September 2012

VOL. 3, ISSUE 3 SEPTEMBER 2012

ENSE ECLECTIC INTELLECT FOR THE SOUL

+ 16

Sieves that Give

24

Posh Brims

43

Universal Healing

39

Mastering the Nationals

21 35 44

give me shelter Daphne’s Bright light The retriever Game

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04 | SEPTEMBER 2012

Contents You Speak

07

spotlight

10

They Speak

12

in the loop

13

Corresponding with our readers.

Nall fills the void.

Meet our contributors.

Must-sees and have-to-dos throughout the South.

the sense of it all

cousin Leroy speaks

MARKETPLACE

The global to local benefits of Honeywell UOP, LLC.

24

24

15

18

16

24 39 43

44

18 33

17

48 50

Cuisine

Chef Guthrie’s exclusive desserts.

Design

Mad for hats!

outdoors

Behind the brush look at the 2012 Master National.

Wellness

It’s not Bad Medicine.

Verbatim

The wise gardener, Mr. Charles Wood.

Literati Isabella’s Fig Trees

SENSE MAGAZINE | 0 5

21

Rivers of Sand

Barrier Islands: our mainland’s greatest protection.

By Skeet Lores | Photography by John Dindo

Features

31

Exceptional People, Exceptional Place Jeffrey Reed

The Exceptional Foundation of Eastern Shore.

By Greenberry Taylor | Photography by Ali Deiderich

40

The Retriever Game

The storied times of three generations who play the game.

By Frank Leatherbury | Photography by Jeff Kennedy

VOLUME 3, ISSUE 3 / SEPTEMBER 2012 ON THE COVER: THE RETRIEVER GAME PHOTO COURTESY OF JEFF KENNEDY Iss u es -o r ien te d S ens e m a g a z i n e g i ve s voi ce t o d ive r s e p o litic al o p inio ns but d o e s no t e nd o r s e the o p inions or r eflect t he v iew s expr essed her ein. You a r e we l co m e to s ub mit yo ur O p -Ed p ie c e via e mail to e d ito r@ the s e nseofit a ll. com .

ENSE

eclectic intellect for the soul

PUBLISHER Associate Editor COPY EDITOR intern contributing Art Director

Jamie Seelye Leatherbury May Laughton Theresa Corbin Teri Arza

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Hannah Bruner Jeff Gill Frank Leatherbury Skeet Lores Michelle Mitchell Jamie McFaden Greenberry Taylor Justin Vicory

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Jennifer Birge Ali Deiderich Jeff Kennedy Kim Pearson Frank Lee Roberts

Contributing artist

Nall

BUSINESS MANAGER

Hena Diaz Skelton

ADVERTISING SALES MANAGER ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES

Linda Lou Parsons Rosie McGowin Emma Hyatt

ADVERTISE WITH US

EMAIL US

SENSE OFFICES

sales@thesenseofitall.com (251) 454-6058 editor@thesenseofitall.com art@thesenseofitall.com events@thesenseofitall.com 251 South Greeno Road Fairhope, Alabama 36532 Tel (251) 604-8827

Sense is published monthly by Eco-Urban Media in Fairhope, Alabama. Each month, at least 10,000 complimentary copies are printed and distributed to key locations throughout Baldwin and Mobile counties and along the Gulf Coast. Sense is published and licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License by Eco-Urban Media, a division of Eco-Urbaneering Corporation. Creative Commons defines the spectrum of possibilities between full copyright and the public domain. For more information go to http://www.creativecommons.org and http://creativecommons.org/about/licenses/ and http://www.theSenseofitAll.com. All content of Sense is copyrighted. However, Sense also works under Creative Commons licensing guidelines for works published in Sense by contributing writers, artists and photographers. All rights to works submitted to and published by Sense will revert in their entirety to the respective contributing authors, artists and photographers 120 days after publication. At Sense, we believe this policy promotes journalistic independence and integrity and fosters mutual goodwill between the publisher and the contributing writers, artists and photographers.

08 | SEPTEMBER 2012

| you spea k

AUGUST

JUNE/JULY

Beautiful! Just received your August 2012 issue from my daughter and I wish I could frame the cover. Lori Bilbrey-Vaghefi takes me back to my childhood days as a dancer, and I loved reading about the new community dance program, Project Mouvement In Art.

Reading “Sinful Sundae” in Sense’s Jun/July issue was not only a delightful read, but also sparked my family’s summer search for the best sundae. Ice cream from all over Mobile was tasted, but we decided family time, and our big sofa on a Sunday afternoon is the best way to enjoy our sundaes.

Thank you for the memories, Katrina Hester Moss Point, Miss.

Leigh Prickett Via Email

JUNE/JULY

Thank you Skeet Lores for making a father/son fishing excursion a day to remember. My son, who is 10 years old, caught his first speckled trout with your advice. The Clouser Minnow is just as you suggest, easy to use in grassy areas and hooks at the top of the mouth.

Best, Dan White Orange Beach, Ala.

SENSE MAGAZINE | 0 9

DISTRIBUTORS

010 | SEPTEMBER 2012

Photo by Frank Lee Roberts

A DV E RT I S E R S

Atchison Imports B’Beth Weldon Artist Bellingrath Gardens Blue Rents Center for the Living Arts CK Collection Courtney & Morris Real Estate

East Bay Clothiers Estetica Coiffure GiGi & Jays Gulf Coast Exploreum Science Center Holistic Veterinary Louise Doggett Antiques Lyon’s Share

Mercedes of Mobile Mercy Medical Merrill Miller’s Interior and Gifts Mobile Museum of Art Mobile Symphony Parsons Boat Works, LLC Sadies

The Colony at the Grand-Watershed The Fairhope Store The Gallery Shoe Boutique Sense Magazine USA Mitchell Cancer Institute USA Mitchell Cancer Institute-GO RUN USA Children’s & Women Hospital

DISTRIBUTORS MOBILE Alabama Orthopedic Clinic Anders Bookstore Ashland Gallery Atchison Imports Azalea City Physicians for Women, PC Ballin’s Limited Renaissance Battle House Hotel Bay Gourmet Bebo’s Springhill Market Bliss Salon & Day Spa Bradley’s Café 615 Callaghan’s Irish Social Club Camille’s Sidewalk Café Carpe Diem Coffee & Tea Company Center for Dematology Charles Phillips Antiques and Architectuals Chat A Way Café Claude Moore Jeweler Coiffure Chic Hair & Nail Salon Cold Snap @ USA Debra’s Downtown Mobile Alliance Dragonfly Boutique Estetica Coiffure Five Gold Monkeys Fuego Coastal Mexican Eatery G Harvell Men’s Clothier Goldstein’s Heroes Sports Bar & Grille Hertha’s Sesond Edition High Cotton Consignment Hillcrest Orthodontics Inside Up Island Day Spa Joe Bullard Jaguar/Cadillac Little House Bistro LLB&B Realty Louise Doggett Antiques M.A. Simons Martha Rutledge Catering McCoy Outdoor Company Maghee’s Grill On the Hill

Mercedes Benz Mobile Metropolis Hair Color & Design Mobile Arts Council, Inc. Mobile Museum of Art Mobile Regional Airport Private Collection Red Or White Roots Hair Salon Roberts Brothers Realtors Royal Scam Satori Coffee House Serda’s @ Royal Street Silhouettes Day Spa Something New Bridal Spoke ‘N Trail Spot of Tea Springdale Travel Springhill Taekwondo Center State Farm - Allison Horner Stir Taste @ Airport The Bicycle Shop The Crescent Theater The Ivy Cottage The W Salon, Spa, and Nail Bar The Shed Twists Cupcakes @ Legacy Virginia Health Foods Wine Loft Wintzell’s Airport World Nails @ Airport Woven Treasures Zimlich Brothers Florist Zoe’s Kitchen DAPHNE Allegri Farm Market Baldwin Bone & Joint Barnes and Noble Baumhower’s Wings Comfort Inn Daphne Library East Shore Café Glamour Nails

Guido’s Haley Dermatology Center Hilton Garden Inn Homewood Suites of Daphne Lake Forest Shell Leons Gas Station Malbis Shell Market by the Bay Rosie’s Grill Starbucks @ Hwy 181 SPANISH FORT Boltz Pain & Wellness Center Bayside Chiropractic Blue Gill Eastern Shore Centre Felix’s Fish Camp Malbis Parkway Pediatric Dentistry McMurphy Orthodontics Private Gallery @ Spanish Fort Twist @ ESC SOUTH BALDWIN COUNTY Blue Water Ships Stores Bluewater Yacht Sales Intra Coastal Bread and Bottle Cosmo’s Restaurant and Bar Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce Gulf Coast Hatteras Ginny Lane Bar & Grill Jesse’s Lulu’s M II the Wharf Malouf ’s Furniture and Design McCollough Institute Merrill Miller’s Interiors & Gifts Ono Realty @ Orange Beach Spectrum Resorts The Hangout Villaggio Grille FAIRHOPE/POINT CLEAR Battles Wharf Market

Bay Animal Clinic Bayside Dental Care Bayside Orthopedics Brown & McCool Gynecology Buck’s Diner Camellia Café Clear Medspa The Coffee Loft Dragonfly Restaurant Eastern Shore Heart Center Eastern Shore Plastic Surgery Fairhope Inn Fairhope Library Fairhope Physical Therapy Fly Creek Café Hair Designs by Ann Rabin Hampton Flooring & Design Heavenly Creations J J Eyes Lyon’s Share Majestic Nails Market by the Bay Mary Ann’s Deli Mr. Gene’s Beans Page & Palette Panini Pete’s Papa’s Pizza Patina Art Gallery Provence Face & Body Red or White Running Wild Sandra’s Place Shanghai Cottage Marriott’s Grand Hotel The Wash House The Windmill Market Virtu Salon I-65 Corridor Conecuh Sausage - Evergreen Bates House of Turkey - Greenville Greenville Country Club YMCA - Greenville Priesters Pecans - Ft. Deposit

Sense is distributed to over 100 locations throughout Alabama’s Gulf Coast. Because we are in the business of promoting the economy and design in Gulf Coast communities, we distribute through our advertisers and local businesses. We feel that this brings the opportunity to exchange ideas, encourage conversation, and support the local economy. It will also move us forward by furthering thought for our future and how we wish to design it, resulting in participation by each of us in weaving the fabric that is our Sense of Community.

SENSE MAGAZINE | 0 11 SENSE MAGAZINE | 0 11

| S P OT L I G H T

12 | SEPTEMBER 2012

N A

L

Nall, of Fairhope, Ala., has been chosen as the 2012 Polo at the Point featured artist. A native of Troy, Ala., Nall is a world renowned artist who studied under Salvador Dali after entering the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, France in 1971. Nall’s work has been described as melding both a baroque and a Dali-esque surrealism. Among his accomplishment, he won state-wide recognition in 2007 when named Alabama’s Distinguished Artist of the Year by the Alabama State Council on the Arts. His Peace Frame, two large scale bronze sculptures, an ornate frame, has been placed in several high traffic locations such as an overlook in Monaco Harbor. The large frame is described to “put into value the subject framed, and allows the public to stand in the frame for souvenir photos.” The Peace Frame was reported to have been one of the most photographed subjects in the Principality of Monaco in 2007. The second edition of Peace Frame was installed in Pietrasanta, Italy, on a square directly between artwork of the sculptor Botero and the square named for Michelangelo Buonarroti.

