OTMJ OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL u OTMJ.COM
SOCIAL Jeremy and Emily Forsythe wanted more room to accommodate their growing family. Brothers John Michael, Bennett, and William in front of the Forsythe’s Hollywood home.
THURSDAY, AUGUST 11, 2022
SPORTS
A Catholic Tradition
BACK TO SCHOOL
John Carroll High School Celebrates 75 Years of Graduates
O
Journal photo by Maury Wald
By Anne Ruisi
Hollywood
Success Story
Kitchen Remodel Wins Home Builders Award; Whole House Renovation Satisfies Growing Family’s Need for More Room. See story, page 18
nly one high school in the greater Birmingham area can boast a Heisman Trophy winner, a Nobel Prize recipient and a veteran Vatican diplomat among its graduates. That school, John Carroll Catholic High, is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. John Carroll, which also is celebrating the 30th anniversary of its move to Lakeshore Parkway from its original site on Birmingham’s Southside, is well-known for the high caliber of its graduates, including its most famous: Heisman Trophy winner Pat Sullivan, ’68, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine winner Eric Wieschaus, ’65, and the head of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in Rome, where priests are trained for the Vatican’s diplomatic corps, Archbishop Joseph Marino, ’71. Those three are among the more than 12,000 graduates to earn diplomas since the school GROUNDBREAKING opened its doors in 1947, according Work began in to John Carroll’s website. Homecoming, when the Cavaliers November 1946 to build the John Carroll play Hayden High School on Sept. Catholic High on 9, will be the official kickoff to the Highland Avenue year-long celebration and a major between 23rd Street capital campaign, said Alyssa and Milner Crescent. Weisberg, the school’s marketing communications director. See JOHN CARROLL, page 28
GOLDEN PLUS ONE: Indian Springs teacher set to begin his 51st year at the school. PAGE 29
2 • Thursday, August 11, 2022
Inside
Murphy’s Law
O ‘OPPORTUNITY TO GROW’ Unless U Opens Satellite Campus in Vestavia Hills PAGE 8
HOMECOMING The Brook & The Bluff Headline Mason Music Fest PAGE 10
EVERYTHING KOSHER Chef Prepares to Cook for J’La Gala at the Levite Jewish Community Center PAGE 26
BACK TO SCHOOL Indian Springs Teacher Begins 51st Year in the Classroom PAGE 29
ABOUT TOWN NEWS LIFE SOCIAL
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OPINION/CONTENTS
HOME FOOD SCHOOLS SPORTS
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otmj.com With everything that’s happening “Over the Mountain,” it can be difficult to keep up. That’s why we have launched the OTMJ newsletter. Published every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday - we’ll give you a quick recap of the latest news, sports and social events as well as a heads up on upcoming events so you won’t miss any of the interesting and fun happenings in the Greater Birmingham metro area. To sign up for our newsletter, visit otmj.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram, @overthemountainjournal, for daily updates on what’s going on around town, too.
OVER THE MOUNTAIN
August 11, 2022 JOU RNAL Publisher & Editor: Maury Wald Copy Editor: Virginia Martin Features Writer: Donna Cornelius Staff Writer: Anne Ruisi Photographer: Jordan Wald Sports Editor: Rubin E. Grant Contributors: Susan Murphy, June Mathews, Emil Wald, Marvin Gentry, Lee Walls, Bryan Bunch Advertising Sales: Julie Trammell Edwards, Tommy Wald, Gail Kidd
Vol. 32, No. 25
Over The Mountain Journal is a suburban bi-weekly newspaper delivered to Mountain Brook, Homewood, Vestavia Hills, Hoover and North Shelby County areas. Subscriptions for The Journal are available for $24 yearly. Mail to: Over the Mountain Journal, P.O. Box 660502, Vestavia Hills, AL 35216. Phone: (205) 823-9646. E-mail the editorial department at editorial@otmj.com. E-mail our advertising department at mwald@otmj.com. Find us on the Web at otmj.com. Copyright 2022 Over The Mountain Journal, Inc. All rights reserved. The Journal is not responsible for return of photos, copy and other unsolicited materials submitted. To have materials returned, please specify when submitting and provide a stamped, self-addressed envelope. All materials submitted are subject to editorial review and may be edited or declined without notification.
Legs And Llegos
ver the hot, hot summer, my always has another project in mind. grandson and I spent many For me, Llego construction is a happy hours building with – step-by-step process, creating order out you know those little multi-colored of chaos. I look at the instruction plastic bricks that snap together? For booklet, gather the pieces pictured and simplicity (and trademark) sake, let’s put them together exactly the way they call them Llegos. say. When I am done, the construction My grandson is a champion conlooks just like the book said it should structor. He was gifted several Llego and I feel a sense of good girl satisfacsets for his birthday and Christmas and tion. put them together with amazing speed, For my grandson, it’s all about the and I was right there to encourage him hunt. He keeps his Llegos in a giant because I buy giant sets of Llegos and drawstring bag that lies splayed on the Sue Murphy construct them at home all by myself. toy room floor, and when he thinks of Don’t laugh. It’s the same thing as a piece that he needs, he goes hunting. doing a jigsaw puzzle, except it’s This takes a while and often he three-dimensional. I get out the card finds other pieces that work even table and work on the project a little The important thing is better or shifts the design to incorhere and there, whenever I get a few the interesting pieces he spending time together. porate unassigned moments. I do this so finds. Every construction is an It’s about the journey, adventure. much that my dog Dave knows that word. When I say, “Let’s do some Being part of this free-wheeling not the destination. Llegos,” he runs happily to the approach has helped me loosen up a piano room and jumps on a chair so little (a very little), although it was he can survey the process from a still jarring for me when we were safe perch. constructing a rescue team and I ended up with seven I work on the set and I work on it until the whole torsos that had heads but no legs. My grandson continthing is finished, then transport it to my upstairs office ued undeterred, assembling the rescue boats and team where I gaze at it fondly, but never touch it again. headquarters, and I did add a piece here and there, but I Not so my grandson. When the last brick is snapped spent the majority of my time covertly shuffling into place, we do a celebratory happy dance; then, he through the pile looking for the missing legs. I was takes the whole thing apart – every last brick. He is unsuccessful, so I placed the torsos in the rescue boats fully entitled to do that. The sets are his alone, but the as if they were seated behind a table. It was the best I carnage is so painful for me that I cannot watch. All could do. Part of me really, really wanted to return that work. And it looked so wonderful when he finunder cover of darkness and continue the search, but I ished. It’s just not the way I’m wired. didn’t do that. I count that as progress. Now, this is not like when my grandson was a todI know, I know. The important thing is spending dler and delighted in knocking things down. No, this is time together. It’s about the journey, not the destination. a systematic deconstruction done with the express purWho am I kidding? I’m going to feel better when I find pose of using the bricks in another project, and he those legs.
Over the Mountain Views
Thank You! We’d like to say thank you to our readers and advertisers for your three decades of support to Over The Mountain Journal. Last week on Aug. 2 the Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce honored OTMJ at its quarterly luncheon as we celebrated our 32nd anniversary of our first issue. See Page 8 for more coverage of the chamber luncheon and its guest speaker, entrepreneur Jennifer Senske Ryan.
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ABOUT TOWN
Thursday, August 11, 2022 • 3
Let's Keep Mountain Brook The Best Place To Live!
Paid For By Mainstream Mountain Brook, P.O. Box 130145 Mountain Brook, AL 35213
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ABOUT TOWN
AUG. 11 - AUG. 25 Through Aug. 13 Alabama Triennial
Fri., Aug. 12 Books, Bands & Brews
A night of live music, laughs and libations, the event will raise money to support the Literacy Council’s mission of improving lives through literacy education. Nashville based rock band The Prescriptions will take the stage as the headliner preceded by Birmingham’s own singersongwriter Taylor Hollingsworth. When: 7-10 p.m Where: Avondale Brewing
Sat., Aug. 13 DiscGolf Goes Pink Tournament
cookmuseum.org
More than 100 disc golfers are expected to play 36 holes at two courses in a fundraiser for Breast Cancer Research Foundation of Alabama. When: 7:30 a.m. Where: Oliver Park in Calera
Journal file photo by Jordan Wald
The inaugural launch of the recurring exhibition showcases some of Alabama’s best and brightest contemporary artists. For information: www.alysstepens.org/events/alabamatriennial/ When: Various dates and times Where: Various venues in Birmingham
THURSDAY NIGHT LIVE | THURS., AUG. 18
The Mountain Brook Chamber Junior Board will host an evening of drinks and samples of cuisine from highlighted local restaurants. Festivities will include live music from Pioneer Chicken Stand. Proceeds benefiting Friends of Jemison Park as they plan for the update and expansion of Jemison Park and Trail on Mountain Brook Parkway.When: 6-8 p.m. Where: English Village
Crestline Village Tent Sale
It’s that time of the year again... head over to Crestline Village to shop at some of your favorite stores for great deals on back to school clothes, toys, and more. When: Check individual stores Where: Crestline Village
Fairy Tales & Frogs Day
Princes and Princesses! Lords and Ladies! The Birmingham Zoo formally invites all royal characters and yes,
Ricky and Nancy Bromberg, Jean Smallwood and Suzan Doidge at Thursday Night Live in 2021. This year’s event moves to English Village.
even some frogs, to attend Fairy Tales and Frogs Day When: 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Where: Birmingham Zoo
Cornhole Competition
The Vestavia Hills Rotary Club and Sunrise Rotary Club hold a communitywide Cornhole Tournament; winning and runner-up teams will represent Vestavia Hills at the statewide Rotary cornhole competition on Aug. 20 at Otey’s Tavern during
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OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL
Pin Down Polio Bowling Tournament
Join the Rotaract Club of Birmingham for this family-friendly event to benefit Rotary International End Polio Now campaign and the Rotaract Club of Birmingham. When: 2-4 p.m. Where: Vestavia Bowl
Autism Shines Gala
“A Night on the Diamond” allows autism community to come together to enjoy networking, catching up with friends, live music and bidding on exclusive auction items to support families affected by autism. When: 6 10:00 p.m. Where: Regions Field
Thurs., Aug. 18 “The Sweet Delilah Swim Club”
It’s opening night as South City Theatre stages the first of seven performances of this Southern comedy about former members of a women’s college swim team who meet every summer on North Carolina’s Outer Banks. When: Evening and matinee performances on various dates through Aug. 28. Where: South City Theatre, Pelham.
