WALKER PERCY’S BIRMINGHAM • PASTA NIGHT AT THE GRAND BOHEMIAN • A (MITCHELL’S) PLACE FOR ALL
THE DUNGAN SOUL OF DESIGN JAMMING WITH RIVERBEND
STEPPING INTO
Style
WITH MEGAN LARUSSA
MARCH/APRIL 2019 MountainBrookMagazine.com Volume Three | Issue Two $4.95
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2 March/April 2019
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4 March/April 2019
The connection to his hand is just as important as the connection to his chest. A COMMUNITY BUILT ON WARMTH We never forget that there’s more to care than medicine. There’s compassion. Attentiveness. And a healthy dose of kindness. Which is why when it comes to your care, all of us are here to treat you well. Find a physician at BrookwoodBaptistHealth.com Brookwood Baptist Medical Center | Citizens Baptist Medical Center | Princeton Baptist Medical Center | Shelby Baptist Medical Center | Walker Baptist Medical Center
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FEATURES
52
ONE OF OUR OWN Novelist Walker Percy grew up in a bustling Birmingham, and if you look closely, you’ll see that setting reappear in his writing.
58
CURATING CHIC
71
SPEAKING THE SAME LANGUAGE How Mitchell’s Place is expanding its educational and therapeutic mission to all families.
6 March/April 2019
PHOTO BY CHRIS BRYANT
Megan LaRussa talks about her road back home and how she coaches women to embrace their own style evolution.
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33 PHOTO BY MARY FEHR
arts & culture
19 The Beat Goes On: The Brotherhood of Riverbend 26 Read This Book: Jim Noles’ (Historical) Books of the Year
schools & sports
27 Crush Day Stress: A Toothpick Challenge at MBHS
food
& drink
33 Friday Night DIY: Pasta Making at the Grand Bohemian
home
& style
in every issue 6 Contributors 7 From the Editor 9 #MountainBrookMag 11 The Question 13 The Guide 78 Chamber Connections 80 Out & About 86 Marketplace 88 My Mountain Brook
39 The Soul of Design: Jeffrey Dungan’s Timeless Houses 49 At Home: New Traditional Style Profile 50 In Style: Shining Bright for Spring
special advertising section 65 Builders & Buyers: A Guide to Resources for Your Home
MountainBrookMagazine.com 7
MOUNTAIN BROOK
contributors
MAGAZINE
EDITORIAL
Graham Brooks Stephen Dawkins Alec Etheredge Briana Harris Madoline Markham Keith McCoy Emily Sparacino Neal Wagner
CONTRIBUTORS
Milan Ballard Jessica Clement Isabel Elkus Mary Fehr Madison Freeman Eleanor Kerr Patrick McGough Tracey Rector Jackson Ross Christiana Roussel Matthew Stokes Lauren Ustad Rebecca Wise
DESIGN
Connor Bucy Jamie Dawkins Kate Sullivan
MARKETING
Kristy Brown Kari George Rachel Henderson Daniel Holmes Rhett McCreight Kim McCulla Kerrie Thompson
ADMINISTRATION Hailey Dolbare Mary Jo Eskridge Katie McDowell Stacey Meadows Tim Prince
Jessica Clement, Stylist
Jessica Clement has been passionate about interior design and decorating since childhood. She graduated with a degree in interior design from the University of Alabama and now has her own locally based design company, JMC Studio. As an interior designer, she believes that welldesigned interiors should tell the story about the people who live there and takes pride in creating aesthetically beautiful and functional spaces.
Isabel Elkus, Writer
Isabel is a junior at Mountain Brook High School, where she writes for the school’s newspaper, The Sword & Shield. Isabel enjoys spending time with her family and friends exploring all that Mountain Brook has to offer.
Patrick McGough, Photographer
Born and raised in Mountain Brook, Patrick has had a passion for photography from when he bought his first cardboard box camera in a flea market at the age of 12. That passion has taken him all over the South and abroad on many assignments and projects. Every shoot creates an opportunity to meet new people and to explore ideas and locations. Whether shooting businesses, families, or individuals, he strives to capture the most fun, genuine and unique images for his clients.