The Peace Frame installation also signified the beginning of an artist’s exchange between the City of Pietrasanta, a Tuscan region, and the state of Alabama.

Nall recently returned from France where he spent his summer promoting his new perfume, Fleurs de Nall.

L

Peace Frame

SENSE MAGAZINE | 13

| T H E Y S PE A K

C O N T R I BU TO R S JENNIFER BIrge recently moved back to her native Fairhope, Ala., after studying photography in Huntsville, Ala. She is an avid artist who enjoys crafting, painting, accessorizing. She currently employs her talents as a freelance graphic designer, and photographer at Sweet Darling Photography.

DESIGN, PAGE 24

HANNAH BRUNER is a twenty-something female from Dothan, Ala. She’s a Pisces, enjoys long walks on the beach, and the color blue. She graduated from the University of South Alabama in May 2012. She has a strange fascination, which borders on mild obsession, for William Faulkner and recommends that you read Absalom, Absalom! at your earliest convenience. Hannah aspires to be a writer in whatever capacity she is allowed. Eventually, she hopes to write for television and documentary.

Turn it up, Man, PAGE 40 ALI DEIDERICH graduated from the University of Alabama, where she earned a degree in photojournalism. She has recently moved to Fairhope, Ala., from Jacksonville, Fla. She has an eye for unique angles and enjoys shooting in extreme environments. She worked with Digital Bliss Photography and Scott Bowman with the Crimson Magazine in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Exceptional People, Exceptional Place, PAGE 35

JEFF GILL is a student of Mechanical Engineering at the University of South Alabama where he has acted as Opinion Editor for The Vanguard. Though he still has a year to go before graduation, he is an active member of the University Sustainability Committee and has helped his university branch out to recycle plastic bottles. Some of his hobbies include biking, teaching himself Spanish, and watching bad movies on Netflix.

The Hunt is On, PAGE 42

jeff kennedy is a professional photographer born in Havana, Cuba. Jeff lived in several countries before his family settled in the Mobile area. After enjoying a career in land planning and development, Jeff now provides portrait, wedding, and commercial photography. He works on location and from his studio in Fairhope, Ala., and is well-known for his images through his blend of creative vision and technical expertise. He lives with his wife Karen, his “title holder” yellow lab, Watson, and a few cats in Montrose.

The Hunt is On, PAGE 35 The Retriever Game, PAGE 40

WANT TO BECOME A SENSE CONTRIBUTOR? Sense is always looking for new talent. If you are interested in becoming part of the Sense team, e-mail us at editor@thesenseofitall.com.

14 | SEPTEMBER 2012

skeet lores obtained a B.S. in chemistry at the University of South Alabama. After working for 25 years as a Research Chemist at the National Institutes for Health and the Environmental Protection Agency, he returned to the University of South Alabama and obtained a doctorate in marine science. He finished his career at EPA as a lead researcher on the ecological problems associated with eutrophication in our nation’s estuaries. Skeet is now retired, he is an avid hunter, fisherman, supporter of conservation, and a member of Fly Fishers of North Florida for over 20 years.

Rivers of Sand, PAGE 21 JAMIE MCFADEN is a magna cum laude graduate of UAB, is a freelance writer based in Mobile, Alabama. She is a selfproclaimed Pure Barre "bunhead" and poetry enthusiast who digs counterculture, wine of both cheap and expensive varieties, Alabama football, and reading novels penned by brilliant (and often tortured) women. She can't braid or snap her fingers and has difficulty walking in high heels.

Q & A with Mr. Charles Wood, page 44 KIM PEARSON, is a native Alabama resident and long time student of photography. Besides her personal , fin art photography, Kim is also a commercial and portrait photographer. In addition to Sense, her work has been most recently published in Taste of the South, Travel and Leisure Online, Business Alabama, and Cooking with Paula Deen among other publications. Kim lives with her family in Fairhope, Ala. Frozen Intrigue, PAGE 18

Frank Lee Roberts recently moved back to his native Mobile after spending 15 years in Birmingham, Atlanta, and Ft. Lauderdale. As a graduate of the University of Alabama, Roberts has been capturing images since he picked up his first Canon SLR camera in 1983. No matter where his life journey has taken him, the one constant has always been to record the beauty of the subjects surrounding him. He doesn’t like to be boxed in as any one type of photographer, “I’m not a wedding photographer, architectural photographer, or a photojournalist.

I’m a photographer.”

Q & A with Mr. Charles Wood, PAGE 44 GREENBERRY TAYLOR graduated from Spring Hill College, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications, with a focus in journalism. He has worked with several publications in the area, developing a knack for Human Interest stories and News. Aside from writing, Greenberry enjoys spending his time outdoors, preferably surrounded by family, friends, and his chocolate lab, Coltrane.

Exceptional People, Exceptional Place, PAGE 35

| I N T H E LOO P

TOP 1

10

SEPTEMBER EVENTS

Dario Robleto: The Pre-lives of the Blues Through September 16 | New Orleans, LA

Artist Dario Robleto, refined his current exhibition through his personal experiences in New Orleans. Robleto’s focus is the “transference of music across multiple generations,” with detail art, sculpture, and collage of social reflections. Notable works include Lion or Lamb, and The Minor Chords (detail). For more information on Robleto’s exhibit and more, please visit www.noma.org or call 504.658.4100.

2

DeLuna Fest

september 21 - 23 | Pensacola, fl

Grab your hammocks, tube/tank tops, and tanning butter because Pensacola is serious about their lineup for DeLuna Fest 2012. Guided By Voices, The Joy Formidable, Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters, City and Colour, and The Wood Brothers are all reason enough to firm-up your weekend plans. For more information, please visit www.delunafest.com or call 850.433.0070.

3

White Party/Mobile Fashion Week: Kick Off september 5 | Mobile, AL

Go to your closet and pull out the best white frock you have because the Mobile Arts Council knows how to throw a party! Join fashion designers and watch a mini-fashion show while you enjoy light hors d’oeuvres and cocktails with friends. Party starts at 7 p.m. For more information, please visit www. mobfashionweek.com or email info@mobfashionweek.com.

4

Deaf Jam September 13 | Mobile, AL

September is Deaf Awareness Month, and a time to empower yourself with poetry through Judy Lieff ’s documentary, Deaf Jam. Ben May Library hosts the film featuring Aneta Brodski, a deaf teen living in New York City, who prepares to be one of the first deaf poets to compete in a youth slam.

Event begins with refreshments at 5 p.m. For more information, please call 251.208.7097.

5

Herb Day

september 22 - 23 | Mobile, Al

Spend the weekend onsite of the Mobile Botanical Gardens where the Gulf Coast Herb Society will flourish your mind, body, and spirit in an array of herbal education. Event includes a light lunch, seminar, and access to hard to find herbs, available for purchase. Registration required. For more information, please visit www.mobilebotanicalgardens.org or call 251.342.0555.

Submit events to events@thesenseofitall.com

6

A Challenge to End Hunger

September 6 | Spanish Fort, AL

Some of Mobile area’s most celebrated chefs will be ready to compete in the Bay Area Food Bank’s 14th Annual Chef Challenge. The challenge is like no other because this is a competition with a cause—to end hunger. Event will be held at 5 Rivers Delta Resource Center from 6 – 8:30 p.m. Roman Street will provide music. Event will accompany a silent auction. For more information, please visit www.bayareafoodbank.org or call 251.653.1617.

7

Stars of the Joffrey Ballet

September 8 - 9 | Mobile, al

Enjoy an afternoon with the Mobile Symphony Orchestra as the Saenger Theatre explodes in sound and movement. Six dancers from the Joffrey Ballet will take the stage to perform to Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty, as well as pieces from Goldenthal, Richard Rodgers, and Arvo Part. Show begins at 2:30 p.m. For more information, please visit www.mobilesymphony. org or call 251.432.2010.

8

Rosemary Beach September Classic

September 21 - 23 | Rosemary beach, FL

Maybe you are not yet ready to let go of the Summer Olympics? Maybe you just love the physical beauty in tennis? If so, Rosemary Beach is inviting you to experience a tennis tournament in their spectacular setting. First match begins Friday night at 5 p.m. For more information, please call the Racquet Club at 850.278.2061 or visit www.rosemarybeach.com.

9

LBWCC Camellia City Classic septemBer 12 | greenville, AL

Cambrian Ridge, a Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, will host the 7th annual golf tournament. The event supports the Lurleen B. Wallace Community College Foundation; with proceeds benefiting student activities, scholarships, and special projects on the LBWCC campus. For more information, please visit www.lbwcc.edu or call 334.383.6718.

10

Jubilee Festival

September 29 - 30 | Daphne, Al

The 24th annual Jubilee Festival is a local tradition brimming with Eastern Shore atmosphere. Come spend the day in Olde Towne Daphne catching up with regional artists and entertainers. Bring the kids along and watch as their painted creations come alive. For more information, please call 251.621.8222 or visit www.eschamber.com.

SENSE MAGAZINE | 15

16 | SEPTEMBER 2012

| the sense of it all

LER O Y

SPEA K S :

THE

B O X.

C O U SIN

In 1992, the citizens of Alabama overwhelming supported and voted in favor of the constitutional

O U TSI D E

amendment that allowed the Forever Wild Land Trust to be set up for Alabama Citizens and visitors.

It seems that some politicians want to make sure we still want it. It seems that we could lose it if we do not vote for it again.

THIN K

Don’t Lose Your Land or Your Money!

On November 6th, 2012

c l im b

Vote Yes For Amendment 1

in sid e

To continue funding Forever Wild Land Trust from our offshore gas royalty monies.

For more information, please visit www.outdooralabama.com

t he

www.alabamaforeverwild.com www.alabamiansforforeverwild.org

box .

Yours in Community,

cousinleroy@thesenseofitall.com

th ere

i s

a

sol ution.

SENSE MAGAZINE | 17

| M A R K E T PL AC E

Molecular Sieve Technology

By Justin Vicory | Photography courtesy of UOP, LLC

The global benefits of expanding Honeywell UOP, LLC.

Nearly a year and a half ago the world learned of a massive earthquake that occurred off the coast of Japan. The magnitude 9 quake triggered a tsunami that hit the ill-fated country only after a few minutes, severely damaging one of Japan’s nuclear power plants.

In its wake, a number of the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant reactors overheated, resulting in the release of radioactive material into ground and ocean waters.

Less known to the public at the time were the ingenious ways, and the new technologies, that are being used in cleaning up the wastewater. The use of a specific molecular sieve technology, now produced here in south Alabama, has helped to de-contaminate over 43 million gallons of radioactive seawater at Japan’s earthquake and tsunami ravaged plant.

Acting similar to a filter, an adsorbent is helping to purify contaminated seawater by trapping radioactive molecules, and separating them from clean water.

Created by chemists at Sandia Labs, and developed by experts at the U.S. Department of Defense, Honeywell UOP holds license over the new technology, known as UOP IONSIVTM Ion Exchange adsorbents, which remove radioactive material from liquid.