Sat., Aug. 20 Boiling N’ Bragging
Pre-season tailgate party organized by Rotary District 6860 will benefit critical care transport at Children’s of Alabama. When: 6-9 p.m. Where: Otey’s in Crestline
Beer, Bands and Bullies
Fundraiser benefitting Bama Bully Rescue. This 11th annual event will feature live music, door prizes and other activities. When: 4-9 p.m. Where: Ferus Artisan Ales, Trussville.
Aug., 22 - 28 Sidewalk Film Festival
The 24th Annual Sidewalk Film Festival presented by Regions Bank is back with a festival footprint that includes the Sidewalk Film Center and Cinema, the Alabama Theatre, the Lyric Theatre, the Carver Theatre, First Church Birmingham, the Alabama School of Fine Arts Dorothy Jemison Day Theatre, Recital Hall and Lecture Hall as well as the Steiner Auditorium at the Birmingham Museum of Art.
Wed., Aug., 24 Vestavia Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast Brodie Croyle, Executive Director at the Big Oak Ranch, will be this year’s keynote speaker. Big Oak Ranch was founded in 1974 by John Croyle out of his desire to give hurting children a chance.When: 7:00 a.m. Where: a private club in Vestavia Hills
Alabama Hydrangea Society
TAILGATE CHALLENGE SAT., AUG. 27
Visitors are welcome when the society meets to discuss the Endless Summer Collection of French hydrangeas. When: 1 p.m. Where: The new Education Building at Aldridge Gardens
Fri., Aug. 26 Sweet Home Brews
The Ronald McDonald House Charities of Alabama Junior Board brings together some of the best
ABOUT TOWN, continued on page 6
Journal file photo by Jordan Wald
the Boiling ‘N Bragging tailgate event. When: 2-5:30 p.m. Where: Vestavia City Center
Thursday, August 11, 2022 • 5
ABOUT TOWN
The Bell Center for Early Intervention will host its annual fundraiser to celebrate the upcoming football season. The event will include tailgate food tastings created by various teams, along with live music, kid-friendly events, team spirit and more. When: 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Where: The Bell Center
6 • Thursday, August 11, 2022
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ABOUT TOWN
COME SEE US AT THE
CRESTLINE VILLAGE TENT SALE
August 13th!
Southeastern breweries in one place for a fun night that supports RMHCA’s mission. The voter’s choice award gives one deserving brewery big bragging rights and a traveling trophy until the next Sweet Home Brews. When: 6-10 p.m. Where: Pepper Place
Aug. 25-27 Consignment sale of children’s clothing, toys, furniture and other items. When: Times vary based on day Where: Trinity United Methodist Church, Homewood
40% OFF Under our tent!
Sat., Aug. 27 Just A Call Away
Crisis Center, Inc. presents the eighth annual Just A Call Away. Participants have three options to participate: a live chip-timed 5K, an in-person fun run, or a virtual 5K. Runners and walkers of all ages and abilities are welcome. When: 8 a.m. Where: Patriot Park
Back to School Bash
10AM - 5 PM CRESTLINE VILLAGE 205.871.2662
The City of Homewood Parks and Recreation Department will host its annual event to celebrate the new school year, including an array of rides, bounce houses, food and live music. Proceeds from attraction wristbands’ sales will benefit the Homewood High School Band. When: 4:30-8:30 p.m. Where: Patriot Park
Courtesy
Lil Lambs Consignment
Music will be provided by the Kensingtons, a local band formed during the pandemic on Kensington Road in Homewood.
Return to the Sunshine
Party Set to Benefit Homewood Library Foundation The Homewood Library Foundation Block Party is back after a two-year hiatus. This year’s party is set for Aug. 20 at the Homewood Public Library. The event will be held rain or shine from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and is a fundraiser for the Homewood Library Foundation. There will be plenty of family-friendly activities, including a rock-climbing wall for children provided by Mountain High Outfitters and other activities such as face painting and chalk art. Food will be provided by Dave’s Pizza, Homewood Gourmet, Piggly Wiggly, Rolls Bakery, Urban Cookhouse, Hero Doughnuts, Rodney Scott’s Barbecue and Little Donkey. Drinks will be provided by Fairhope Brewing, Cahaba Brewing, Rush Wines and Buffalo Rock. Music will be provided by the Kensingtons, a local band formed during the pandemic on Kensington Road in Homewood. Tickets are $25 for ages 21 and up, $10 for ages 4-20, and free for ages 3 and under with the purchase of an adult ticket. Tickets are available online at homewoodpubliclibrary.instagift.com/block-party-2022 before the block party or at the event.
Saturday, August 13th Check out the Tremendous Deals Under the Tents in Crestline Village! Check with individual merchants to see their sale operations.
OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL
Walk for Strength
Walk Set to Benefit Rare Genetic Disorders
Sat., Aug. 27 Fairy Tale Ball
Ready your shiny suit of armor, dress in your most sparkly ball gown, or throw on a super hero cape as Childcare Resources will host its annual kid-friendly gala, including a silent auction, gourmet hors d’oeuvres and more. When: 5:30 p.m. Where:
Hyatt Regency Birmingham, The Wynfrey Hotel
Save The O’s
The Norma Livingston Ovarian Cancer Foundation hosts the annual Save the O’s chipped timed 5k and 1 Mile Fun Run. This event is held in memory of Lori Johnson and the 14,000 women who die each year from ovarian
cancer. When: Registration opens at 6:30 a.m. Where: Greystone Golf and Country Club
20 Years of Cahaba Heights
The Cahaba Heights Merchants, City of Vestavia Hills and the Vestavia Hills Chamber of Commerce have joined together to celebrate 20 Years of Cahaba Heights Saying “Yes” to
annexation into Vestavia Hills. Music by the M-80s, a variety of vendors and food and beverages available from Heights Village restaurants. When: 6 - 9 p.m. Where: Heights Village in Cahaba Heights
SEND ABOUT TOWN INFO TO: EDITORIAL@OTMJ.COM
“every home is unique because every client is unique.”
Courtesy
Wald Park in Vestavia Hills will be the site of the annual international Walk for Strength on Aug. 20. The event, which will begin at 8 a.m., will include participating families who are advocating and raising funds to support research for a cure for cerebral creatine deficiency syndromes. Among them will be a Vestavia Hills family whose 3-year-old, Eli, (pictured) has been diagnosed with creatine transporter deficiency and is affected by symptoms that include seizures, severe speech delay, global developmental delays and other symptoms. He needs countless hours
Thursday, August 11, 2022 • 7
ABOUT TOWN
of therapy to learn to do things such as walk, talk, eat with a fork and learn basic self-care skills. Without a treatment to get creatine into his brain, he faces a lifetime of challenges, epilepsy and disability. Cerebral creatine deficiency syndromes is a group of three rare errors of metabolism that interrupt the formation or transportation of creatine – creatine transporter deficiency, guanidinoacetate methyltransferase deficiency and arginine: glycine amidinotransferase deficiency. Creatine is essential for healthy muscle and brain development and, without it, children’s brains don’t get the creatine they need to develop and function normally. Children and adults with the syndromes are affected by speech/language impairments, intellectual disability, behavioral challenges and seizures. For more information and to register, go to www.creatineinfo.org/walk or www.creatineinfo.org/eli.
LET US PLAN & BUILD YOUR DREAM HOME – the wedgworth team
patrick gilbert
| 205.542.9940 |
patrick @ wedgworth . net
NEWS
8 • Thursday, August 11, 2022
‘Opportunity to Grow’
By Anne Ruisi
Unless U Opens Satellite Campus in Vestavia Hills
Larry O’Berry and Will Toffel
GRAND OPENING: Above, Lindy Cleveland, Unless U’s founder and executive director and Jennifer Greer, Post Place director at the Post Place ribbon cutting last week. Unless U provides faith-based continuing education for adults with intellectual and development disabilities. Below left, Athena Hontzas shares a hug with the Chick-fil-A cow. Below right, Unless U Staffers, from left, Mary Grace Sauermann, Lisa Ferguson, Meredith Binkley and Lisa Williamson.
Journal photos by Jordan Wald
Hugs and huge smiles were the order of the day as Post Place in Vestavia Hills, an arm of nonprofit organization Unless U, held its grand opening Aug. 5. “We’re thankful to the Lord for the expansion and provision to serve more families,” said Lindy Cleveland, Unless U’s founder and executive director. Unless U provides faith-based continuing education for adults with intellectual and development disabilities. It also provides instruction in development and life skills to its students. Post Place, in the former Jefferson County ARC site on Hackberry Road, is a satellite campus of the main Unless U site next to Vestavia Hills United Methodist Church. Unless U moved into the Post Place facility on June 6, Greer said. The building was completely renovated to make it appropriate to the organization’s needs. The day program is a college-style experience for small groups of adults with special needs that had been offered at the main campus. The students now at Post Place require more assistance, and space constraints at the main campus meant Unless U could only work with five students a day, said Doug Williamson, a member of the organization’s board of directors and Cleveland’s father. The new facility will have a capacity of 40. “We’re really excited about the opportunity to expand the services of Unless U and increase services to the families we serve at this location,” Williamson said. Those services include classes in math, reading, science, history, Bible study and electives in the fine arts. Students also learn life skills, such as communication and healthy interaction, said Paula Heath, community and outreach coordinator. More oneon-one instruction is offered at Post Place and class sizes are smaller. “It gives students with different
OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL
abilities the opportunity to grow and learn,” said Jennifer Greer, Post Place director. Unless U and Post Place services are strictly for people 18 and older who’ve graduated high school, according to Unless U’s website. “The whole concept is these families and students don’t have a lot of options once they become adults. Lindy saw the need and wanted to provide services,” Heath said. Greer, who was a special education teacher for 25 years in Vestavia Hills City Schools, agreed that once special needs students graduate from high school, there aren’t a lot of options. “It’s heartbreaking,” she said. While the Post Place students now are young adults, there are no age limits as to how long they can stay, Greer said. “When I think about Post Place, the word hope comes into my heart,” Greer said.