Matthew Stokes, Writer
Matthew Stokes is a writer living in Birmingham. He is an adjunct instructor in the Core Texts Program at Samford University, and a regular contributor to the Alabama Daily News. Born in New Orleans and living most of his adult life in Birmingham, he’s sort of a reverse Walker Percy. Husband to one and father to three, he loves his dogs, jazz and the scones at Continental Bakery.
Mountain Brook Magazine is published bimonthly by Shelby County Newspapers Inc., P.O. Box 947, Columbiana, AL 35051. Mountain Brook Magazine is a registered trademark. All contents herein are the sole property of Shelby County Newspapers Inc. [the Publisher]. No part of this periodical may be reproduced without written permission from the Publisher. Please address all correspondence (including but not limited to letters, story ideas and requests to reprint materials) to: Editor, Mountain Brook Magazine, P.O. Box 947, Columbiana, AL 35051. Mountain Brook Magazine is mailed to select households throughout Mountain Brook, and a limited number of free copies are available at local businesses. Please visit MountainBookMagazine.com for a list of those locations. Subscriptions are available at a rate of $16.30 for one year by visiting MountainBrookMagazine.com or calling (205) 669-3131, ext. 532. Advertising inquiries may be made by emailing advertise@mountainbrookmagazine.com, or by calling (205) 669-3131, ext. 536.
8 March/April 2019
from the editor
A
ON THE COVER
Fashion Maven
Megan LaRussa advises women on style from the streets where she grew up. Photo by Mary Fehr Design by Connor Bucy
As I sat down to “coffee” (more like afternoon snacks) with the high school seniors (and one college freshman) who make up the band Riverbend, they quickly started cutting up with each other. Quickly I knew that my challenge would be to let the personality of their quirky brotherhood shine through in the narrative I’d write about them for this issue, but it’s one that was undeniably tied to place too. River Bend Road, where they rehearsed for years, was where their name came from, and their early shows were in front of Otey’s Tavern or in a front yard in Crestline before making it to big venues like Sloss Furnaces. A few weeks later I turned up a driveway across from the Country Club of Birmingham for a photo shoot. I’d soon learn from homeowner Dana Davis that Civil War historian Shelby Foote had once visited stood on the very pavers where we were chatting. He’d come to connect with the childhood home of his friend Walker Percy, who spent several years of his childhood there. And I was struck by the deeply rooted history of a home I’d driven past countless times—and was extra excited to share its story. Down the road in English Village, I was mesmerized as I walked through the office where I thought my interview subject and I would sit into a cozy glassed-in space where he told me he works best. I’d seen the outside of it each time I’d driven through the village or sat on the patio at Chez Lulu, but after hearing the soulful design ideas from the man who had envisioned the space we were sitting in, the village took on new depths you’ll have to read about in our Home & Style feature on Jeffrey Dungan. Over at Mountain Brook High School, I walked into Shane Martin’s classroom to find an anxious set of tenth graders holding toothpick structures—just like you did in high school, right? Before long they were setting weights on top of them, and later lifting up classmates to see if they could withstand human weight. The gamble of the physics of it all was a spectacle to watch, but what was all the more fascinating for this history major was how Shane tied the project to the Constitutional Convention. “What?” you’re probably thinking. You’ll have to read MBHS student Isabel Elkus’s story to learn more. I don’t have space here to tell my own stories about the stellar cooking school space in the Grand Bohemian where Christiana Roussel documented a pasta-making class, the dynamic classrooms at Mitchell’s Place for both children with autism diagnoses and other kids in the community, and the intimately chic office in Mountain Brook Village where fashion stylist Megan LaRussa bases her business—but you should check those accounts in the pages ahead too. Happy reading! I hope it renews your ties to the places you call home. And as always, I love to hear your ideas for stories, so please reach out any time.
madoline.markham@mountainbrookmagazine.com MountainBrookMagazine.com 9
VOTE TODAY! MOUNTAIN BROOK’S
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7 Convenient Locations: ALABASTER | CLANTON | FULTONDALE | HOOVER | THE NARROWS | PRINCETON | VESTAVIA
“ ” THE QUESTION
What one place in Mountain Brook holds the most significant memories for you? When my children were growing up, Smith’s was a favorite stop, a place for picking out a prize and a source for anything needed for school projects. The tradition continues with grandchildren!