In Japan, these adsorbents have been successfully used to reduce radioactive cesium to non-detectable levels in the plant’s contaminated wastewater. They have been used commercially for more than 30 years to remove radioactive ions from liquids, such as radioactive waste streams in commercial nuclear power plants, alkaline tank waste, and 18 | SEPTEMBER 2012

spent fuel storage pool water.

In April, Honeywell UOP LLC—a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell, Inc., announced plans to invest $20 million to expand a production facility to produce these specific adsorbents, and others, here in Mobile. Expansion of the new facility is in progress and expected to be completed by the end of the year.

With unemployment in Mobile County at 8.5 percent, and 8.3 percent nationally, this is good news for south Alabama. According to UOP Mobile, production operator positions and possibly maintenance jobs will be available after the expansion has been completed.

Currently, UOP Mobile employs close to 360 full time workers as well as 50 to 80 contractors, depending upon the job. In Honeywell UOP’s April announcement, senior vice president and general manager for Honeywell’s UOP Catalyst, Adsorbents and Specialties business, Mike Millard said “This investment helps us meet the demand for our newest advanced materials, as well as established products that are in demand by customers around the world. We continue to invest in new technologies that will help meet refiners and petrochemical producers’ needs for materials that offer more flexibility, increase production and lower cost.”

In essence, a molecular sieve is a material containing tiny pores of a precise and

“We continue to invest in new technologies that will help meet refiners and petrochemical producers’ needs for materials that offer more flexibility, increase production and lower cost.”—Mike Millard, senior vice president and general manager for Honeywell’s UOP Catalyst, Adsorbents and Specialties business.

uniform size that is used as an absorbent for gases and liquids. Initial discoveries in the field revealed that a specific mineral’s crystalline structure, or zeolite, could absorb selectively by size and polarity, making them efficient agents for drying and purifying liquids and gases. While clean, uncontaminated water may slip through the sieve, radioactive or volatile molecules can be absorbed, resulting in a purification process. This is particularly important, as well, in the removal of mercury and sulfur compounds from diesel fuels.

Honeywell UOP pioneered the adsorbents industry with the invention of the first synthetic zeolites for use as molecular sieves over 60 years ago. The Mobile plant also produces Honeywell UOP ADS-47 Parex™ adsorbent, the latest generation of the company’s Parex adsorbent.

The new adsorbent allows petrochemical producers to increase yields of para-xylene by more than 20 percent over previous technology. Para-xylene is a material used in the production of synthetic fibers such as polyester as well as plastic bottles.

In addition to adsorbents, the plant also produces catalysts that help petrochemical producers increase production while reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Chemically speaking, a catalyst is a substance, usually used in small amounts relative to the reactants, that modifies and increases the

rate of a reaction without being consumed in the process.

Honeywell UOP is a leading producer of catalysts, used in refining and other applications, to produce products ranging from transportation fuels to biodegradable detergents.

UOP selected Mobile as a suitable area for expansion and production of these adsorbents due to a few key reasons. “UOP Mobile had already produced limited quantities of trial materials several years ago – the current project is expanding production to a level that we feel will meet the growth of the new product line for the next five years,” said Dan Key, Honeywell UOP’s Vice President, Integrated Supply Chain. “The Mobile plant has been very successful in making advanced catalysts for industries like chemical production and nuclear remediation. The workforce has the background and technical support to be successful.”

Currently, Honeywell is the industry leading supplier of technology to the hydrocarbon processing industry.

More than 60 percent of the world’s gasoline and 85 percent of biodegradable detergents are made using UOP technology. Honeywell is a Fortune 100 diversified technology and manufacturing leader, serving customers worldwide with aerospace products and services.

Job applicants can apply through the human resources department at www.honeywell.com.

SENSE MAGAZINE | 19

| cuisine

Fr o z e n I n t r i g u e Lush obsession with dessert.

By May Laughton | Co-written by Michelle Mitchell | Photography by Kim Pearson

The unique concept behind both desserts is that they are from Chef Guthrie’s kitchen to your party table. Both are luxurious enough to be served at an intimate dinner party or special event.

In today’s market culture, our cuisine is primed for serving chef inspired creations at home. We recently found two desserts sold in regional Publix stores, created

by Chef Will Guthrie of Pensacola, Fla, that with a few small garnishments, are ready to be served at any elegant affair. Sin in a Tin, a chocolate pate that tastes like heaven; and Lemon Lust, the queen of all lemon tarts.

Sin in a Tin’s unusual mixture of cocoa finds a smooth richness consistent with a bubble bath, and while the dessert may appear to be a chocolate cake, it is miles away from cake. The texture of the chocolate shell is a soft, melt away blend that leaves the taster unprepared for what is on the inside. The Sin is clearly in the chocolate mousse that gives way to sensory overload. It is so wrong, yet so right … There is a dream-filled moment included in every Tin, a personal guarantee.

Creating the perfect lemon tart is what most 20 | SEPTEMBER August 2012 2012

professional baker’s desire. The crust must be blind-baked in order to achieve a proper base, and the lemon filling must be consistent enough to achieve the proper texture of the tart. Lemon Lust is this perfection. The subtle flavor of salt in the crust bares the flavor of zesty lemon, while complimenting a dusting of powdered sugar.

The two desserts we are raving about, Lemon Lust and Sin in a Tin, were created by Pensacola, Fla., Chef Will Guthrie, and can now be found at our local Publix grocers in the freezer section. The unique concept behind both desserts is that they are from his kitchen to your kitchen, and are luxurious enough to be served at an intimate dinner party, or special event. It is handmade, all-natural, and there is nothing else like it. The packaging, the flavor, the gluten free ingredients, and the presentation all factor into Chef Guthrie’s creation.

From inception, creating the desserts was a custom

EAT CHOCOLATE, BE HEALTHY  Lowers Blood Pressure Healthy compounds in cocoa increase the amount of nitric oxide that “opens up” blood vessels. People who eat a square of dark chocolate every night reduced their blood pressure. A different study showed that eating the whole bar enabled blood to flow through arteries better.

 Reduces cholesterol LDL cholesterol is lower in people who eat dark chocolate everyday.

The optimum dose isn’t known, but some research indicates that it doesn’t take huge amounts.

 Cocao contains the same beneficial compounds found in green tea, grapes and wine Known as catechins and procyanidins, they are powerful antioxidants and anti-inflammatories.

 Increases endurance Cocoa catechins help muscles generate more energy.

 Elevates mood

affair. From scratch, the idea would begin by gathering supplies. The baker’s pans that Guthrie needed did not exist, so he had the pans custom made. Next, Chef Guthrie spent many months working through packaging procedures. “It’s a whole different ballgame,” Guthrie says “to whip something up in your kitchen, as opposed to making something for commercial sale. This is one of the reasons that some of the most innovative products today are coming from chefs—they’re accustomed to making food on a grand scale.”

A commercial product is required to be packaged so that it can withstand the loading dock, yet still look good when the package is opened. Thus, the tin was born.

However, he had to find a way to get the Sin out of the Tin without damaging it. One day it occurred to him to turn the whole dessert upside down and make the top of the “pie,” the bottom.

Chef Guthrie has a great production manager, who personally signs every piece with white icing, and making a product by hand has been a positive experience for the chef. “I can buy machines that will do many of the steps in making my desserts. But you know something? I would rather provide jobs for the people of our community than buy machines,” Chef says.

Chef Guthrie’s position on buying local and using all natural products is in good company with today’s trends.

According to the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade (NASFT), specialty food sales are enjoying tremendous growth at a time when most retail sales are lagging. Guthrie recently moved into a new facility that will enable him to expand production.

You can find Guthrie’s fine desserts by visiting the website www.guthries.net, or by visiting your local specialty grocer.

Cocoa has been called a drug for the bioactive compounds it contains, including caffeine.

Research shows that cocoa can increase serotonin in the brain. And chocolate itself contains serotonin and dopamine—mood enhancers.

 Reduces Inflammation Dark chocolate can reduce joint inflammation, and the inflammation in arteries associated with heart disease.

 Chocolate eaters are more likely to survive a heart attack

SENSE MAGAZINE | 21

22 | SEPTEMBER 2012

| F eature

Rivers of

Sand Barrier Islands: our mainland’s greatest protection

By Skeet Lores | Photography by John Dindo

Our Gulf Coast barrier islands provide us with some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, as well as some of our most valuable and productive habitats and ecosystems, like marshes and sea grass beds. The dunes and the barrier islands alone provide protection to the mainland from hurricanes and storm erosion. The backsides of barrier islands often contain marshes, lagoons, or estuaries that are among our most productive environments and habitats supporting recreational fishing and seafood industries.

One of the things you will learn if you attend classes at Dauphin Island Sea Lab is that the Pelican Bay Lighthouse was connected to Dauphin Island by a “spit” of land. The spit connected to the middle of Dauphin Island and eventually created a bay that was named Pelican Bay—the location where Admiral Bienville anchored his fleet. That spit of land was still there in the early 1900s, and was even home to a hotel. However, most of that spit was wiped off the map by the bad hurricanes that hit Mobile in 1906 and 1926. There is an island remnant of that spit just off Dauphin Island, and the original position can still be seen on Google Earth as a long, shallow, shoal, extending toward the southeast.

As residents of Dauphin Island’s west end are painfully aware, barrier islands are more susceptible to erosion and SENSE MAGAZINE | 23

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Sea

hurricane damage. In reality, the problem is worldwide, and barrier islands all over the world are retreating toward the mainland. This is a process that occurs during periods of sea level rise, and sea levels have been rising since the glaciers started retreating approximately 18,000 years ago.

Beaches are undergoing constant change caused by wave action, currents, and storms. While rivers provide a continuous input of sand and sediments, waves help remove the finer sediments and transport it to deeper water, leaving behind the heavier, clean, white sand we love.

Wave action is responsible for both the building and erosion process on the beach. In the short term, they build the beach up during falling tides and erode it during rising tides. On a longer-term basis, they build the beach during calmer periods of summer and erode it during hurricanes and winter storms. Winds move the sand deposited on the beach further inland, and with the help of sea oats and other vegetation, they build protective dunes. Longshore currents, which are currents that move parallel to the shore, push sand

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along the beach, which builds the downstream end of the islands, and pulls sand away eroding the upstream end. The result of this longshore movement is that we continuously have to dredge our passes to maintain shipping channels.

Sand dunes are the heart of a barrier island and provide a stabilizing effect to barrier islands. Dunes provide the elevation needed to resist erosion during storms. The vegetation on sand dunes, especially sea oats, helps to trap sand, which builds the dunes as the onshore winds carry the sand inland. Roots of sea oats can grow downward of over 20 feet, which stabilize the dunes. The stabilizing function is why sea oat protection is so important, and there are now laws preventing their removal or cutting.

Dunes work to trap fresh water on barrier islands—by creating a deep store, or lens, of fresh water just below the surface, or even freshwater ponds, usually on the back side of the island, that can support vegetation like pine and live oak trees. The dunes resist the wave action of storms until the waves reach heights that allow them to breech the dunes.

slow, but it is fast enough to be seen in our lifetimes. In my lifetime, I have noticed the building of the west end of Santa Rosa Island since moving to Pensacola in 1980. But some of the movement is sudden, like when hurricane Ivan moved parts of Santa Rosa Island over 400 feet to the north.