The Accidental Entrepreneur Jennifer Senske Ryan, founder and owner of BLUEROOT and Croux, was the keynote speaker at the Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce quarterly luncheon on Aug. 2. Ryan shared her inspirational story of moving to Birmingham in 2019 and wanting to find food that was good for her and easy to get, which led her to open BLUEROOT. Ryan also talked about how the pandemic led her to the idea of her latest venture: Croux. Croux is an app that matches vetted
Courtesy Mountain Brook Chamber
MB Chamber Quarterly Luncheon
Jennifer Ryan, above left, talks with guests at the Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce quarterly luncheon last week. Above right, John Wilson with members of the Borland Bennefied team. Wilson received the Outstanding Corporate Citizen award at the luncheon.
local talent with opportunity to help restaurants fill shifts quickly and provide workers with choice as well as flexibility. Also during the meeting John
Wilson was named as the recipient of the Outstanding Corporate Citizen Award, “given in grateful appreciation or going above and beyond during many years of dedicated service to the
Mountain Brook Chamber.” Wilson is president/managing director of accounting services firm Borland Benefield. Maury Wald, publisher of Over The
Mountain Journal, was recognized for outstanding service and partnership with the Mountain Brook Chamber. The Journal celebrated its 32nd anniversary on Aug. 2.
OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL
NEWS
Vestavia Hills Buys Days Inn Property for Redevelopment
By Anne Ruisi
6 Running for Mountain Brook City Council
Mountain Brook voters will cast their ballots for candidates running for three at-large seats on the City Council in the Aug. 23 municipal election. Place 1 incumbent Alice B. Womack is not running for reelection. Vying for her seat are Christopher Powanda
permits and put the demolition project out for bids, McCulley said. They would like to do that as soon as possible, probably in a few months. Before it was a Days Inn, the property was the site of a Howard Johnson’s motel.
Journal photo by Maury Wald
Vestavia Hills has bought the former Days Inn property at 1485 Montgomery Highway with plans to demolish the former hotel and sell the site to a developer. The City Council unanimously approved buying the property for $3.6 million from RAM Hospitality LLC during a called meeting Aug. 1, said Cinnamon McCulley, the city’s communications director. The funds to buy the property are from $8 million in federal stimulus money the city received through the American Rescue Plan. Redevelopment will be an important step to improving the area, which is an important business corridor, McCulley said. “It’s a gateway to that part of Vestavia Hills,” and an important business corridor, McCulley said. Private property owners have done a lot of work in the area, which is
gation measures. City officials haven’t set a firm timeline to raze the former hotel and prepare it to sell, as they have to get
Thursday, August 11, 2022 • 9
The City Council unanimously approved buying the property for $3.6 million from RAM Hospitality LLC during a called meeting Aug. 1
prone to flooding in heavy downpours, she said. Newer businesses,
such as the Verizon store, have made improvements that include flood miti-
and Graham Smith, City Clerk Heather Richards said. The two incumbents for Place 3 and Place 5 are running for reelection and face challengers. Incumbent William S. “Billy” Pritchard III is running against Kent Osband for Place 3 and incumbent Lloyd C. Shelton is running against Tate Davis for Place 5, Richards said.
Candidates will be on hand to meet the public at a Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce Meet and Greet event Aug. 16 at City Hall. The event, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., will be on the front lawn. Other city leaders and the chamber’s new executive director, Emily Jensen, will attend. The elected council members will take office Nov. 7.
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Talk about health screenings with a doctor This is your AD PROOF from the OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL for the who listens April 7th issue. Please fax approval or changes to 824-1246. Health screenings are important for all of us. Taking care of yourself Please make sure all information is correct, means being proactive about your health. So talk with a doctor with including address and phone number! Ascension St. Vincent’s about the screenings that are right for you, based on your age and family history. They may help detect cancer Please initial and fax back within 24 hours. early, when it’s most treatable. If we have not heard from you by 5 pm of the Friday before the press date, your ad will run as is. We print the paper Monday.
If you need more care, including options, Thankmore you advanced for your treatment prompt attention. you are connected to compassionate care teams right for you.
Start a conversation with a doctor at ascension.org/StVincentsScreenings © Ascension 2022. All rights reserved.
LIFE
10 • Thursday, August 11, 2022
OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL
By Rubin E. Grant
A
lec Bolton is beyond excited. “I’m stoked,” he said. What has Bolton so enthused is Mason Music Fest 2022 on Saturday at Avondale Brewing Company. Bolton and the band he co-founded, The Brook & The Bluff, will be one of the headliners during the music fest, which coincides with Cpurtesy
‘I feel like we play four different genres, with some indie rock, some folk music and some soul, too.’ ALEC BOLTON, THE BROOK & THE BLUFF
Mason Music’s 10th anniversary. The Brook & The Bluff features musicians from the Over the Mountain area and is now based in Nashville. Bolton (guitar/vocals), a graduate of Mountain Brook; and Joseph Settine (vocals/guitar), who grew up in Bluff Park and attended Hoover, started the band. They met in college at Auburn University and played for a band called the The Freewheelers. In 2015, they formed a duo and later added two more Mountain Brook High alums to the band – John Canada (drums/vocals) and Fred Lankford (bass/vocals) – transforming the group into a dynamic live act. Each of them worked for Mason Music as teenagers. Settine, Bolton and Canada worked as Mason Music teachers for students in traditional lessons, and Canada and Lankford coached in the Rock Band League
Members of The Brook & The Bluff, above from left, John Canada, Alec Bolton, Joseph Settine and Fred Lankford are from the Over the Mountain area and now based in Nashville.
HOMECOMING The Brook & The Bluff Headline Mason Music Fest
before they relocated to Nashville. “We did that for several years while starting our band,” Bolton said. “We’re honored that they considered us for their first music fest. Mason Music has always meant a lot to us. When I got the call from Will Mason (Mason Music founder) and he told me they were putting on a concert in our hometown in Avondale and they wanted us, that was a really cool day. “I remember going to watch Will
Mason when he was playing in a band and I thought it was wonderful. I wanted to be like him. He was like my idol.” Will Mason said The Brook & The Bluff were one of the first bands they contacted when they decided to put on a music fest. “We wanted to get one of our alums involved,” he said. “I’ve watched them over time grow and mature and in a lot of ways that’s what we want for all of our stu-
dents.” The Brook & The Bluff has been based in Nashville for 4½ years and has quickly become recognized for its blend of vocal harmony, soulfulness and grooviness. “I feel like we play four different genres, with some indie rock, some folk music and some soul, too,” Bolton said. “We’re just a band with instruments we play, and we sing and we try to make it sound good,” he added with a laugh. Recently, the band added Canada’s older brother Kevin Canada to the mix on keyboard. “He’s one of the best keyboard players I’ve ever seen,” Bolton said. “He’s pretty much full-time now. The band is much better because of him.” The festival begins at 1 p.m. Saturday and is an open format with a main stage as well as an outdoor educational area and VIP lounge. In addition to The Brook & The Bluff, live entertainment will be provided by national, regional and local artists, including Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors, Gatlin, Lady Legs, Jahnah Camille, and Shaheed and DJ Supreme. “I think it’s a pretty unique variety of acts,” Mason said. “It might not be something for everyone to like, but I think it’s something everyone can enjoy. I think this will be a show people will remember for a long time.” Along with musical performances, there will be a variety of food
‘We want our guests to have a blast at the event and feel good knowing their ticket is helping to pay for someone else in Birmingham to have music lessons.’ WILL MASON, MASON MUSIC
trucks as well as education-focused activities, face painting, a photo booth, drum circles, student performances, and a youth-interactive hip hop exhibit hosted by Shaheed and DJ Supreme. General admission tickets cost $25, $125 for VIP tickets. All proceeds will benefit the Mason Music Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to changing lives by providing scholarships for music lessons to families that qualify for financial assistance. All ages are welcome, but all attendees, including children, must have a ticket because of capacity restrictions. “The Mason Music Fest is our way of bringing people together around music to give back to the community,” Mason said. “As funding for the arts in public education continues to decline, we are stepping into the gap to raise money for music education scholarships with Mason Music Foundation. “We want our guests to have a blast at the event and feel good knowing their ticket is helping to pay for someone else in Birmingham to have music lessons.” Since opening in 2012, Mason Music has offered private lessons in guitar, piano, voice, drums and violin to thousands of students of all ages and skill levels, along with music camps, group lessons, and Rock Band League. Mason Music has studios in Cahaba Heights, Mountain Brook Village, Bluff Park, Greystone and Woodlawn. Additional details about Mason Music Fest and tickets for the event are available at masonmusicfest.com
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LIFE
Thursday, August 11, 2022 • 11
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12 • Thursday, August 11, 2022
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HOPE IN THE HAM
T
Fundraiser at The Fennec Helps Support Cancer Victims During Treatment
Journal photos by Jordan Wald
he Fennec was the site of the Hope in the Ham fundraiser Aug. 4. The event benefited the American Cancer Society’s Joe Lee Griffin Hope Lodge and was co-hosted by chairs Cathy Marks and Suzie McCullough. Hope Lodge is a place where cancer patients and their caregivers can stay free during treatment. Live music was provided by T.U.B. and the event’s signature drink was provided by Tito’s Handmade Vodka. Hope in the Ham is a pre-party for the ACS’ annual Hope Gala, to take place Aug. 20 at a private club in Birmingham. ❖
Kelli Kelly, Tena Ajlouny, Cathy Marks, Heather Young, Sally Morano, Lesley King, Anna Comer and Suzie McCullough
Event co-chairs Cathy Marks and Suzie McCullough.
Baker and Allison Chambliss and Jackie and Paul Currie
Mark Imig and Ed Holloway
James Dixon and Marcy Bradford
Paige Martin and Trevor Lane
Stephanie Rayborn, Lisa Sharp, Alesia and Darryl Jones
OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL
Thursday, August 11, 2022 • 13
SOCIAL
HOMEWOOD THEATRE PRESENTS
Brian Edwards, Dow and Liz Briggs
Bill Bugg Kristi Tingle Higginbotham Jan Hunter Dana Porter Stan Nelson Clint Pridgen
Tom Montgomery, Tena and Naseem Ajlouny
Live music was provided by T.U.B.
FOODBAR is committed to providing employment opportunities for young people who may have an interest in the culinary field. A number of college and high school age young people have benefitted from and valued their work experiences at FOODBAR. If you think you would have an interest in a front-ofhouse or kitchen position at FOODBAR, please give us a call at (205)876-8100 to discuss the application process.
