers the leaders of the world, there are no banquets to acknowledge all we under-achievers haven’t achieved. But perhaps the most unfortunate consequence of society’s refusal to acknowledge the non-work of do-littles is this: upand-coming do-littles have so few mentors, so few people to model themselves after. Well, besides Congress, of course.
march/april | noalapress.com |
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parting shot » Patrick Hood
A Chance of Snow
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