Several years ago while surf-fishing along Pensacola Beach; I noticed pine stumps in the water along the shore.

I later learned that a UWF scientist had taken samples from these stumps and had them carbon dated. It turned out the stumps were approximately 5,000 years old. So basically, the front side of Santa Rosa Island was about where the backside of the island had been 5,000 years earlier, and that was well before Hurricane Ivan.

The park rangers that were surveying Santa Rosa Island after Hurricane Ivan found a large section of pavement in the Gulf. Initially, they thought that the storm surge had ripped up the pavement and pulled it out to sea, but they eventually learned the pavement was right where it had always been, and it was the island that had moved!

“We can get an idea of the historical movement of barrier islands by looking at them on Google Earth, www.earth.google.com.”

Sea Level Rising So if these barrier islands are so mobile, why are we building on them? Are we wasting money trying to stop the erosion by rebuilding the beaches? Those are questions asked by many, but the answers probably depend on your perspective. Beach renourishment is expensive and often does not last long.

There are multi-million dollar beach renourishment projects that have been funded all across the Gulf Coast that disappeared in just a matter of years after completion.

Pensacola Beach and Dauphin Island have both had at least two major renourishment projects in the last 30 years.

The Holiday Inn on Pensacola Beach eventually had to be destroyed due to the erosion that eventually undermined the foundation. The renourishment on Dauphin Island did not last long either, and was no match for the double whammy of Hurricanes Ivan and Katrina. So if we think about progression—our best summation would be that the beaches will always be there, but exactly where they will be is not certain.

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The sea level has risen about 350 feet since the last glacial maximum, about 20,000 years ago.

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Most of that rise was between 15,000 and 8,000 years ago.

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In the past century, sea level rose approximately 8 inches or about 2 mm per year.

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Measured by satellite since 1993, sea level has been rising at a rate of 3.3 mm per year.

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Predictions for sea level rise this century range between 7 and 23 inches, but those predictions do not include the effects of global warming.

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When the potential effects of global warming are included, sea level could rise as much as 3 feet this century.

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Long term, over the next millennia, partial melting of Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets could cause seal level to rise as much as 20 feet.

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Millinery Details

Photography by Sweet Darling Photography | Styled by Dorothy Mitchell 26 | SEPTEMBER 2012

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Trill

“Trill� created with parisisol silk, matte satin bow, taffeta knots, horse hair, and coque feathers. $940 Shirred strapless gown in champagne lurex lollipop chiffon by Erin Fetherston $550 at Ck Collection 28 | SEPTEMBER 2012

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Blair

“Blair” fashioned from matte silk and organza with cap flower petals. Black halo color block dress $358 at CK Collection SENSE MAGAZINE | 31

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Erin-Bow

“Erin- Bow� fabricated from silk matte satin with interfacing bow, parisisol, and silk shantung. $875 RED Valentino sleeveless sheath dress in faille, bow detail at waist. $595 at CK Collection 32 | SEPTEMBER 2012

Hyatt

“Hyatt� designed from silk matte two color satin with classic Christine bow on a flat brim and coque feather accents. $475 Black bow front bandage style dress by Erin Feaherston $635 at CK Collection SENSE MAGAZINE | 33

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Issa

Fantastic

Black and red fascinator with feather and flower accents. $275

Pink fascinator with silk bow, french netting, and feathers accents. $338

Marlena Two-toned blue fascinator with feather and ribbon accents. $115

Christine A. Moore Millinery What is the relationship between Jennifer Lopez’s cover of Vanity Fair and Sense’s September design section? Milliner, Christine A. Moore …

Moore has been capturing elegance, charm, and uniqueness through her New York City hat design company since 1994. Moore has received national acclaim as the “Milliner to the Triple Crown,” and “The Premier Milliner to the Kentucky Derby,” for her one of kind creations in racing, polo, and event hats. Each design begins with a sketch, which documents her creative thought process, as each exhibits ornamental inspiration, style, function, and a name for the hat.

Though exquisite to the eye, Moore’s design extends further than the outward appearance. Designed with comfort and wear-ability in mind, each hat is designed with finishing touches such as a silk pull, as for adjustment, and each is light in weight. Design consideration is given to excessive wear and storage of the hat.

To view Christine A. Moore’s entire collection, please visit www.camhats.com, or CK Collection in Fairhope, Ala., who will be featuring a limited selection for the Polo at the Point event in October 2012.

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Exceptional People, Exceptional Places St. Paul’s Episcopal Church gymnasium in Daphne, Ala., is none other than home to The Exceptional Foundation of the Eastern Shore (EF Eastern Shore), and better known by its participants as, “The Happy Place.”

By Greenberry Taylor | Photography by Ali Deiderich

Originating in Birmingham, Ala., in 1993, The Exceptional Foundation (EF) formed as a non-profit organization targeting mentally and physically challenged individuals in the Greater Birmingham area. Specifically, those who had reached the age of 21 and could no longer receive services from school. The overall goals of the foundation were, and still are, to enhance the lives of attending participants by using various activities and to provide a community for those in attendance and their families.

Almost 20 years later, other communities such as Memphis, Tenn., Indianapolis, Ind., and the Daphne, Ala., have formed their own foundations. Last Halloween marked the opening of the Eastern Shore branch—10 participants were in attendance, Stephanie Hileman being one of them.“I lost my dad a few days before I came here,” Stephanie said.

“It will be one year this Fall.”

A week before EF Eastern Shore opened, Stephanie, a 26 years old with Down syndrome, lost her father unexpectedly to cardiac arrest. Joyce Ann, Stephanie’s mom, resigned from her position at South Baldwin Regional Medical Center, located in Foley, Ala., and moved into a brand new setting at her husband’s business, Owens Body Shop. “The opening of this place, on Oct. 31, was a blessing from God,” Joyce Ann said. Stephanie thinks so too, telling Sense she “loves everything about this place,” which seems to be a general consensus among all of the participants, volunteers, and even the staff.

Amanda Barnes, Communications and Marketing Director for EF Fairhope, believes the participants love for the “Happy Place” comes from their ability to see only the best in situations. “Some of the nasty emotions that we struggle with like stress, anxiety, jealousy– it’s like they (participants) have a filter for it,” Barnes said. “So much bad they can filter out, and are instead filled with so much happiness, love, and goodness.” Participant Stephen Commander, 20 years old, tried listing every object in the facility, including the staff, participants, the ceiling, and even the bathroom floor before ultimately saying he just loved everything about this place. “I want to come here for the rest of my life,” Commander said.

While there’s no arguing this place is special in many different ways, what goes on inside, and out, make up for a majority of what gives this place that “special” feeling.

Candice Davis, Program Director at EF Eastern Shore, previously worked for United Cerebral Palsy, finding jobs for individuals with disabilities. Given her background, Davis brought a unique trait to the table, and has since injected it into the daily activities, which she explained are constructed to be fun, but beneficial as well. “To be honest, how we pick the schedule, I ask ‘What do y’all want to do this month?’ and then I make that happen,” Davis said.

Field trips, for example, can teach and instill valuable social and health skills. Participants may go out to eat at a restaurant, or to the gym, or on a hike in Blakeley State Park. Eating out may seem to be all about the delicious food, but participants must pay for their own meals, learning manners and order at the table. Getting to visit a gym and having the opportunity to try out all of the exercise equipment can be fun, but it is promoting exercise SENSE MAGAZINE | 37 SENSE MAGAZINE | 37

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“They love individual attention, so with the chance to work with an artist alone they felt extra special, and now classify themselves as an artist! Our participants express themselves so much more freely than eight months ago.”—Vicky Cook, Art Director of Exceptional Foundation Eastern Shore

and wellness at the same time.

“It’s little things, those little social skills that they get by even going into a restaurant and getting change back from when they paid, or walking in somewhere and holding the door open for someone who isn’t able to,” Davis said. “It’s just those small social skills, in a social setting, out in the community.” Davis also shared that there have been a lot of “firsts,” first times for participants to experience something, sharing one in particular—a prom.

With the help of Junior Auxiliary, the EF was able to host a prom for its participants, since many of them never got a chance to attend their high school prom, Commander being of those unfortunate few. While he had never had a prom, more importantly, he had never had a mother-son dance.

So for a few weeks before, Commander practiced with volunteers and worked very hard, so that on the night of the prom, he could leave his walker against the wall and hold only his mother while they danced—and he did just that.

Even though field trips are an exciting avenue for participants, and firsts are memorable moments in time, the arts are one of the main outlets EF Eastern Shore participants really enjoy. Vicky Cook, Art Director of EF Eastern Shore, knows the importance the arts have in expression and creativity, and said the participants’ growth within this imaginative world has been nothing short of incredible.

“The arts: visual art, music, dance, and theatre, are equal favorites around the EF,” Cook said. “All forms of the arts have played an important part in fostering the creative desires of our participants. Offering a variety of experiences each week keeps the arts fresh and exciting.”Not only have the arts helped the participants, but the foundation as well.

In late May, each EF participant collaborated with a popular regional artist, creating unique pieces, which were then auctioned off at the First Annual Exceptional Arts event. The event raised $28,000, helping EF out financially since they are a non-profit relying solely on donations and contributions.

“Since opening day in October, our members have been learning the basics of the arts,” Cook said. “They love individual attention, so with the chance to work with an artist alone they felt extra special, and now classify themselves as an artist! Our participants express themselves so much more 38 | SEPTEMBER 2012

Ricky Trione, Executive Director of EF, is a wellknown and respected artist within the region.

Trione has overcome disability, losing his sight one eye at a time. Using textured paint, he now creates art that is meant to be touched, letting spectators feel the artwork and canvas rather than few the creations from behind a velvet rope. Often times now, Ricky writes a special biblical verse that has helped him live in a more positive light: “We walk by faith, not by sight.”

2 Corinthians 5:7

freely than eight months ago.”

When talking about the evolution process the participants have gone through, Executive Director of EF Eastern Shore, Ricky Trione, has not only observed the participants’ growth, but the foundation as well. “It’s turned out to be better than I imagined,” Trione said. “It’s really exceeded all of my expectations. When we started out we only had 10 participants, and now we have close to 40. But none of this would be possible without the generosity of St. Paul’s and Pastor Thac Dyson, along with our wonderful volunteers.” “We’re growing at a wonderful pace,” Trione said with a smile.

Trione admitted the only model they had to go by was the Birmingham EF, so he, a few staff members, and the board of directors went up and visited, where they observed daily operations and met the staff. After leaving, the hopes were to one day be as big as Birmingham, who currently has over 400 participants.

Currently, EF Eastern Shore is in the process of becoming a recognized affiliate of the National Exceptional Foundation, which was formed when the Birmingham branch realized the need was so much greater than they’d anticipated. Being affiliated has benefits, including help with administrative costs, fundraising, and national recognition.

Having the Eastern Shore potentially becoming an affiliate is something Tricia Kirk, Executive Director of the Birmingham EF and the NEF, said she couldn’t be more thrilled about.

“It’s pretty exciting when you think you’re just serving participants in Birmingham, and then you go to Fairhope,

Memphis, and Indianapolis,” Kirk said. “Between all of these places, we’re serving about 1,000 mentally disabled people.”