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Homewood Theatre Located in Soho Square in Downtown Homewood homewoodtheatre.com or call 205.873.1816
Kyle Over The Mountain Journal, 205-823-9646 ph Aug. 2022
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George including Over The Mountain Journal, 205-823-9646 ph., July 2022
youJOURNAL for your This is your AD PROOF from the OVER THEThank MOUNTAIN for the July 28, 2022 issue.
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14 • Thursday, August 11, 2022
Panoramic views of the Birmingham Zoo from its outdoor plaza greeted guests at the kickoff party for the John Michael Pierce Foundation on July 31. A live band entertained while cocktails and door prizes were featured at the sold-out event. The foundation’s mission is to build awareness of esophageal cancer in young adults. Its namesake was a man who loved getting people together but whose life was cut short by esophageal cancer. Pierce was 24 when he was diagnosed in April 2021 and died five months later. ❖
Journal photos by Jordan Wald
Kickoff at the Zoo
Young Man’s Death Sparks New Cancer Foundation
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Erin Korn and Matt Creighton
Christopher and Michelle Jenkins, Patti and Jeff Pierce and Teri and Bob Glick
Alexandra Nysewander, Rachel and Blaine Morell and Turner Bass
Cory and Ashley Whitsett and Erin and Jack Prewitt
The research we’re doing is making it possible for kids like Allie to survive, grow up and make things happen. WE DO WHAT WE DO B E C AU S E C H I L D R E N H AV E D R E A M S .
1 6 0 0 7 T H AV E N U E S O U T H BIRMINGHAM, AL 35233 (205) 638-9100 | ChildrensAL.org
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Peter Clemens and Zoe Coutras
Robert Sorrell, Madeline Hand, Jordan Howard and Stephanie Sorell
Searcy and Braden Morell
Elena Cassinelli and Caroline Leak
Charlie Sharbel and Cameron Bruce
Thursday, August 11, 2022 • 15
16 • Thursday, August 11, 2022
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Jenny’s Treasures
Event Raises Money for the GBHS
Journal photos by Jordan Wald
The second annual Jenny’s Treasures fundraiser for the Greater Birmingham Humane Society was held on July 30. Bob Alden hosted the party at his home in Inverness. The event is a memorial benefit by close friends of Jennifer Tedder Alden, (right) who passed away suddenly two years ago. She was a philanthropist and fund raiser for the humane society. Proceeds from an auction and games at the event will benefit the humane society. ❖
Colleen and Shay Samples and Debbie and William Steen
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SOCIAL
Art on the Rocks
Rehab Reality... by Judy Butler
The Birmingham Museum of Art revived its popular Art on the Rocks party Aug. 5 after a two-year hiatus because of COVID-19. The evening downtown featured a variety of entertainment, including a concert by Grammy Award-winning artist Eric Bellinger, DJs and an interactive mural. ❖
Journal photos by Jordan Wald
Art Highlighted in the Museum’s Fundraising Party
My Treatment Home
Jake Hunter, Emily Bentley, Matthew White, Mindy Rohr, Anna Hudson and Sam Kniskern
Meleesa Jack, Sheri Leonelli and Mary Jane Mathias
Julie Mariott and Jessica Daviston
Brion Carlson and Brandy Moore
Jordan Rubin, Rachel Bean and Michelle Barron
Shelby Vickers and James Carnathan
Olivia and Dakota Harris
Dorothy Reynolds and Marion Hall
Avery Burns and Bobby Cope Kyle Bartkiewicz, Kelsey Moore, Paul Hosemann and Lauren Deseno
One of the key differences between Bayshore Retreat and most other rehabs is the environment. One walks into my foyer not a lobby. Clients can raid the pantry or refrigerator for a nighttime snack. There’s no vending machine, but rather drinks in the refrigerators and a shopping list on the counter where they can add anything they would like to have except alcohol, of course. The home environment is healing in itself. Clients are continually thanking me for “allowing” them to come to my home. Beyond the home itself it’s also the staff. They’re not judgmental, but rather there to help clients be comfortable and find a new beginning. Admitting that someone has a problem is huge and the decision to do something about it is also huge. It’s also scary with the unknown of what rehab would be like. This is one reason we created Bayshore Retreat to be a place that would take the ‘fear out of rehab’. Clients bring their cell phone and laptop and are able to work remotely while there. Oh, sure there plenty of counseling and activities, but there’s also time that can be spent checking in with work. We adapt the daily schedule to accommodate those who have to have a meeting or whatever might require their attention. At Bayshore Retreat we work hard to prepare our clients for their new beginning with tools for success. With that come his or her After Care Plan such as where they will live, work and any follow-up counseling. People leave there with a new outlook and the understanding that we’re only a phone call away.
HOME
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18 • Thursday, August 11, 2022
Hollywood
By Anne Ruisi
Success Story
I
Kitchen Remodel Wins Home Builders Award; Whole House Renovation Satifies Growing Family’s Needs
Journal photo by Maury Wald
ts work to remodel a kitchen as part of an overall house makeover in Homewood’s historic Hollywood neighborhood has earned a Birmingham design and construction company an award from the Home Builders Association of Alabama. The association honored j.fante studio with a 2022 Alabama Remodeling Excellence Award for Kitchen Remodel $75,000-$150,000, said the studio’s Joe Fante. “We’re very pleased with the outcome,” said Jeremy Forsythe, who owns the home with his wife, Emily Forsythe. The couple found the house when Emily headed to a Starbucks in Mountain Village on her way to work one morning. Just as she was driving down Hollywood Boulevard to get to the coffee shop, she spied a Realtor putting up a For Sale sign outside a house that caught her attention. The two-bedroom, one bath house became their entry to Over the Mountain when they bought it and made it their own in 2009. But, as their family grew with the arrivals of their three boys – John Michael, now 10, William, 6, and Bennett, 3 – the little cottage-style home became too small for five people. The couple knew they needed more room but didn’t want to leave the area, with which they had fallen in love, Jeremy said. So, they decided to put their effort into growing their home to
The Home Builders Association of Alabama honored j.fante studio with a 2022 Alabama Remodeling Excellence Award for Kitchen Remodel $75,000-$150,000 on the Forsythe home in Homewood. j.fante studio helped the family transform their two-bedroom, one bath house to accommodate their growing family. John Michael, William and Bennett Forsythe, left, playing in the front yard.
match their growing family. That eventually led them to j.fante studio, a design-build company that specializes in renovations and additions to existing homes. Fante is a graduate of Auburn University’s architecture program and spent time in Hale County at the Rural Studio program. Emily reached out on social media for recommendations for companies that could expand their house. At their first meeting with Fante Joe Fante at their home, they told him what they wanted, and Fante talked about what he’d like to do as he walked through the house. The Forsythes liked what they heard and on Feb.7, 2021, the remodeling project began. Before any other work could be done on the 1930s home, an extensive overhaul was needed, with all new plumbing, electrical and gas installed.
See HOLLYWOOD, page 20
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20 • Thursday, August 11, 2022
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The floor system also needed repair, and the house size was more than doubled. As for the kitchen, Fante described it as “really small and cramped,” with the old wood in the original cabinets falling apart. When formulating plans for the project, designers “tried to honor the original character” of the house, he said. The end result, he said, “fits the original house very well.” To start, old rooms became spaces with new purposes. The kitchen was gutted down to the studs and became the pantry and mudroom. The master bedroom became the new kitchen, and the space where the old bathroom was became the new stairwell. There also was room to later expand the basement area. Once the structure was in place,
The kitchen, above, was gutted down to the studs and became the pantry and mudroom. Top, locally crafted, custom-made inset cabinets, honed marble countertops and panel-ready appliances were added.
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added, the award submission said. Reclaimed wood beams tied in with the new white oak flooring and white oak island cabinets. The La Cornue range is highlighted in a dual radius arched opening that matches the original arched opening in the living room. A recessed exhaust hood with flush panel finish is hidden above the arch in the drywall ceiling, allowing the Zellige backsplash tile, pierced by a pot filler, to be a feature of the kitchen. A hidden niche on one side and recessed shelves on the other allow for quick access to cooking utensils. A pair of 30-inch column refrigerator and freezer blends with cabinet panel fronts next to a pantry cabinet that houses a coffee maker and small appliances on a marble countertop. Other details include new Bessemer Glass French doors and triple casement windows over the kitchen sink, “which bring a delightful balance of old Southern tradition and new construction techniques,” Fante’s studio said in its award submission. “The silent accent to the clean lines of the steel windows and overall design See HOLLYWOOD, page 22
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HOLLYWOOD
The Forsythes knew they needed more room but didn’t want to leave the area, with which they had fallen in love.
are flush drywall air vents in the ceiling that ‘disappear’ from plain site, a niche touch brought to the project by the builder.” Between the kitchen and the dining room are a pair of dry bars with a built-in double wine fridge on one side and cocktail storage on the other. The old front door of the house became the new side entry to the kitchen and mudroom.
Journal photo by Maury Wald
From page 20
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While the award was specifically for the kitchen remodel, work went far beyond that, Fante said, and included expanding what originally was a two-bedroom, one bath house. The Forsythes opted for a double bunk room and a playroom split by a Jack and Jack bathroom, while the master suite features a large bathroom with a freestanding tub and large walk-in master closet with custom site-built shelving. A fourth bedroom is set up as a guest room. A fireplace made of high purity
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limestone quarried in Alabama is a highlight of the living room, said Jeremy, who works for limestone company Lhoist. The house was full of charm and character, and the owners’ priority was to add space that felt cohesive with the current house, according to the submission for the award. By adding basement space for a two-car garage and a future basement suite, and by creating four bedrooms and 3½ baths, the work more than doubled the square footage of the house, Fante said. Achieving this created one of the biggest challenges of the renovation. While more space was needed, the architectural character of the original house needed to be maintained. “Our ultimate goal was to have a finished product that appeared to always be there. I feel we accomplished that,” Jeremy said. “Thoughtful design led to a construction process that cut out the existing back corner bedroom, from roof to basement, in order for the new addition to begin. After relocating the stairs and removing a load-bearing wall to enlarge the living room, the space was now freed to join the addition,” the firm’s award submission noted. Supply chain issues also became a challenge, as the COVID pandemic was raging across the country when their project began, Jeremy said. Some items took six or seven months to obtain. The Forsythe boys enjoyed seeing the construction phase of the project, and it especially caught the interest of oldest son John Michael, who wants
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to be an engineer, Jeremy said. The boy liked foraging for scrap material for his own homemade projects. “He dumpster dived a lot. He used materials to build a bird house and put copper gutters on it,” Jeremy said.