Treadwell’s as a little boy getting my haircut. I can still remember the smell of the powder they used on the back of my neck. They would put up the booster board and give me a piece of gum.
Hanging out with friends at Pasquales Pizza after Steeple Arts Ballroom, which was taught by the most amazing lady, Lola Mae Coates. We got to stay up late on those nights.
Otey’s. I met my wife, Liz, there and visit on every anniversary.
The Shell gas station on Overton. It’s where all students who drive would go after school for a soft drink and to hang out before we had to go home.
Couch Ciao restaurant in English Village. It’s where my husband and I went on our first date in 2001 and also where he proposed in 2004. We still miss that quiet, cozy, intimate place.
- Laurie Bullington
- Jeff Shapiro
- Richard Knecht
- Joan McCalla
- Joyce Far Dabbs
Davidson’s Drug Store in English Village. Cherry Cokes made at the fountain and new comic books on Friday. Down the street Park Lane Grocery where Sam made hats from paper grocery sacks. - Jim Dent
- Melanie Martin Couch
Loved the original Smith’s & Gilchrist, but my favorite was probably Browdy’s. At the end of the month with no money in your account, Mr. Browdy would let you CHARGE groceries. - Marsha Farrell Meadows
MountainBrookMagazine.com 13
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W W W . A P E P P E R M I N T P H O T O . C O M 14 March/April 2019
THE GUIDE
SHADES CREEK FEST APRIL 27 Jemison Park 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Come out to celebrate the natural beauty of one of our favorite creeks with free fly-fishing lessons from Caliber, hawk and owl visitors from the Alabama Wildlife Center, and music from the Chad Fisher Swing Band and bluegrass band Clear Blue Sky alongside an interpretive water dance. Plus you can grab lunch from a food truck and decorate owl-, fish- and frogshaped cookies, and the City of Mountain Brook will giveaway native sassafras trees to celebrate Arbor Day. Photo by Eleanor Kerr MountainBrookMagazine.com 15
THE GUIDE WHAT TO DO IN MOUNTAIN BROOK MARCH 2 Exceptional Foundation Chili Cook-Off Brookwood Village 10 a.m.-3 p.m. MARCH 5 Children’s Arts Guild Fashion Show Luncheon Country Club of Birmingham MARCH 7 Spencer Lecture: Barbara Paul Robinson Birmingham Botanical Gardens 5:30 p.m.
MARCH 9
Village 2 Village Run Mountain Brook Village Run through your favorite villages and neighborhoods with around 1,000 of your neighbors and friends. Plus, there will be chocolate-dipped strawberries, mimosas and more on the other side of the finish line at the after party in Lake Parke. Not feeling the 10K? You can also choose the 7.5K option (4.6 miles). Register at runsignup.com.
MARCH 9 An Evening with the Author: Madeline Miller Emmet O’Neal Library 7-9 p.m. MARCH 12 Family Night: Birmingham Children’s Theatre – 3 Little Kittens Emmet O’Neal Library 5:30 p.m. MARCH 17 MBHS Band Mattress Sale MARCH 19 Myths & Truths: A Guide to Your Teenager Mountain Brook Board of Education Building 6:30 p.m. MARCH 25-29 Spring Break Mountain Brook City Schools MARCH 30-APRIL 6 Money Smart Week Emmet O’Neal Library
APRIL 27-MAY 12
Decorators’ ShowHouse 2019 Rooms in the Lemak estate will be decked out by local interior designers, so be sure to come by for a tour. ShowHouse hours are Tuesday-Friday 10 a.m.-3 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and Sunday 2-5 p.m. There’s no parking at the house, so 16 March/April 2019
be sure to catch the shuttle from Mountain Brook Presbyterian Church at 3405 Brookwood Road. Tickets, $20 presale and for groups or $25 at the door, benefit the Alabama Symphony Volunteer Council. Find more info at svcalabama.com.