Dalton Haddix, diagnosed with low vision and mild mental disability, sits up straight and thinks for a moment, searching for the perfect words to structure his sentence.

“If this place wasn’t here, I wouldn’t have learned all the things I know now,” Haddix said shaking his head. “If this place wasn’t here, all of the other participants wouldn’t have any place to go. It’s a blessing.”

Day-to-day activities at EF Eastern Shore always include special people from the community who come and share their talents or offer services. Whether J.J. McCool brings reptiles for show and touch, or a musician sharing his or her music with the participants, the foundation believes interaction with the community is not only essential, but a way for local people and businesses to see what this place is really about.

While cultivating a relationship with the community is top-priority for the foundation, it is also important for people to learn how EF receives its fiscal funding, which is through donations. Since EF Eastern Shore is a nonprofit organization, it relies solely on donations. If you are interested in donating, please visit the foundation’s website at www.the-exceptional-foundation-of-the-gulf-coast.org.

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The Hunt is On

Hunters from across the U.S. will gather at M. Barnett Lawley Forever Wild Field Trial Area near Demopolis for the Master National retriever competition to get a shot at qualifying for the highest American Kennel Club sporting dog title.

By Jeff Gill | Photography by Jeff Kennedy

The first shot is anticipated by all. As the morning fog lifts, and the birds are stacked for release, the tension is building.

The first retriever sits at the ready, anticipating the thrill of retrieval. The gunner has already shot the bird from the sky, and the retriever is released by the handler to retrieve the duck or pheasant.

Trainers and dogs alike have been competing in hunt tests around the country for the past year to hone their eyes, muscles, and skills to compete in this year’s Master National event. These American Kennel Club (AKC) sanctioned annual competitions are for dogs and their handlers, both amateur and professional.

The event is called the Master National, referring to the title that trainer-dog duos earn after qualifying by successfully completing at least six AKC Master Level Hunt Tests per year. Master National Hunter is the highest rank that the AKC places for retrieving dogs in Hunt Test Completion, and is only received after a retriever finishes as a finalist in the Master SENSE MAGAZINE | 41

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“Every dog owner should teach their dog to sit, to heal on the leash, and come. Those commands are essential to enjoying your canine as a companion and competitor alike.”—Mia DiBenedetto, The Master National Retriever Club Communications Liaison

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National training three times. When the word “competition” is used, the meaning might be a bit misplaced.

The competition lies in the ability to complete the hunt tests against the odds.

This year, the event will be held from Oct. 18 to 28 in Demopolis, Ala., and will be hosted by the Black Warrior Retriever Club. The event is always open to the public. Test runs will be held on a 4,328 acre property called The M. Barnett Lawley Forever Wild Trial Area, outside of Demopolis, Ala. Other Master National locations were in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Outdoor Alabama has cited that West Central Alabama is becoming increasingly popular for the purpose of bird dog, retrievers, and other sporting dogs, training in the winter months.

According to Mia DiBenedetto, The Master National Retriever Club’s Communications Liaison, says approximately 902 dogs qualified this

year, but the attendance will not be certain until a month before the event, though DiBenedetto predicted 650 qualifying dogs.

Many breeds of dogs can be classified as “retrievers.” Commonly, Labrador and Golden Retrievers compete. This year, for the first time, Viszlas, Weimaraners, and German Shorthaired Pointers will be allowed to compete in the Master National. Along with an annual fee, the qualification process for the Master National involves being qualified from the Master category in that fiscal year, which starts every August 1. The dog must be qualified as a Master Hunter, which follows Senior and Junior Hunter status. All of these qualifications are also sanctioned by the AKC. There are two types of tests: blind retrieves and marked retrieves. Mark retrieves allows the dog to see where the bird falls. Upon seeing the bird fall to the ground, the judge will tell the

handler to release his dog at which time the handler will send his retriever to complete the mark as part of the test.

The type of bird is dependent on the terrain to be traversed: mallard ducks are for courses that include water, and pheasants for the upland habitat and terrain.

A blind retrieve is a more advanced form of teamwork between trainer and dog. Retrievers are not allowed to see the area that the bird drops after being shot; the trainers are. After it falls, the trainer releases the dog and using a combination of whistles and hand signals, guides the dog back to the blind. “BACK!” “LEFT!” “RIGHT!” The trainer commands the dog with voice and hand motions to hone in closer and closer to the felled duck or pheasant until the dog winds it, or sees it.

Basic obedience and control are central to training a canine. “Every dog

owner should teach their dog to sit, to heal on the leash, and come. Those commands are essential to enjoying your canine as a companion and competitor alike,” says DiBenedetto.

Repetition and forming a habit every day are very important for canine retention of basic commands.

Training a dog to be a hunt test retriever involves extensive patience.

The prize, however, is a rewarding synchronicity and a tight bond between a dog and trainer. This teamwork is essential to the success of a Master National Hunter and his handler.

The 2012 American Kennel Club Master National Event in Demopolis promises to be an exciting test of cooperation and agility by both trainers and dogs in participation.

For more information, please visit www.masternational.com or www. blackwarriorretrieverclub.com.

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it Up, Man

The Success and Scope of Music Therapy

By Hannah Bruner | Illustration by Paul Wedig

Three notes—deep, deeper, then climbing upwards— echo, waves of sound spilling over one and another. Each note quivers, clings to the previous, and notes overlap as if reverberating from the high vaulted ceiling of a cathedral. A pounding beat, simple and steady joins the echoes, followed closely by a baritone voice, eerily sliding up and cascading back down a minor scale.

Without permission, that vital, pulsing metronome in my chest slows until it matches the rhythm, pound for pound. Breaths, too, puff out in tandem. Even the tap tap of fingers pressing keys merges with the drumming beat.

Only upon reflection do we note the unconscious changes the ordered sounds have spurred. Perhaps, you too have experienced a similar bodily reaction to music— whether it quickened your pulse or lulled your stress-addled brain to a more relaxed state. With these experiences in mind, the scope and success of music therapy as a viable treatment option should not come as a surprise to any of us.

Nevertheless, there is an initial amazement upon first learning of the broad range of conditions—both physical and psychological—that music therapy is used to alleviate.

Before delving into the myriad ailments with which this remarkable field tends, a brief introduction to the what and why is in order.

Music therapy is a reputable and rapidly growing health profession. Music therapists, like their counterparts in more traditional medical fields, are highly trained professionals.

In order to practice, they must complete an approved music therapy graduate program and pass the examination published by the Certification Board for Music Therapists.

With introductions out of the way, we can move on

to the why. Why is music therapy effective in treating so many very different conditions?

Perhaps, the simplest but most fundamental answer lies in the simultaneous universal and individual nature of music. Music is an important cultural aspect of any community with peoples from the most remote village of South America to the most metropolitan city in Europe enjoying and engaging in the creation of music. Music is inherent to our human nature. As Sheila Woodward argues, we are surrounded by music from our creation in the womb to our death outside it. A fetus develops hearing as early as 16 weeks after conception and is enveloped in the natural rhythms of the mother’s body—her breathing, heartbeat, and the pulse of blood.

Despite its universal nature, music is also a very individual experience. Each individual has a unique taste in music and responds differently to a piece of music than another person will. Music therapists understand that, like a musical performance, each individual is unique. Each individual’s condition is unique, and while one patient might respond positively to one treatment avenue, another may respond negatively to the same treatment. Music therapists not only understand the unique quality of their patients, they encourage it and design a plan of treatment as unique as their patients. For some, treatment might include listening to music, for another it may include vocal or instrumental exercises, for another treatment may involve musical composition, for yet another it could involve lyrical analysis.

Because humans are biologically programmed to respond to music, and because music therapists create a

therapy plan tailored to an individual’s unique experiences and response to music, this type of therapy is a proven remedy for behavioral, psychological, and physical conditions.

Music therapy is used in family and individual therapy as well as forensic settings to resolve conflicts, reduce stress and anger, and reduce aggression.

It is also used in the treatment of an array of mental disorders, including but certainly not limited to schizophrenia, autism, Alzheimer’s, dementia, anxiety, and depression. In many cases, music therapy is proven more effective than more traditional methods of treatment. One reason is the ability of music to transcend verbal communication, which is often made difficult by many of these conditions. Music offers an alternative method of expressing oneself and connecting with another human being.

Finally, music therapy is used in treating multiple physical ailments. Perhaps, chief among these is pain management, even when narcotics fail. It has also proven effective in lowering blood pressure, cortisol levels, fatigue, and heart rate. It also improves respiration and cardiac performance while reducing muscle tension.

With proven success in treating these and other disorders, why not give music therapy a chance to ease what ails you. It’s non-invasive and harm free. So, while you have nothing to lose, besides excess anxiety, you may gain a more in-tune and balanced body and mind.

To learn more about music therapy, check out the wealth of information found at www.musictherapy.org, where you can also find music therapists in your area.

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The Retriever Game The storied times of three generations who play the game.

By Frank Leatherbury | Photography by Jeff Kennedy

There are quite a few retrieving breeds out there in the world today. My experience is primarily with Labs, Goldens, and Chesapeakes. I grew up in what can be called the Retriever Game, a game that can become quite addicting. It is played by many and from all walks of life. I have met some of the most affluent people in the nation and I have had a good time with some of the most damnable and fun characters one could meet. Certainly good sportsmanship, good dogs, and variety of shotguns could be found at just about any event. The game really started in the early 1930s here in the United States.

In 1931 the Labrador Retriever Club was organized and the first field trial was held on December 21st on Robert Goelet’s 8000 acre Glenmere Court estate in Chester, New York. According to the history of the American Kennel Club (AKC) website, a couple of dozen retrievers were tested in field conditions on the estate to determine their hunting skills. The trials continued through the 1930s in the hunting tradition of the British rules until increased entries and the development of sophisticated training methods revolutionized the sport, starting in the 1940s. By the 1950s the southern clubs were gaining momentum and supported one another.

Locally, The Mobile Amateur Retriever Club (MARC) was founded along about 1952 by some local businessmen, Dr. Jack Bender, Riley Smith, W.L. “Bill” Roberts, Dr. Charles Terry, Joe Norton Jr., Harold and Bill Smith, Marshal Demouy, and Rob Leatherbury, being among the founding members.

They held their first Licensed Field trial on February 24, 1961, at Dauphin Island, Ala., which was well attended by professionals and many members of other southern and mid-west clubs.

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Three years earlier, in 1958, Rob Leatherbury, my Dad, had started Belle Shain Kennels. He was very active competing in Field Trial events nationwide and was Secretary of MARC. Belle Shain has competed actively and often ever since. Among the many fine dogs, the one that made him known the most was Field Champion (FC) Toni’s Blaine Child, who was nicknamed “Canuck”.

It was about 1966 that I entered the game as a young boy when my dad took me out to one of the club events that year. By 1970, I had my own dog and was getting expert advice and opinion from several of the club members and pros around at the time. We trained and had events mainly out in Dawes or Theodore, Ala. Riley Smith and Bill Roberts had a lot of acreage out there and Gene Kirby, who they brought in from Tennessee as a local pro, ran Spring Valley Kennels. Gene’s son, Jeff, was about my age and we were often joined by my friend James Leachman and some of Jeff’s buddies like Mike Burgess, who had such an arm he could throw ducks forever. Mike later went on to be a pretty good baseball player for Eddie Stanky who coached the University of South Alabama baseball team.