The house was full of charm and character, and the owners’ priority was to add space that felt cohesive with the current house. Outside, new details include steel paned windows and doors installed in the cottage-style house. Fante said these were custom made by Bessemer Glass and bring “more of a modern detail” to the structure while also acting as a homage to Birmingham’s industrial past. Copper gutters and downspouts, stained cedar brackets and gas lights
Thursday, August 11, 2022 • 23
HOME flanking the front entry door were added, while new brickwork was laid to match the existing partial shmear finish. The Forsythe family moved back into their remodeled house on Oct. 30, 2021, the day before Halloween. “That was the absolute drop-dead date to be in the house for Halloween, for the kids,” to enjoy the holiday in their neighborhood, Jeremy said. The size of the house was much more in keeping with the family’s needs. When they moved in, the square footage of their house had increased from 1,200 square feet to 3,200 square feet, Jeremy said. With a larger home, the couple can have friends visit and hold gatherings that weren’t possible in the cramped rooms of their home before the remodel. “We definitely have the space we needed,” Emily Forsythe said.
Hollywood Development
Hollywood is one of Homewood’s historic neighbor-
hoods, known for its distinctive Spanish mission-style stucco homes that were all the rage in Hollywood, California, in the late 1920s, when the neighborhood was developed, according to a historic marker on Hollywood Boulevard. The roadway is the main eastwest corridor through the neighborhood, running from U.S. 31 toward English Village in Mountain Brook. At one point for a short time, Hollywood actually was a town, incorporated in January 1927 but
annexed by Homewood in October 1929. Like other Over the Mountain areas, Hollywood was advertised to homebuyers as a healthier place to live than in the city of Birmingham. The sales slogan, “Out of the
Smoke Zone into the Ozone,” referred to the neighborhood’s location south of Birmingham, far enough away from the industrial smog that choked the Magic City on the broad plain below the north slope of Red Mountain.
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if we have not heard from you by 5 pm of the Friday before the press date, your ad will run as is. We print the paper Monday.
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When Trublue of Birmingham opened their doors last year, the mission was clear: Help Seniors, Busy Families and Individual Homeowners obtain quality services for small repairs and maintenance of their home. With the boom in real estate development and flipping houses, contractors are booked and homeowners can’t find the help they need for small projects. That’s why Trublue owners Rick Batson, Mary Anne (Mur) Feldman and Roxanne Batson launched Trublue of Birmingham. “I can’t tell you how many times we’ve heard stories from callers about how they couldn’t get their contractor to call them back or someone they scheduled to come estimate just didn’t show up.” commented Feldman. Trublue is dedicated to solving that problem by finding skilled technicians who like to do small jobs. They also background check, bond
and insure those they hire to assure an extra level of care for their clients. Their customers are a mix of seniors, busy professionals and families. “For our seniors, we offer home maintenance services as well as repairs and installation of safety features such as grab bars and ramps.To help reduce the risk of falls and injury we have a Home Safety Inspection that covers over 75 areas of the home and it’s free for seniors.” said Feldman. For young families and professionals finding a quality technician can be very difficult. Trublue screens for personality, skills and attention to quality when they interview a potential hire. You can find out more by going to http:// trubluehousecare.com/birmingham or call 205601-5265.
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HOME
Leading In-home Senior Care Provider Joins Forces With Care Heroes Birmingham-based branch of Always Best Care embraces the Care Heroes incentivization model A branch of a leading U.S. in-home senior care franchise system is joining forces with a first-of-its-kind mobile platform that tracks caregiver activities and rewards gift cards for providing quality in-home patient care. Always Best Care Senior Services provides non-medical in-home care services through more than 225 independently owned and operated franchises throughout the U.S. and Canada. The partnership with Care Heroes launches Monday, July 25 with the Birmingham franchise. More than 200 local caregivers will be able to benefit from the Care Heroes incentive program, which gives Care Coins to caregivers for completing tasks. The Care Coins can then be redeemed for gift cards using the Care Heroes mobile app. Birmingham-area CEO and owner Jennifer Mancuso founded the branch in 2013 after seeing the need for in-home care in the community. Mancuso says the Care Heroes partnership supports the Always Best Care mission: to help their clients live a safe, independent and dignified lifestyle. “Our caregivers treat clients like family and take great pride in the important work they do,” Mancuso says. “Our partnership with Care
and incentivizing home-based caregivers who often have the most accurate, day-to-day information and influence on a patient’s condition. Leading healthcare providers and health plans use Care Heroes to empower their care management teams to more proactively monitor and address the needs of patients who need assistance, which ultimately helps eliminate gaps in care, reduce costly complications, and improve care team member satisfaction.
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Heroes is a way to thank our caregivers, while ensuring that Always Best Care continues to consistently exceed our clients’ expectations.” “By capturing data that illustrates both caregiver performance and patient satisfaction levels, the power of the Care Heroes platform extends well beyond improving retention rates and lowering the number of missed
appointments and shifts,” Care Heroes CEO Chiara Bell says. “Caregivers are embracing Care Heroes, which helps drive consistently high performance that benefits patients most of all.”
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Care Heroes delivers an innovative software solution that better connects all key stakeholders in a patient’s care with a particular emphasis on acknowledging
Founded in 1996, Always Best Care Senior Services is based on the belief that having the right people for the right level of care means peace of mind for the client and family. Always Best Care has been assisting seniors with a wide range of conditions and personal needs for over 25 years and currently provides thousands of hours of care every year. Always Best Care also offers exclusive programs such as Always in Touch, Balance Tracking System and remote patient monitoring.
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26 • Thursday, August 11, 2022
Everything Kosher Chef Prepares to Cook for J’La Gala at the Levite Jewish Community Center
By Anne Ruisi
C
‘We feel like we’re trying to dig ourselves out of the last two years and want to show the community that … this is a place where every person belongs. People need a place where everyone is welcome.’ BROOKE BOWLES, LJCC
Jewish Community Center, it’s important that any Jewish person can eat meals prepared in its kitchen, Grace said. Holt, who formerly owned Little Savannah restaurant, was working for catering companies when the pandemic hit. That was when she decided to completely focus on Southern Graze and prepare food with fresh Southern ingredients. That regional touch seasons the kosher meal that will be served at the J’La Gala.
out of the last two years and want to show the community that … this is a place where every person belongs. People need a place where everyone is welcome,” she said, noting members include people who aren’t Jewish. Holt, for example, has been a member for years, she said. The center’s welcoming manner also reflects Jewish values on community, Bowles and Grace said. “We are commanded in the Torah to take care of one another,” Grace said, and that includes not only other Jews but people in the larger community. While guests partake in the kosher meal and hors d’oeuvres at the gala fundraiser, there will be silent and live auctions, Grace said, and later a silent disco. Proceeds will be used to support the center’s Programming Department, which includes senior, adult and youth programs.
Peach Crumble with Blueberry and Bay Leaf Compote (Kosher) Recipe from chef Maureen Holt of Southern Graze Makes 4-6 servings
Journal photo by Jordan Wald; Stock
hef Maureen Holt isn’t Jewish, but when she prepares the hors d’oeuvres and three-course meal for the J’La Gala at the Levite Jewish Community Center in Birmingham on Aug. 18, everything will be kosher. “It’s a very healthy way of eating,” said Holt, a private chef who is owner of Southern Graze catering company. “There are lots of amazing, fresh vegetables.” The term kosher refers to a list of dietary laws found in the Torah, the first five books of the Bible, said Katie Hausman Grace, the center’s community engagement director. There are many of these laws, some of which can appear complicated, but the prohibition against pork is probably the most recognizable. Forbidden foods also include shellfish, and one combination of foods also is not allowed. “You can’t mix meat and dairy. If you have steak for dinner, you can’t put butter on the potatoes,” Grace said, adding that non-dairy margarine, however, is allowed. Naturally, the center’s large kitchen is kosher, with meats prepared and cooked on one side of the kitchen and dairy on the other. Depending on which side of the kitchen they’re on, pots, pans and knives are marked with red or blue dots. Kitchenware with red dots is used only for meat, and those with blue dots are only for dairy. It’s not the chef’s first time in the center’s kosher kitchen. She prepared food for the Tu Bishvat event in 2016, Grace said. It’s a nonreligious holiday also known as the New Year for Trees and is celebrated with a big feast, Grace said. “For J’La, we decided to ask her to come back. Her food is incredible. It’s also good to have someone who knows how to cook in a kosher kitchen, and Maureen does,” she said. And while not everyone attending the gala will be Jewish, for an organization such as the Levite
OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL
INGREDIENTS:
3 ripe Chilton County peaches, pitted and split in half
Chef Maureen Holt, who formerly owned Little Savannah restaurant, will prepare the hors d’oeuvres and a three-course meal for the J’La Gala at the Levite Jewish Community Center.
Hors d’oeuvres at the gala will include sourdough crostini with an olive tapenade and chives, and puff pastry cups filled with Dixie caviar, a black-eyed pea salsa. The olive tapenade is made from olives, capers, lemon juice, garlic and salt and pepper, all pureed and served on a toasted baguette, Holt said. Chopped chives crown the tapenade. “It gives a nice flavor and color to it,” she said, adding that all the herbs and spices for the meal will be fresh. For dinner, guests will be served a salad course that she called a different approach to an end of summer salad: fall mixed lettuces with red quinoa, cherry tomatoes, toasted pepitas and edamame with honey-grenache and thyme vinaigrette. There also will be a special ingredient: gin-soaked raisins, Holt said. “It’s a very old Southern remedy for arthritis,” she said. “Old folks used to take one or two spoonfuls a day.” She recalled former in-laws who kept ginsoaked raisins in their house for that reason, and she’s made them with bourbon and vodka. “They’re plump but still very sweet.” The main course will feature pan-roasted chicken breast seared in olive oil with spicy-sweet tomato chutney over the meat. The chicken is kosher, and since there are no kosher butchers in the Birmingham area, it is ordered from an out-oftown Jewish kosher meat supplier through a local synagogue, Grace said. “Most meat in the grocery store is not kosher, so kosher meat has to be ordered,” she said, adding that kosher in regard to meat means the animal must be processed in a certain way.