We were primarily the bird boys and gunners, who were led by a character and fine gentleman by the name of Harvey Hairston, who drove us around in an old military jeep bouncing around to the high heavens for every bump in the road. With a line of humorous comment and a cigar sticking out of the corner of his mouth he made sure everyone was taken care of and the event proceeded as planned. Usually by midday he started on the Schlitz and by the end of the day he didn’t mind us sneaking one ourselves, which we did.

There were some other characters such as Frank “Pancho” Mathews who was married to a girl over in Louisiana that was the McIlhenny family of Tabasco fame. Pancho had a

great sense of humor and did not mind sharing it, especially with the ladies.

After MARC was founded, Rob Leatherbury was asked to help start the South Louisiana Retriever Club. It was about 1965 and some of the founding members of that club were having their first licensed field trial on the Bonne Carre spillway. These members at the time included Able and Virgie DuTreil, Stan Turner, Felix Chatelain, John F. ”Jack” White.

Jack White and Rob Leatherbury became good friends of Tommy Sorenson who today has been inducted into the Retriever Hall of Fame. Sorenson at the time was one of the best pros around and hailed from Wentzville, Missouri, near St. Louis, Mo. The Memphis Amateur Retriever Club was the first club in the South and has a storied history with Nash Buckingham, Frank Camp, Bobby Pidgeon, Scrammy Wade, Charlie Bunn and others.

The Retriever Game was really taking hold nationwide in the 1960s and 70s, and it was because of the people that participated who were so giving and committed to the sport.

Because I was always along for the ride, Rob Leatherbury and Tommy Sorenson were always introducing me to so many wonderful people that made the game what it was during this time. T. W. “Cotton” Pershall (wife Mayreene) who trained for Mr. John Olin’s Nilo Kennels of St. Louis and Albany, Ga., trained FC King Buck. Olin owned King Buck who in 1959 was the first dog and I think only dog, on the Federal Duck Stamp. King Buck is still probably the best retriever ever, having finished 83 out of a possible 85 national series in the National Field Trial events, and winning it three times.

To my knowledge no other dog has even come close.

It was through Tommy Sorenson and Dad that I met Mr. and Mrs. Mahlon B. Wallace. They were from the St. Louis

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area and she was a member of the Anheuser Busch Family.

Mr. Mahlon and Ms. Audie owned Casa Audlon Kennels and Tom Sorenson trained for them almost exclusively for a time. Others that contributed so much and were linked to the Mobile Amateur through Rob Leatherbury were Tony & Del Buerger of Del-Tone Kennels. Tony trained NFC Cork of Oakwood Land, NFC Del-Tone Colvin &Nat’l Derby Champion Del-Tone Buck. Mrs. C.V. Brokaw from New York employed a pro trainer by the name of Charlie Kostrewski, who was a great personality, to train and handle.

Roger Vassellais drove a “red custom pickup with mahogany dog boxes” on the back and was a stock broker on Wall St. His wife “Pert,” later married Billy Wunderlich, another retriever Hall of Famer, after Roger died.

All through the 30s and into the 70s the retriever

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game was filled with great sportsmen and characters that meant so much and gave so much to the early growth of the sport. It was no doubt a competitive game, but it was also a social game, and you played because you enjoyed not only the challenge but the camaraderie of the people who were playing and developing the game with you. The field of registered retrievers grew from only 64 dogs in 1926 to 233,551 retrievers registered with AKC in 2001.

Dad and I have watched the sport grow since the 60s.

Belle Shain Kennels now competes in AKC Hunt tests which allow the dogs to compete against a qualifying standard rather than each other. For that reason, Rob Leatherbury along with Brian Schaffer and others founded the Lower Alabama Hunting Retriever Club. Belle Shain continues to help grow the sport of AKC Hunt Tests. Dad still has some of the best

dogs in the country and now has a granddaughter, Isabel, competing in the sport with him. Together we represent three generations who have been “hooked on the retriever game” and I hope that it continues.

The AKC Hunt Test offers titles and awards for Junior Hunter, Senior Hunter, and Master Hunter. A gentleman who was active with AKC and retrievers by the name of Nelson Sills suggested a Master Hunter competition. Once approved by AKC, the Master National was born. This year we will be competing again in the Master National which will be held at the M. Barnett Lawley Forever Wild Field Trial Area in Greensboro, Al. Just a few of the Alabama clubs to use it are Black Warrior Hunting Retriever Club, Lower Alabama Hunting Retriever Club, North Alabama Retriever Club, and MARC. Almost a thousand retrievers are qualified

and owners along with the dog handlers will attend the event bringing a couple of thousand people to the Greensboro and Demopolis area injecting much needed economic growth. The Master National will be held October 18th to 28th. People will start arriving to the area in September in preparation for training. It is probable that the event will generate at least 2.5 million in direct dollars spent for food, lodging, fuel and other purposes.

Only a few years in the making, The M. Barnett Lawley Forever Wild Field Trial Area is growing into the premier Field Trial and Hunt Test area in all of North America.

For more information, please visit www.BelleShainKennels.com and www.LowerAlabamaHRC.com.

History of the Game 1884—The American Kennel Club (AKC) was founded, holding its first meeting in Philadelphia and then formally adopting bylaws and organizing as an official club at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

1926—64 dogs registered with AKC 1931—The Labrador Retriever Club was organized and the first field trial was held on the 8000 acre Glenmere Court estate of Robert Goelet in Chester, N.Y. 1930s—Trials continue in the hunting tradition of British rules until more entries, and the development of sophisticated training methods, assured the impracticality of British trialing procedure in America.

1940s—Controlling the dogs by whistle, voice, and hand commands (handling) revolutionizes the sport.

1950s—Southern clubs begin to gain momentum.

1952—The Mobile Amateur Retriever Club was founded by local businessmen, Dr. Jack Bender, Riley Smith, W.L. “Bill” Roberts, Dr. Charles Terry, Joe Norton Jr., Harold and Bill Smith, Marshal Demouy, Rob Leatherbury, among the several who were interested in the sport.

1959—King Buck is the first dog on the Federal Duck Stamp in honor of the contribution retrievers make to waterfowl conservation.

1961—The Mobile Amateur Retriever Club holds their first Licensed Field trial at Dauphin Island, Ala. on February 24th.

1984—The first AKC sanctioned Hunting Retriever Field Trial was held in Richmond, Va. 1985—The first AKC licensed Hunt Tests were held by the East Texas Retriever Club and the JayHawk Retriever Club of St. Joseph, KS. 1991—The first Master National Hunting Test for Retrievers was held in Chesapeake City, MD. on September 15th.

2001—233,551 with AKC.

retrievers

registered

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Catching Up with Charles Wood

Q &

A

He is just getting started

By Jamie McFaden | Photo by Frank Lee Roberts

Sumi-e art student, organizer of an authentic Japanese stroll garden, special needs advocate, husband, father, and innovator Charles Wood is far from retired at 92 years old. In fact, one might say he is just getting started. Sense sat down with him to talk about his community involvement, personal philosophies, and how to leave this world a better place.

Most people at your age are retired, but you serve as president of the board of directors of the Japanese Garden Foundation, Inc., you tend the Japanese Garden regularly, and you are heavily involved with the Arc of Mobile. Where do you find the motivation and the energy to stay so active?

I don’t like to say I’m “retired.” I just tell people I’ve changed occupations. Retirement is something people should remove from their vocabulary. Have a purpose—something that gets you up in the morning. They say you don’t get old, you just get tired of being young, but I feel as good as I ever did.

You’ve got to stay busy. I’ve worked all my life and I like to work. A Lazy Boy chair, CNN, Fox News, and ice cream in the fridge will kill you faster than anything else. I believe man is made to stay on his feet as long as he can walk. When you leave this earth, you should leave something that benefits humanity.

With your work with the Japanese Garden, you have become familiar with Japanese art and culture. What have you found most interesting about their way of life?

When I got into Oriental art, I realized it wasn’t a thing of beauty so much as it was a feeling that gave you a real kinship to nature. The art is spiritual. It puts you in the clouds. The garden is set up in a way to reflect this spirituality.

How can we benefit from the Japanese culture?

When I went to Japan, there was a real respect for the family name. They took care of their old people; they don’t put them away. Their dress, mannerisms, and politeness—it’s all very respectful.We need to adopt some of the Asian culture here. I look at today with people in our area—even grown people—sagging their pants below the waistline. That just doesn’t look good. The Japanese focus on respect. I could drop my billfold in Tokyo, and there’s a 99 percent chance that it would be returned to me with everything in it. I also really admire the way the Japanese honor nature and animals.

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You honor the connection between living things and nature. Why is this relationship so important?

If you don’t honor the connection between living things, if you don’t respect the trees, shrubs, and animals, they can be destroyed. If we are to stay healthy, we need healthy foods, and man exists on what the earth produces. My longevity—for all that it is—can be attributed to eating a lot of vegetables and a lot of fruits. These are those living things we should take care of. You have got to protect the environment and your food chain.

And people can contribute to leave the world better off—even if it’s just planting a tree.

Tell us how you became involved with both organizations, Mobile Association for Retarded Citizens (The Arc of Mobile) and The Arc of Alabama.

My son, Bill, is what they call special needs. He changed my life. Some people say that they’re sorry when I tell them that, but I say, “Wait a minute. He’s the best thing that ever happened to me!” He’s the one who got me started. I have more feeling for people since having Bill. He sent me in a different direction.

We started these programs as a bunch of parents who had kids like that. The asylums they were being placed in were full of horrors before. We sought to provide them with an outlet. These special people in our centers [Moorer Learning Center, Delchamps Center, Marc Enterprises Central, and Marc Enterprises Southern] are able to create something and say, “I did that.” There’s even an art show where they showcase their work at the Mobile Museum of Art. We call it the Very Special Arts. At Marc Enterprises Central and Southern, we are teaching these people how to work. We make plant sleeves and produce 4,000 heads of butterhead lettuce. When we do this, we designate the jobs based on each person’s functionality level. It’s the first time any of these individuals have seen a paycheck, and it just really gives them something to feel good about.

What is it that you would like people to know about the special needs community?

First off, I don’t like to use the term “disability.” These are people with special skills— with abilities. “Dis” has a negative connotation. I’d like to change the perception that people have about the MR community. They’re not dangerous. They are some of the happiest people you’ll ever want to know. My son is always smiling, always happy. So when things are bad for me, I look at him and it just really makes me think.

I’d like for us to train people at universities to know how to work with these people.

Existing programs always need money as well. We’re non-profit, but some people just don’t know what we’re doing with the work programs. People need to get involved with the legislature. I would love for more people to join the Arc of Mobile.

What do you want your legacy to be?

That I have contributed to the betterment of mankind. My family is something I’m so proud of—that, and the love that I have for them. That’s pretty much it in a nutshell.

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Isabella’s Fig Trees A Legend of Dauphin Island | By John Robert Peavy

On the southern coast of Alabama, guarding the west side of the entrance to Mobile Bay lies Dauphin Island, rich in history and tradition.

Here, about the year 1500, landed Amerigo Vespucci, and hardly one of the early Spanish explorers who followed Vespucci failed to mention this beautiful Island and the large Bay to the North. Here was a favorite stopping place for these adventures, and many are the stirring tales related in their reports to their superiors. Here also have survived many traditions, which, handed down from generation to generation by the natives on the island, add romance to the prosaic history. Stories of love and treasure troves; laughter and tears; and pirate lore.

Of all the stories told about the island, none is more interesting than the one told so often that Isabella, wife of Hernando de Soto, planted the fig trees that grow so luxuriantly on the Island. Some of the figs are as large as the fist and of little taste, but others, smaller in size, are of a most excellent flavor.

Historically, there is no positive proof of this tradition, but I will endeavor to show by applying the laws of psychology, heredity, deduction, and probability, to known historical facts that Dona de Soto can be placed on Dauphin Island without conflicting with a single recorded historical fact.

To apply the laws of heredity, it is necessary to study the history of Isabella’s parents. Her father was Pedrarius d’Avilla, Governor of the West Indies, whose character may be surmised by his nickname, “Furor Domini,” which may be freely translated, “The Wrath of God.” He was a member of the Spanish nobility, being the Conde’ de Punonrostro. His wife was Isabella de Bobadilla, whose family also was one of the most prominent of Old Spain. Her character may be deduced from the following story: when her husband joined the expedition to conquer Peru, Don d’Avila left her eight children behind and went along. She and her husband both took part in the perilous campaign, and shared in its hardships. “Furor Domini” did not survive the expedition. His wife returned a widow.

In the role of a mother with many beautiful daughters for whom she must secure suitable husbands, she again proved her mettle. Isabella de Bobadilla married her eldest to Balboa, discoverer of the Pacific Ocean, and her youngest, also named Isabella, to Hernando de Soto.

Hernando de Soto was a mere soldier of fortune when he joined Fernando Pizarro in the expedition to Peru, but by his bravery and daring he elevated himself to a position of trust, and before the conquest was completed he had become one of Pizarro’s chief lieutenants, and in the division of spoils, his share was sufficient to make him a rich man. It is small wonder then that soon after the return of de Soto, Dona d’Avilla, and other survivors of the expedition of the West Indies, de Soto became the husband of Isabella d’Avilla. At this time, de Soto was about forty years old, and his wife less than half that age.

The psychology of this difference in ages may have some bearing on the events which follow.

With his wife and her mother, de Soto returned to Sevilla in Old Spain, and set up housekeeping in a manner befitting 52 | SEPTEMBER 2012

Gwin’s Publishing printed Isabella’s Fig Trees by John Robert Peavy (1941), a historical novella was sold on Dauphin Island in the 1960s. In honor of our barrier island, Dauphin Island, Sense reprints this story as it was originally published as a means of reflecting on a time of discovery.

people of wealth. He presented himself at the Court of Charles V, and was appointed Governor of Cuba and Adelanto of la Florida, with authority to organize and lead an expedition to colonize the latter country.

Despite the unfavorable reports brought back to Spain by Cabeza de Vaca, who with two others were all the returned to Spain from the expedition to colonize la Florida which had been headed by de Narvaez twelve years earlier, de Soto had no lack of applicants to accompany him. Everyone was fired with thoughts of adventure and fortune to be found in the new country.

The first to join were two of his comrades in Peru, Luis Moscoso and Nuno de Tobar’. From de Soto’s home town of Badajoz, came many, among whom were his kinsmen, Pedro Calderon, Gomez Arias, and Diego Tinoso. From Elvas just across the border in Portugal, came a company of wealthy Portuguese kept a journal of the expedition which was later published as a “True Relation of Events” which occurred on the expedition and the author signed himself merely “A Portuguese Gentleman.” However, it is generally believed that the author was a Vasconcelos.

In January, 1539, the six hundred selected by de Soto were gathered in the front of the new Cathedral for final inspection.

Incorporated as a part of this Cathedral was the old Moorish tower, more than two hundred feet high. From the tower, the Muezzin of Mohammedan days had called the faithful to prayers; now from its balcony were gathered priests to pray for blessing on the great expedition which was to extend the influence of the Catholic religion in the New World.

Rodrigo Rangel was appointed by de Soto to be his private secretary. He also kept a journal of the expedition.

Juan de Anasco was made Treasurer.

Seven ships were made ready, and with all on board, sailed down the Guadalquivir River to San Lucar. They passed over the bar off San Lucar on Sunday, St. Lazarus’ Day, and two weeks later reached the Canary Islands.

Governor Bobadilla of the Canary Islands was a brother of Isabella de Bobadilla, and therefore the uncle of Dona de Soto.

He entertained a handmaiden, named Leonora, who was his own illegitimate daughter and first cousin to her mistress.

Heredity had its influence on Leonora also, and she was later to prove a disturbing influence on the expedition.

At last they arrived at Santiago de Cuba on Pentecost Day, and weeks of festivity and celebration followed. Here it developed that Leonora de Bobadilla had been most indiscreet, and the wrath of de Soto descended upon the head of Nuno de Tobar’. To avoid being slain by de Soto, de Tobar’ consented to become the husband of Leonora, with all the benefits bestowed by clergy. This was probably the first “shot gun” or “sword point” wedding in the New World.

During their stay in Santiago, de Soto, his wife, and Andre’ de Vasconcelos stayed at a country estate near the city. Here they all became very much interested in the tropical fruits to be found in Cuba and the narrative of the “Portuguese Gentleman” describing the de Soto expedition goes into details as to these

fruits. He describes the native figs as being “almost as large as the fist, yellow within and of little flavor.” There were also the smaller and sweeter variety imported from Spain, as well as lemons, oranges, bananas, and grapefruit. I think that here was born the idea of transplanting these fruits to la Florida, otherwise, why should they have received so much attention in a narrative purely historical, a “true relation of events,” as the author calls it?

From Santiago, de Soto sent some of the men and all of the women by boar to Havana, while he, and his hardy company, made the trip overland. When de Soto reached Havana, the ships had not arrived, having been blown by a tropical storm to the coast of Florida. The women almost perished of hunger.

They did arrive at last, however, but de Soto had, by this time, come to the decision that this expedition was no place for women, and that no more delays would be tolerated on account of their presence. Probably, here began the first family quarrel.

Nevertheless the ships sailed away, and the women were left behind.

This expedition reached Tampa Bay without mishap and camp was established on shore from which expeditions were sent to explore the surrounding country from many miles around. One of these parties captured what they supposed to be an Indian. The man turned out to be a survivor of the expedition of de Narvaez, whose name was Juan Ortiz. Ortiz had been held prisoner by the Indians, and had learned to speak their language. His knowledge of the Indians, their language and the country, was to prove invaluable to de Soto.

Through Ortiz, de Soto learned that the expedition of de Narvaez had last been heard from the Apalache Bay, about one hundred leagues west. He determined that he would try to solve the mystery of the disappearance of this expedition and, if possible, locate the survivors.

De Soto sent some of his ships back to Havana under Arias and Anasco with presents for Dona de Soto, consisting chiefly of captive Indians, taken in battle. Leaving the rest of the ships in Tampa Bay under Pedro Caleron, de Soto started his march northwestward, and finally made his way to Apalache Bay. Here he learned that de Narvaez had indeed been in this country, and had stated southward toward the Gulf. He also learned from the Indians that there was a large and commodious bay farther west, known as Ochusse, which was regarded as a safe harbor.

Flowing into the head of the bay was a large and muddy river, which flowed through a country ruled by a great Indian chief (Tuskaloosa) who was lord over all the lesser chiefs, and ruled the tribes along this river and its tributaries.

De Soto decided that before he left this area he would have this region explored. He therefore sent word back to Calderon to bring the ships along the coast and meet him at the mouth of Apalache Bay. In the meantime, he searched the shores of the Bay and the Gulf for signs of de Narvaez, and at last found a sort of makeshift ship year, where, from the evidence left, it was easily deduced that here the survivors of the de Narvaez expedition had built a ship and sailed out into the Gulf. They

were never heard from again.

The ships and Calderon arrived in due time. De Soto took Francisco Maldonado, who had been his Captain of Infantry, and made him Commander of the Fleet. His first duty was to sail west and locate and explore Ochusse Bay. Maldonado was gone much longer than de Soto expected, and his follower’s grew tired of waiting. While the Reason for Maldonado’s delay is not stated, it is very probable that he stopped first in Pensacola Bay and made a survey of the river at the head, and finding that it was not navigable, went further on and explore Mobile Bay, which he decided was Ochusse. In the meantime, de Soto’s men were becoming very restless to begin their search for gold. De Soto asked for eight days more, at the end of which time, if Maldonado had not returned, he agreed to leave Apalache.

Before the expiration of the eight days, however, Maldonado returned and gave a glowing account of Ochusse and the large river flowing into the head of the Bay. De Soto decided that Ochusse would be his first premeditated stop. He instructed Maldonado to return to Cuba, load the ships with supplies, and meet him the following summer in Ochusse. He, himself, with his followers, continued this march northeastward.

By this time, de Soto had formed a pretty fair idea of the country north, west and east of Apalache through information gained by Juan Ortiz from friendly Indians and captives. He undoubtedly knew something of the large river which emptied into Ochusse Bay, and in planning his route he certainly did so with the end in view of joining Maldonado and the fleet in Ochusse. Therefore, since he followed south along the Alabama River to keep this rendezvous, he did so knowing that it would bring him to Ochusse. Definitely, then, Ochusse, as known to de Soto, could have been no other than Mobile Bay. For the proceeding events in this narrative, there is historical proof in the journals of Rangel and the “Portuguese Gentleman.” What follows is based on the laws heretofore mentioned. This evidence, while not “confirmation strong as proofs of Holy Writ,” is, at least, a logical filling in of the gaps left by historians in describing the events of this period.

Francisco Maldonado took the ships back to Havana and began to load supplies for the colony which he was certain would be established somewhere on the shores of Bay Ochusse.

Beside the usual supplies of foodstuffs, he took on board fruit trees, figs, oranges, bananas, and grapefruit. Also hogs, goats, and cattle. Before the winter was past, everything was ready.

Juan de Anasco, who was de Soto’s treasurer, and who had returned to Cuba from Tampa Bay with the ships which had brought back the presents from de Soto to his wife, he had also spent the winter in Havana and had aided in getting supplies ready. He paid all the bills and the ships were ready to sail.

Maldonado, with Anasco and Gomez Arias, made all the arrangements for sailing a repaired to the house of ViceGovernor Rojas, who had been left by de Soto to rule Cuba during his absence. They thought they were coming to bid Dona de Soto farewell, but they were mistaken. Here, unless the laws of heredity fail completely, Isabella de Soto set her pretty little foot down and defied them to sail without her. The end of the argument was that Dona de Soto, with Leonora and her Indian slaves, who were now devoted to her, were on board when the ships sailed the next morning.

Spring had not yet come, but the eager party could not wait for summer. Being too early to the tropical storms, the voyage was pleasant, and in due course Maldonado sailed to the mouth of Mobile Bay and anchored in the harbor lying between Dauphin Island and Pelican Island. This harbor at that time had ample depth and seemed to be well sheltered. They were early for the rendezvous, as de Soto had not yet reached the Coosa country.