Creamy polenta and green beans almandine will round out this part of the meal, she said. Dessert sounds divine – a half-peach with brown sugar caramel and blueberry and bay leaf compote. Hearing Holt describe preparing it stirs up the appetite. “You take a ‘sink’ peach – one so juicy you can eat it over the sink,” she said. Once the pit is taken out the halves will be filled with brown sugar caramel and the plated fruit will be encircled by a drizzle of the compote, which is made by cooking crushed blueberries and bay leaf. “It’s not a garnish but gives it a finish,” Holt said. While Holt prepares the food, Rabbi Yossi Friedman of Chabad of Alabama will supervise and oversee the kitchen, another kosher requirement. He’ll even turn on the oven, Grace said. While she hasn’t done a lot of kosher cooking, overall, there are no special techniques Holt will need to use to prepare the meal, she said. “You can bake and broil kosher food. You can burn kosher food,” Grace added. “But she won’t.”
For the Community
As Holt prepares for the gala, the event is eagerly anticipated at the center. “We’re excited to celebrate the relevance of the JCC to Birmingham,especially in light of the pandemic, said Brooke Bowles, the center’s associate executive director. “We feel like we’re trying to dig ourselves
For the blueberry compote: 1 pint local blueberries, washed and destemmed 2 bay leaves ½ cup white sugar ½ cup water ¼ teaspoon of fresh lemon juice For the crumble topping: ½ cup light brown sugar 6½ tablespoons cold margarine, cut in cubes ¾ cup all-purpose flour 1 cup cornflakes ½ teaspoon cinnamon 2 sprigs fresh mint for garnish PREHEAT OVEN TO 350F In a medium-size pot, add sugar, water and bay leaves, bringing them to a boil. Simmer for 4 minutes, then add blueberries. Simmer additionally if blueberries are not soft, stirring lightly, and remove from heat. Remove bay leaves from the pot, add lemon juice and allow blueberry mixture to cool. In a medium-size bowl, add light brown sugar, margarine, flour, cornflakes and cinnamon. By hand, pinch and rub the ingredients together until thoroughly mixed. On a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, fill each peach half with crumble topping mixture. Bake 20 minutes, and remove filled peaches from the oven. For presentation, center each baked peach filled with crumble topping on a plate, and add blueberry compote around the plate. Garnish with fresh mint leaves.
OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL
Cocktail Challenge
Thursday, August 11, 2022 • 27
FOOD
Bartenders mixed it up to concoct the best drinks to raise money for the American Cancer Society at the Magic City Cocktail Challenge on July 27 at The Fennec. Guests sampled signature drinks created by participating bartenders and voted on their favorites. The top votegetter in the interactive cocktail competition, awarded Best Cocktail in Birmingham, was Jordan Bolden of Luna Latin Cuisine. Mollie Hadley, Winston Cowart Other bartenders partici- and Emma Grace Harris pating were: Rickey Slayton, Parkside on Fifth; Nick Wansten, The Fennec; Neill Crook, Mayawell; John Easterling, Continental Drift; Dylan Lunsford, Galley and Garden; Quinton Chandler-Green, The Kelly Hotel; Carla Irene, Helen; Ryan Abrams, Paper Doll; and Jess Welling, The Margaret. The event was presented by the American Cancer Society’s Junior Board. Lucie Longshore, Wells Hooper and Hays Vogtle
Journal photos by Jordan Wald
Bartenders Rattle Their Shakers for Cancer Research
Natalie Lyons and Austin Chadwick
Austin Johnson and Leighton Martin
Jasmine Pittman and Aubrey Bennett
Roger Vercoechea, Julie Duck, Katie Prodoehl, Alistair Harding-Smith, Elizabeth Stewart and Lindsay Stewart
28 • Thursday, August 11, 2022
OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL
SCHOOLS
JOHN CARROLL Now a cornerstone of Catholic secondary education in the Birmingham area, John Carroll was the brainchild of Thomas J. Toolen, the archbishop of the Mobile Diocese, which included Birmingham at the time. Catholic elementary schools already had been established in the area, and some taught students through grade 12. But Toolen, a strong booster of Catholic schools, wanted a central high school for the area’s Catholic teens. The elementary schools that taught high schoolers were crowded, according to newspaper accounts of the time. In March 1942, Toolen was the guest of honor at a testimonial dinner at the Tutwiler Hotel where plans for the new high school were outlined. By the end of the month, fundraising pledges from 17 Birmingham parishes to build the new school had surpassed the $150,000 fundraising goal by almost $26,000, for a total of $175,931, or $3.2 million in today’s dollars. Estimated construction costs rose through the years – by this time the U.S. was fighting in World War II – so that by the time construction actually began in late 1946, the estimated total cost had risen to $750,000. Fundraising continued, spearheaded by the Friends of Catholic Education, which was organized early on by Birmingham businessman John Carroll to help raise the money to build what was then called Central Catholic High School. In 1946 the first Toy Bowl, an annual fundraising football game featuring players from Birmingham’s Catholic elementary schools, drew 30,000 to Legion Field amid much fanfare. Frank Thomas, then coach at the University of Alabama, and Frank Leahy, coach at Notre Dame, coached the teams at the inaugural game. News reports at the time noted organizers had hoped to get Frank Sinatra or movie star Pat O’Brien, or both, for the first game. O’Brien, who played legendary Fighting Irish coach Knute Rockne on film, turned up to serve as master of ceremonies. Daniel Construction Co. was awarded a $350,000 contract to build the school on Highland Avenue between 23rd Street and Milner Crescent and work began in November 1946. By the time the school was ready to open with 278 students in 1947, fundraiser leader John Carroll had died, so the school was named in his honor. It was the second Catholic high school to open in Birmingham that’s still in existence – Ensley’s Holy Family High School opened four years earlier, in 1943, but it was limited to Black students at that time in the Jim Crow South. Until it moved to its Lakeshore campus in 1992, the school underwent a number of changes. Among these were construction of the Bishop
Journal photos by Jordan Wald
From Page One
FAMILY TRADITION: Top, from left, Students Kendrick McMillan and Eli McMillan, school secretary Lynda Hayes, students Sienna Massa, Anna Grace Fuller, and Amelia Massa, and guidance counselor Ginny McMillan and teacher Lee Ann Fuller, twin sisters who are faculty members and John Carroll alumnae, are members of the same family. Left the Rev. Robert Sullivan, ’82, who is president of John Carroll High School, is another alum whose family has extensive ties to the school.
Fewer Students but High Standards
Toolen Center, which opened in 1951, a new school cafeteria finished in 1957 and the east wing, which was completed in 1958. In the early 1960s, an athletic complex was built on Montclair Road and in 1964 a new convent for the Benedictine Sisters who taught at John Carroll was dedicated.
Integrating the School
1964 marked another milestone for the school, one that coincided with the Civil Rights Movement, as John Carroll was integrated that September. Robert C. Smith, ‘66, Madeliene Humphrey, ‘66, Fred Tyson, ‘67, and Diane Tucker, ‘67, transferred from Immaculata High School (as part of Our Lady of Fatima Parish) as the first Black students in the school’s history, according to a school timeline on John Carroll’s website. This was as a result of the cooperative efforts of Immaculata’s principal, the Rev. Eugene Farrell, and John Carroll’s principal, Monsignor William R. Houck. Janice Mabee Ransom of Pelham, ‘66, vividly remembers that time. “The first day of school was intense. The police were all there in case the crazies came out,” she recalled. John Carroll grew more diverse over the years, Mike Boutin, ’73, the school’s director of alumni relations, said.
“We are more diverse in community, race, ethnicity,” Bouton said. “We take pride in that.” Newspaper stories from the late 1950s and 1960s also highlighted interesting facets of school life, such as the Birmingham PostHerald’s Teacher of the Week story published on Nov. 11, 1957, that paid tribute to John Carroll’s Sister Maurus, a French and religion teacher who introduced square dancing to the students. “When the strains of good old country-style music float through the halls, you can bet Sister Maurus is right there in the middle,” the story said. In 1967 John Carroll parents donated 1,500 of their trading stamp books saved over 18 months to go toward the cost of a new school bus. The trading stamps, usually given to supermarket shoppers based on the amount they spent, covered fivesevenths of the price of a new bus, according to a Feb. 13 story in the Birmingham News. The PTA arranged for cash to pay the balance on the bus, the story said. The school moved from tight quarters on Highland Avenue on Birmingham’s Southside to a spacious campus off Lakeshore Drive in the Oxmoor Valley in 1992. “The whole Catholic community was abuzz because it was brand new,” said Lee Ann Heaton Fuller of Pelham, a John Carroll teacher who graduated in 1997.
Today, John Carroll maintains a high standard of college preparatory education, with 100 percent of this year’s graduating class headed to college or the armed forces. About 530 students are enrolled, and about 175 of them are new students, drawn from throughout the metro area and beyond, Weisberg said. “Our growth has been about 10 percent over the last two years.” Enrollment is about half of what it was until the mid-1970s, when about 1,200 students attended, said Mike Boutin, ’73, the school’s director of alumni relations. Part of the drop over the decades was due to the “incredible public schools” that offer parents tuition-free education, he said. Students come from 29 Birmingham neighborhoods, 11 cities in Jefferson County and five counties beyond Jefferson and Shelby – Blount, Chilton, Cullman, Tuscaloosa and Walker, according to the school. About 76 percent of the students and two-thirds of the faculty and staff are practicing Catholics, and while students of all faiths are welcome, John Carroll retains its Catholic identity, with daily prayers, a chapel available all day long and Mass. Five priests and Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia are on staff. A connection to John Carroll is as strong as the ties of kinship for scores of area families, including twin sisters Lee Ann Heaton Fuller of Pelham and Ginny Heaton McMillan of Hoover, who graduated in 1997. McMillan was valedictorian and Fuller was salutatorian. Their mother, Mary Jo Lucia Heaton, graduated from John Carroll in 1970. Their aunt, Lynda Hayes of Cahaba Heights, didn’t graduate from John Carroll but, “She made up for it by working there,” as the school secretary, Fuller, said. Fuller’s daughter, Anna Grace Fuller, is a junior who will graduate in 2024 and her son is an eighth grader who will enroll next year as a member
of the Class of 2027. Nieces and nephews have attended too. When she was in high school, John Carroll was a place that “felt like family,” she said. “You could see the teachers’ relationships, that they had friendships. I always wanted to teach; it’s just the only place I wanted to teach was John Carroll,” said Fuller, who is chairwoman of the school’s Math Department and teaches economics. Her sister is a guidance counselor. Betty Casmus Gadilhe, ’49, and her family have longstanding ties to the school that stretch over the generations, including all four of her children and most of her grandchildren. The former John Carroll cheerleader has good memories of her two years there. “There were some great teachers,” Gadilhe said. She said that tuition was $10 a month, and that, for the first time as a student, all her books were new. “It was a great opportunity to get a good foundation for life. It was so nice to be around so many Catholics I could be friends with,” she said. The Rev. Robert Sullivan, ’82, who is president of John Carroll High School, is another alum whose family has extensive ties to the school. His mother is a graduate, as are his four brothers and 10 cousins, while his niece is a freshman this year. “John Carroll was a constant presence in all of our lives,” he said. Some practical things changed for the better over the decades, such as the addition of air conditioning when the new school opened in 1992. The Highland Avenue building never had central air. Today the school endures, not only as a place, but as “a culture; it is who we are,” he said. What does Sullivan see for John Carroll and its students in the future? “For it to continue to grow and teach and continue to form the young minds of the people of Birmingham so they can go to Birmingham and beyond Birmingham and live lives of significance to God and others,” he said.
OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL
SCHOOLS
Indian Springs Teacher Begins 51st Year in the Classroom
It wasn’t a good time to get a job in physics when William LaCasse finished his Ph.D. in 1972. With few opportunities in the field, he accepted what he thought would be a temporary job at Indian Springs School that fall. Five decades later, LaCasse, 78, is about to start his 51st year of teaching in the classroom when Indian Springs reopens Aug. 12 for the new school year. “I’ve enjoyed it a lot. I’ve been here 50 years, but no two years have been the same,” LaCasse said. Head of School Scott Schamberger praised LaCasse in remarks made at a faculty meeting when the teacher was marking his 50th year on campus. He described LaCasse as “a titan at Indian Springs, quietly and diligently going about his business of shaping young minds and transforming lives.” “I am a believer that we stand upon the shoulders of the giants that came before us. In the case of Dr. LaCasse, I find myself incredibly fortunate that he is still standing among us as a true stalwart of the Indian Springs faculty,” Schamberger concluded. LaCasse was born in Minnesota, but his childhood was spent traveling, as his father was in the Air Force. After high school, he attend-
Journal photo by Jordan Wald
By Anne Ruisi
William LaCasse, 78, is about to start his 51st year of teaching in the classroom when Indian Springs reopens Aug. 12 for the new school year.
ed St. John’s University, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts in math and physics. From there, he headed south to Vanderbilt University in Nashville for his doctorate in physics. He finished the five-year Ph.D. program in 1972. Initially, he wanted to work in applied physics and looked for a job in the industry, such as in a lab. “It was a very bad time to get in physics,” LaCasse said. He did hear he could interview for a high school teaching job, and the interviewer in Nashville was going to be the head of Indian
Springs School. He also had an interview with the outgoing head and was invited to join the faculty to teach physics. While he thought he was going to teach for just a year and then look for opportunities outside the academic realm, he stayed for a second year, then a third, a fourth and after decades, marked 50 years with the private school last year. “It was great material to work with, and the subject material itself, I enjoyed teaching it,” LaCasse said of the curriculum. “There was a good caliber of students.” At that time, physics was a required course for all students at what was then an all-boys school. In his second year at Indian Springs, LaCasse started teaching math. While teaching, he earned his teaching accreditation through the University of Montevallo. LaCasse also was involved in extracurricular activities, such as prepping students for the Scholars’ Bowl, the National Science Bowl and the United States Academic Decathlon. He taught math and physics in past years, but he’s been teaching only math for the past dozen, since he’s gone to part-time. This year he’ll teach differential equations in the first semester and calculus in the second. Both classes are optional, and so the students who sign up are
motivated, LaCasse said. “Some wanted to get ahead in their math and science in AP classes. Other students wanted to take the classes now and never have to take math again,” LaCasse said.
LaCasse Watches Indian Springs Change
In his half-century at Indian Springs, the school and the campus have changed a lot, he said. In the early 1970s, for example, the campus was isolated, as Interstate 65 hadn’t been built through Shelby County. Now it is a short drive to the state’s major north-south highway. The school also is co-ed now. Indian Springs’ student population has grown over the years, LaCasse said. When he started teaching in 1972, there were 202 students and now there are about 325, Director of Communications Rachel Preskitt said. Until he moved to part-time status, LaCasse lived on campus, as do many of the full-time faculty. Once he started working part-time, he got his own home off-campus. And while he doesn’t keep up with his past students on social media as some teachers do, he does enjoy seeing them at alumni gatherings and similar events. In his off-time, LaCasse likes to occasionally play golf, with the links at Oak Mountain a favorite.
Thursday, August 11, 2022 • 29
Mountain Brook’s Tommy Butrus Starts at Annapolis
Thomas K. Butrus of Mountain Brook has begun training at the U.S. Naval Academy. Butrus, who graduated from Mountain Brook High School this year, was inducted into the academy’s Class of 2026 on June 30. He is one of 1,200 candidates undergoing six weeks of basic midshipman training as part of Plebe Summer, according to a news release from the academy’s Public Affairs Office. More than 16,000 applications were received for a spot at the prestigious military service academy. During the training, plebes are not allowed access to TV, the internet, music or movies, in preparation for beginning their first year at Annapolis and the three years that follow. They also have restricted access to cell phones and may make only three calls during the six weeks. It’s a summer of rigorous training with plebes learning the basics of seamanship, navigation, damage control, sailing and handling yard patrol craft. They learn infantry drill and how to handle and shoot 9mm pistols and M-16 rifles. Daily training sessions involve mental, physical, moral, professional development and teambuilding skills.
30 • Thursday, August 11, 2022
SPORTS
Give It a Twirl
S
By Rubin E. Grant
Oak Mountain Sisters Qualify for International Baton Competition
Sisters Sally and Susan Otts show of their medals at the USTA Championships in Stockton, Calif.
to me and a super big surprise when I made the team. This time I was working hard to make it, so it was another level of expectations. All my hard work paid off, but it was also a feeling of relief, too, so I could enjoy the rest of my summer.”
Sisters Share Passion With Their Mother
Sally Otts has been twirling for 14 years. She graduated from Oak Mountain High School in 2021 and now is a sophomore at the University of Alabama, double majoring in finance and economics and minoring in management communication.
Priceless
She also is in her second year as a Crimsonette with Alabama’s Million Dollar Band, following in the footsteps of her mother, Anne Otts. Anne (Hardison) Otts was a majorette at Alabama in the late 1980s, and that’s where she met her husband, Jody Otts, who was a member of the band. Sally Otts’ two older brothers are also in the Million Dollar Band. Cole, a senior, plays trombone, and Thomas, a junior, plays trumpet. Sally Otts started twirling because of her mother, who grew up in Florence and twirled at what then was Bradshaw High School. “I definitely get twirling from my mother,” Sally Otts said. “I was 5 and she signed me up
Vestavia Hills Student Earns Bronze in Karate World Championships By Rubin E. Grant The exuberant reaction of Grace Kingrey’s dad, Dave Kingrey, was priceless. After failing to medal in the 2021 WUKF Karate World Championships in Romania, Grace Kingrey earned a bronze medal in the event this year, held July 3-7 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. “I was so happy,” Grace Kingrey said. “I ran over to my dad and he was smiling and said, ‘You did so amazing.’ Then, we called my mom to let her know. Courtesy
for recreation classes and I just loved it.” Susan Otts has been twirling for 11 years. She is a junior at Oak Mountain and majorette co-captain. “I started twirling because of my sister,” Susan Otts said. “I would go watch her and it looked like fun, so I decided I wanted to do it, too.” Anne Otts is absolutely delighted her daughters became twirlers. “I couldn’t be more happy about my girls twirling,” she said. “I believe you are born with a passion for twirling or not. I discovered the sport in elementary school and longed to be a majorette. I introduced my girls casually to
This will be Sally Otts’ second time competing internationally. In 2019, she competed in Limoges, France, in Junior Level A Three-Baton and Artistic Group with Forte and placed in the top eight in both.
Courtesy
ally Otts was a nervous wreck. Even though she had just won the Senior Level A Three-Baton competition at the 2022 U.S. Twirling Association’s National Baton Twirling Championships, Otts was still on edge. That’s because her younger sister Susan Otts still had to compete on the junior level in the national championships, which took place July 11-16 in Stockton, California. “I was stressed,” Sally Otts said. “I was on the edge of my seat because I knew how bad she wanted it. We do fight, because we’re sisters, but I always support her.” Earlier, Susan Otts was just as stressed watching Sally compete. In the three-baton, the batons must be kept moving at all times. “I am her biggest fan,” Susan Otts said. “I was very nervous. I was up there holding my hands the entire time, saying, ‘don’t drop the baton.’” She didn’t drop her baton, and Sally Otts qualified for the 2023 World Baton Twirling Championship & Nations Cup being held Aug. 4-13 in Liverpool, England. Her sister also earned a trip to Liverpool next summer by winning the Junior Level A X-Strut and placing third in Junior Level A Artistic Twirl. “It’s very exciting that both of us made it,” Susan Otts said. “When Sally qualified, it pushed me to do what I needed to do to qualify.” The sisters also qualified as members of Forte Twirl & Dance in Atlanta, where both are coached by Colleen Middleton. They qualified with Forte to compete in the Artistic Group team division at the Nations Cup. Oak Mountain freshman majorette Grier Feldman also qualified in Junior 2 Baton during the USTA Nationals for the competition in Liverpool. Feldman, whose dad, Zachary Feldman, is the majorette sponsor at Oak Mountain, is close friends with the Otts sisters. “We’ve known each other for a long time, so it’s great we’re going to England together,” Susan Otts said of Grier Feldman. This will be Sally Otts’ second time competing internationally. In 2019, she competed in Limoges, France, in Junior Level A Three-Baton and Artistic Group with Forte and placed in the top eight in both. “It’s incredibly exciting to qualify again,” Sally Otts said. “The first time, I’d never done qualifying competition before, so it was all new
OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL
Grace Kingrey, left, has been training in martial arts for 10 years.