A party sent to survey the Island near which they were anchored, reported that it was about two leagues long and onehalf a league wide, heavily timbered north of the sand dunes and ample vegetation to support the animals. These, accordingly, were sent ashore. To those doubting Thomas’s who have to have proof; I will say that the Island is full of goats to this day.

Isabella decided to explore the Island. Going ashore with Leonora and her captive salves, she was delighted with what she found, the immense sand dunes fifty feet high and miles long, with thousand acres of immense pine trees, and especially the large Indian mounds on the north side of the Island. Just south of the Indian mounds was a level space with soil of unbelievable richness, sheltered from storms by the sand dunes and virgin pines and from the north winds by the shell mounds. Here, Isabella decided to plant her garden.

She ordered the fruit trees and vegetable seeds sent ashore, and the garden was planted. The richness of the plot was due to the fact that it was a burial ground of an ancient race; giants, if one judged by the size of the skeletons uncovered by the planting operations. The shell mounds were on the shore of a small bar, lying between the large Island and a smaller island, which almost met in a crescent at the eastern end, being separated by a narrow inlet. This pass is now called by the natives Pass Adjure’, but is shown on the government charts as Pass Drury. At the western end of this bay, a long point runs northward from the large islands and thus forms the perfect landlocked harbor, although the water is only four or five feet deep. This point was called by Isabella, Point Chugay, after the sound made by the numerous frogs which lived in the marches along the shore.

Here Isabella and Leonora had cabins erected of pine logs, and spent the days of waiting very happily, watching the vegetables grow and the fig trees putting out their new green shoots. The oranges and grapefruit also gave indications that they might thrive, but the lemon and banana trees died.

Raking among the shells, which formed the mounds one day, Isabella uncovered a small black idol carved from stone which had negroid features. The Indians looked at the idol with awe. One, who was older and wiser than the rest, told Isabella that there was a legend of a warlike race that had lived here long before the Indians came. This idol was undoubtedly on these mounds. Among the oyster shells were also found many bones, all of which were broken. The old Indian explained that victories were celebrated by eating the captives and topping off with oysters and fish. The bones were broken so that the marrow antedated any known civilization.

The mounds are covered with large live oak trees. However, tradition does not say they were planted by Isabella. The love of the natives for these trees amounts almost to veneration. Once a youth killed one of these trees, and was driven from the Island by the angered natives, never to return. The skeleton of this tree is still known as “Banishment Oak.” Thus passed the summer, and as the days began to grow shorter, the entire party went aboard the ship and moved up the head of the Bay, opposite where the City of Mobile now lies.

The muddy river had so many mouths, Maldonado would not take the ship any further, fearing he would choose the wrong channel and thus miss de Soto. Here some of the Indian slaves went ashore and returned with rumors that a large party of white men were in the Coosa country and apparently following the river southward. There was little doubt that this was the party of de Soto. Maldonado sent a canoe party up the river to seek further news.

Rumors of the approach of the white men came thicker.

Tales of their cruelty had filled the natives with terror.

One morning the boat which Maldonado had sent out with scouts to search for news was seen coming rapidly down

the river. They were bearers of good news. They had seen the party of de Soto. He was already headed this way and not more than seven days journey distant. Seven days passed slowly and, at last, on October 20, 1540, the scouts on the shore reported that natives, wounded and bleeding, were fleeing southward.

They reported a great battle up the river at an Indian town named Mauvilla which had taken place two days before. Many white men and thousands of Indians had been killed.

Canoes passed which were filled with frightened Indians.

Dona de Soto called Maldonado and begged him to send someone to get news and also to carry news to de Soto.

Maldonado sent two scouts and two of the captive Indians.

Four days later the canoe returned and in it were six men. With high hopes Isabella and Leonora leaned over the rail of the ship as the boats drew nearer. She soon recognized one of the men, Rodrigo Rangel, who was secretary to de Soto.

“My husband, is he well? Tell me quickly Rodrigo.”

“He is well in body, but sick in heart, Dona Isabella,” relayed Rangel.

“Is he on his way here?”

Rangel shook his head as he and the stranger climbed aboard, “This is Juan Ortiz,” said he, “Whom I brought along as interpreter; he was a member of the expedition of Panfilio de Narvaez, captured by the Indians and held prisoner for twelve years.” Dona de Soto, however, was not interested in Juan Ortiz.

“Tell me quickly your message.”

“My message is for Captain Maldonado to go back to Cuba, wait one year, and then seek the mouth of the Rio Grande (Mississippi) which lies one hundred leagues to the west and await him there.”

“Did he know I was on board this ship?” asked Isabella.

“He did, and he said you had disobeyed him when you came aboard; he was not pleased.”

Something died in Isabella’s heart and a surge of anger took its place. She hardly heard Rangel as he continued.

“Ortiz, here, is the man who talked with your messengers and who delivered your message to your husband. He instructed Ortiz to tell no one that the ships were waiting. His men are sick, sore, and disheartened. They are ready to quit. He knows that if he brought them down the river to the ships, he would never get them to go back again. Many have been killed, others are wounded, and all are in low spirits.”

“Why then does he not give up and come back to me?”

“Because he prefers death to failure. He does not know what it means to give up. He has so far found no gold, only a few pearls of little value. Besides he has learned of a larger river to the west in comparison with which this one is but the tiny stream. He thinks beyond this he will find gold. This river is called by the Indians the Great River, Rio Grande, and while its head is far to the north it flows into the same Gulf as this river.

His message is as I have told you. My instructions are to take this canoe, with Juan Ortiz and Juan de Anasco, leaving the rest of your men here and to return to him, not by the route we came, but by another river which comes into this one, twenty leagues to the north. We will meet him at the White Bluff on the east bank of this river many leagues from here.”

Dona de Soto turned and slowly made her way to her cabin. There Maldonado found her later, not in tears, as he expected, but with a set, stony look in her eyes.

“They are gone?” she said. Maldonado nodded.

“You should go to Leonora,” said Maldonado. “Her husband is dead. After you left, Rangel brought the news that in the battle several days ago, Nuno de Tobar’ was among those killed.” Leonora, however, was dry eyed also. Her passion for Tobar’ long ago burned itself out, and she was suffering more from shock than from sorrow.

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“Perhaps you suffer less,” said Isabella, “in the certainty of your knowledge than I do in the uncertainty of mine; it would seem that Hernando loves me no longer, else how could he be so hard and cruel?”

Both girls went on deck just in time to see Rangel wave a last farewell as his boat disappeared around the bend.

Maldonado stood beside them in silence, as also did Gomez Arias. The eyes of both expressed sympathy.

“Tell all my Indians they are free,” said Isabella. “Give them presents and let them go.”

There were tears in the eyes of some of the Indians as they said goodbye sadly, clutching to their breasts the beads and other trinkets which Maldonado passed out with a free hand.

Much as they had learned to love Isabella, this was their native land and they had no desire to return with the ships to Cuba.

One by one they went over the side onto the boat which was to put them ashore.

“Shall we carry out the Governor’s instructions?” asked Maldonado.

“In part,” replied Isabella. “We will not go to Cuba, however. We have ample supplies. We will return to my Island and wait there. Next year we will go to the mouth of the Rio Grande.”

Early the next morning, they weighed anchor and sailed down the broad expanse of Bay Ochusse. The next day they reached the Island at the mouth of the Bay and dropped anchor near the eastern end. In one of the smaller boats, Isabella and Leonora sailed through Pass Adjure’ and landed at the shell mounds.

Besides the usual supplies of food, Isabella had them bring ashore some bricks which Maldonado said would be useful in lining the well which they would dig to get a supply of water, as there were no springs on the Island. The well was dug, and lined with bricks, using mortar formed with lime obtained by burning the oyster shells. This spot is known as the “Lime house” to this day. In one side of the well was constructed an alcove, or recess, in which Isabella placed her jewels and gold, of which she had a plentiful supply. If anyone doubts the truths of this, the well is still there to speak for itself. Around the well was built a stockade which enclosed the log cabins used by Isabella and Leonora. Just outside was erected the abode of Maldonado and Arias. Some of the sailors lived on the ships, some camped on Point Chugay, some on the sand dunes where they could watch for hostile forces.

The vegetables and fruit trees were thriving. The ground seemed especially adapted to the fig trees, and Isabella took a great delight in watching their growth. It cannot be said that she watered them with her tears, because she never wept. On the contrary, she seemed to grow more cheerful as the days passed by.

Isabella and Leonora found plenty to do, exploring the Island, bathing in the Gulf, catching oysters and fish in the little Bay, and searching among the shells for antiquarian relics, of which they found a large number. The time passed rapidly.

Several times parties of Indians stated over from the mainland, but fled in terror at the sight of the white men.

Leonora seemed to be forgetting Nuno de Tobar’ in the company of Gomez Arias.

Isabella and Francisco Maldonado were thrown much together. More and more, Isabella began to realize his good qualities. He was always gentle and kind to her, which could not be said of her husband. One afternoon as they watched the sun go down over Point Chugay, their fingers touched and with hands clasped for a moment, they stood facing each other. Then Isabella turned quickly and ran to her cabin, all out of breath.

From then on, there was constraint between them. No word of love passed their lips, but their eyes spoke volumes.

The summer passed. Again preparations were made to sail.

Isabella gathered a basket of fruit from her fig trees, and bade them farewell.

Francisco lowered a ladder in the well, and told Isabella he would get her treasures for her.

“No,” she told him. “Seal the well over and cover it with shells so they will not be disturbed. Someday I am coming back.”

The long journey to the westward, the years of fruitless waiting and searching, and at last the news of de Soto’s death, are not a part of this story, which has to do with the fig trees on Dauphin Island.

History said that when Isabella heard the news of de Soto’s death, she died of a broken heard. But you and I know that by all the law of heredity, such a thing could never have happened to the daughter of Dona d’Avilla and Furor Domini.

LITERATI SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: Sense invites you to submit edgy, eclectic pieces. We welcome short fiction, essays, humor, and poetry submissions. Rights to the material submitted remain those of its author, who is protected under Creative Commons licenses. We reserve the right to choose all materials that appear in the publication. For more detailed submission information, email editor@thesenseofitall.com.

54 | SEPTEMBER 2012

THE END

Without the University of South Alabama Medical Center, our son would not be with us today.

It’s every parent’s nightmare. Our son, Brandon, riding home from school, was in a bad car wreck. He was taken to the Trauma Center at USA Medical Center in critical condition, on life support and with little hope of survival.

Thankfully, the Trauma Center doctors and nurses never gave up. As Mobile’s only Level One Trauma Center, they treat the most serious of injuries. They had the education, heart and faith to save our child’s life.

Today, Brandon is back in high school. Without the USA Medical Center, he would not be with us.

We are forever grateful.

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA

-Mike and Kelly Cooper Parents of Brandon Norwood, Mary G. Montgomery High School student Pictured from left, Emmie Lynn Cooper, Mike Cooper, Brandon Norwood, Kelly Cooper, Blake Wade

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MEDICAL CENTER The highest level of care. www.usahealthsystem.com/usamc

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