“It was such a cool experience, knowing I was representing my state. I know I have to always improve my training and push myself to perform once I’m out there. I wasn’t expecting to do as well as I did.” A few days earlier, the Vestavia Hills High School junior earned two silvers and two golds at AAU Karate Nationals, held June 28-July 2 in Fort Lauderdale. Keith MacConkey, Kingrey’s instructor at USA Martial Arts Bluff Park Dojo, was thrilled to see her hard work pay off. “I am really proud of Grace and all she has accomplished,” MacConkey said. “There were competitors from all the over the country
twirling in kindergarten through an after-school recreation program at Oak Mountain Elementary. I never forced it on them, they fell in love with it on their own. “I’m so proud of their hard work and accomplishments. They surpassed my meager twirling skills years ago. I could only dream of twirling like them.” The sisters are not cookie-cutter twirlers. They are quite different. “We’re both our own person with our own skill set,’ Sally Otts said. “I love twirling multiple batons and doing power twirling with tosses, which requires strength. Susan is like a ballerina. She’s so graceful.” “I am more of a dancer, an artistic twirler,” said Susan Otts, whose events combine twirling with dance and gymnastics. Susan Otts is a two-time Strut National Champion – 2022 16-year-old Strut Champion and 2021 15-year-old Strut Champion. “I love performing,” she said. “I didn’t realize how much until the last two years. I have a floor routine and I can’t lose focus. I love twirling before the judges and captivating them.”
and all over the world. I knew if she continued to challenge herself that she stood a good chance to do well. Her work ethic is unmatched. She’s very self-motivated, self-driven.” Kingrey, 16, has had to learn to perform well in front of a crowd of spectators because being in the spotlight is out of character for her. “Grace is more of a shy person,” MacConkey said. “She doesn’t like being in the spotlight. I am really proud of her for being in the spotlight and going out and performing. Not everyone can perform under pressure with people watching, but Grace is blessed to do that at a high level.” Kingrey has been training in martial arts for 10 years. She’s a second degree black belt in karate and Taekwondo, and she trains in judo, jiu-jitsu and Iaido. “My dad used to do Taekwondo and that interested me,” Kingrey said. “After we moved down here from Edina, Minnesota, I decided I would
like to compete. “I honestly like being able to kick, punch and move my body. It gives me confidence to perform in front of my family and others.” MacConkey has been Kingrey’s instructor since 2015 and likes the way she goes about her business. “She is always dedicated to training, often staying after class, and she has great attention to detail,” MacConkey said. “She takes instruction well.” In 2021, Kingrey earned a silver medal in open kumite at the AAU Nationals in Greenville, S.C., and earned a gold medal at the AAU Junior Olympics in Houston. Kingrey’s ultimate goal is to attend medical school and become either a dermatologist or a pediatrician, but for now she plans to continue participating in martial arts. “I am going to compete in the Worlds next year in Scotland,” she said.
New Hands on Deck
Mountain Brook graduated four seniors off its 2021 title team that finished 43-12, including middle hitter Greer Golden and outside hitter Lucy Redden, who were the team leaders in kills. The other two seniors who graduated were outside hitter Hannah Hitson and libero Alexandra Carlson. In addition to them, right-side hitter Sims Kilgore has elected not to play her senior season this fall. “She wanted to explore different things,” Gardner said. “We hate los-
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Journal photo by Jordan Wald
leyball team as a sophomore. Paige is a defensive specialist. The other Mae Mae on the team is sophomore outside hitter Mae Mae Beatty. The twins and Mae Maes are part of a talented group that will not only try to bring Gardner her second consecutive Class 6A state championship but also lead the Spartans to their fourth consecutive title overall and seventh since 2014. “Our goal is always the same — to win a state championship,” said Gardner, who was an assistant with
City, Shades Valley and Woodlawn. Gardner is eager to begin her second season at the helm. “The expectations for me is to see if can I do it again and show last year wasn’t just beginner’s luck,” she said with a laugh.
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From page 32
the team when it captured titles in 2019 and 2020. “That’s on the forefront of our minds from Day 1.”
ing a piece of the family, but we want what’s best for Sims.” The Spartans will have three seniors, setter Addie Holden, defensive specialist Anna Frances Adams and middle hitter Caroline Heck. The Lacey and Parant twins are among seven juniors on the team, including defensive specialist Ava Gillis, outside hitter Ann Coleman and middle hitter Alice Garzon. Beatty and sophomore defensive specialist Ella Kate Wright round out the roster. “We’re athletic and we’ve got players who have been playing volleyball for some time and have played for championships. So, this is reload and not a rebuild,” said Gardner, who last year was named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association Thirty Under 30 list, an award recognizing the top young coaches in the game. Gardner has added two new varsity assistants who played collegiately, Stephanie Palmer (Winthrop and Samford) and Erin Godwin (Berry College). Freshman coach Alana Schouten also is new, while Tien Le returns to coach the junior varsity. “We have a quality staff,” Gardner said. “I am super excited about them.”
Mountain Brook opens the season Aug. 18 at home against Spanish Fort, then will play in the Juanita Boddie Tournament Aug. 19-20 at the Finley Center in Hoover. The Spartans will compete in Class 6A, Area 10 along with Pell
Returning starters include Brooklyn Allison, a setter, Emily Breazeale, an outside hitter, and a libero, Lilly Johnson.
SPAIN PARK From page 32
tions. Breazeale was the MVP in the 2022 AHSAA All-Star volleyball game in July, and the 6-1 Shea is a dominant presence on the Jags’ front row. They are four of the eight seniors on the team. The others are defensive specialist Ashley Fowler, middle hitter Macie Thompson, defensive specialist-setter Haley Thompson, and outside hitter Nora Dawson.
Also returning are 6-0 freshman Megan Ingersoll, a middle hitter/outside hitter who started at times last season as an eighth-grader, and sophomore outside hitter Reagan Gilbert. “We’ve got a mix of young players and older players,” Bowen said. “But sometimes we struggle with which ones are going to step up and provide leadership and which ones are going to take over when we need them to on the court.” Spain Park will open the season Aug. 18 at home against McGillToolen and then play in the Juanita
Boddie Invitational Aug. 19-20 at the Finley Center in Hoover. The Jags will compete in Class 7A, Area 6 along with Oak Mountain, Chelsea and Hewitt-Trussville. “This team has a new identity,” Bowen said. “We’re working on building team chemistry, on and off the floor, and deciding what our standard is. When that’s player driven, you will have a great team, but if it’s coach driven, you may win some but it will be more inconsistent. The players all have to be chasing the same goal.”
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Journal photo by Jordan Wald
Mountain Brook has two sets of twins on this year’s volleyball team: Juniors Hannah and Paige Parant, above from left, and Juniors Mae Mae and Annie Lacey.
SPARTANS
Thursday, August 11, 2022 • 31
SPORTS
OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL
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Priceless: Vestavia Hills Student Earns Bronze in Karate World Championships PAGE 30
SPORTS Thursday, August 11, 2022 ❖ OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL OTM VOLLEYBALL PREVIEW: MOUNTAIN BROOK, SPAIN PARK
Give It a Twirl: Oak Mountain Sisters Qualify for International Baton Competition PAGE 30
DOUBLE UP
By Rubin E. Grant
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Journal file photo by Jordan Wald
The Jags have a good nucleus returning including setter Lilly Johnson.
Not Looking Back
Mountain Brook Volleyball Team Sets Sights on Another State Championship
ountain Brook volleyball coach Mattie Gardner can be forgiven for seeing double as she embarks on her second season. And it’s not just because she has a chance to win her second consecutive state championship. She also has two sets of twins on her team as well as two girls who go by the name Mae Mae. Juniors Mae Mae and Annie Lacey are identical twins. Gardner said it’s not easy to tell them apart, but it helps that Mae Mae, a middle hitter, is right-handed and Annie, a right-side hitter, is a lefty. They are also standout tennis players and helped the Spartans win the Class 6A girls tennis title in the spring. Juniors Hannah and Paige Parant are the other set of twins, but they are not identical. Hannah, a setter, was voted to the 2021 All-OTM vol-
See SPARTANS, page 31
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By Rubin E. Grant ellye Bowen isn’t looking back. A year after guiding Spain Park to its first state volleyball championship, Bowen has put it in her rearview mirror. The only thing that matters to the Jaguars’ head coach is the 2022 season. “I always say it’s a new year and a new opportunity,” Bowen said. “I said that in 2021 after we had a successful season in 2020.” The Jags finished as Class 7A runners-up to crosstown rival Hoover in 2020, then came back and won the title in 2021, sweeping the legendary McGill-Toolen Dirty Dozen in the finals. But Bowen said that’s history. “We have new people in new leadership roles,” Bowen said. “Everyone is trying to figure out their roles and we’re trying to figure out what rotations work best. We can’t just go on what we did in the past year. We have to establish what we’re doing this year and what we want as a group. “It’s difficult for our girls to comprehend, to wrap their heads around it, but they’ve got to be motivated to see where they match up this season.” The biggest adjustment the Jags will have to make on
the court is how to play without dominant 6-foot-4 outside hitter Audrey Rothman, who Bowen described as a “once-in-a-lifetime player.” Rothman, the 2021 OTM Volleyball Player of the Year and the Alabama Gatorade Player of the Year, is now a freshman at Florida State. All she did last season was record 709 kills, 247 digs, 71 blocks, 67 service aces and 35 assists, leading the Jags to a 47-4 record and earning American Volleyball Coaches Association First-Team All-American honors. “It’s hard to replace a player like that who loves the game and is so passionate about it,” Bowen said. “She was the best player and best person on the team. “With her gone, it should give the players on this team motivation to prove everyone wrong, the ones who are saying, ‘Without your best player, what are you going to do?’”
Future Stars Step Up
Rothman was one of five seniors who graduated, but the Jags have a good nucleus returning, including returning starters Brooklyn Allison, a libero, Lilly Johnson, a setter, Emily Breazeale, an outside hitter, and McKinney Shea, a middle hitter/right side hitter. Allison, who has committed to East Tennessee State University, and Johnson were both 2021 All-OTM selecSee SPAIN PARK, page 31
Hannah Parant and her teammates are looking to bring home the Spartans fourth consecutive title and seventh since 2014.
Journal file photo by Jordan Wald
Spain Park Volleyball Team Trying to Figure Out What Works Best This Season in Title Defense