APRIL 4 EOL Teen Craftsplosion: Red Clay Pottery Emmet O’Neal Library 6-8:30 p.m. APRIL 7 Dolores Hydock & Bobby Horton Present: The Journals of Sallie Independence Foster *Tickets required Emmet O’Neal Library
THE GUIDE 2-4 p.m. APRIL 9 Family Night: 6th Day Creatures Emmet O’Neal Library 5:30 p.m. APRIL 22 Mountain Brook Schools Student Showcase Mountain Brook City Hall APRIL 26-28 Spring Musical Mountain Brook High School APRIL 27 Find Your Way: Stress Management for Teens Emmet O’Neal Library 1-4 p.m. MAY 4 Citizen Appreciation Day 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Arts in the Village 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Crestline Village
APRIL 12-14
Spring Plant Sale Brookwood Village Macy’s Upper Parking Lot FRIDAY 9 A.M.-6 P.M., SATURDAY 9 A.M.-4 P.M., SUNDAY 11 A.M.-3 P.M. Get your green thumb on and choose from more than 100,000 plants, most of which have been nurtured by volunteers at Birmingham Botanical Gardens. Plant experts will be on-site and proceeds benefit The Gardens’ educational goals.
GROWNUPS WERE STUNNED AS HE CHARMED THE SERVER INTO GIVING HIM ICE CREAM WITH SPRINKLES AND HOT FUDGE, ON THE HOUSE!
CHILDREN A M A Z E U S E V E R Y D AY
and at Children’s of Alabama, we want to see every child grow up and live to their fullest potential. That’s why we recruit, train and retain the most inquiring minds, the most skilled hands and the most compassionate hearts in pediatric medicine. 1 6 0 0 7 T H AV E N U E S O U T H B I R M I N G H A M , A L 3 5 2 3 3 ( 2 0 5 ) 6 3 8 - 9 1 0 0
Ice Cream- Valor 7.25 x 4.75 -HomewoodMag 2019.indd 1
ChildrensAL.org
1/30/19 8:35 AM17 MountainBrookMagazine.com
THE GUIDE
AROUND TOWN THROUGH APRIL 21 Embodying Faith: Imagining Jesus Through the Ages Exhibit Birmingham Museum of Art FEB. 28-MARCH 3 Annie Jr. Virginia Samford Theatre MARCH 8-10 Alabama Ballet Presents: The Sleeping Beauty BJCC Concert Hall MARCH 15+17 Opera Birmingham Presents Tosca Samford University Wright Center
MARCH 17
Color4Friendship Color Run Levite Jewish Community Center 1:30 P.M. Can running get more fun than getting doused from head to toe in different colors? There are just two rules for this
APRIL 6
Overton Park Easter Egg Hunt Overton Park NOON It’s not just about the egg hunt (although, what’s Easter without a hunt?). Come for face painting, photo booths, a cake walk, the Easter Bunny and more too. The event is hosted by Off Shoots Garden Club.
event: One, wear white at the starting line, and two, finish plastered in color. Children must be age 6 or older to participate. Plus, Team Friendship plans the run to raise awareness for individuals with special needs. Register at eventbrite.com.
MARCH 15+18 Alabama Story Red Mountain Theatre Company Cabaret Theatre MARCH 19 Percy Cook Ratliff Lecture Series: Author Eric Metaxas Samford University Wright Center MARCH 22 For King and Country presents Burn the Ships Samford University Wright Center MARCH 23 Rumpshaker 5K Regions Field MARCH 23 + 24 Spring Walking Tour: Vulcan Trail Vulcan Park & Museum MARCH 28-APRIL 7 Man of La Mancha Virginia Samford Theatre APRIL 4 The Midtown Men Samford University Wright Center APRIL 4-6 Alabama Auto Show BJCC Exhibition Halls APRIL 5-7 Indy Grand Prix of Alabama Barber Motorsports Park
18 March/April 2019
THE GUIDE APRIL 5-7 Finding Neverland BJCC Concert Hall APRIL 6-13 Birmingham Children’s Theatre Presents: Charlotte’s Web BJCC Concert Hall APRIL 10-14 Birmingham Barons vs. Tennessee Smokies Regions Field APRIL 12-14 Samford & Samford’s Spring Awakening Virginia Samford Theatre APRIL 12-23 13 The Musical Red Mountain Theatre Company Cabaret Theatre APRIL 14 BHM26.2 Marathon, HalfMarathon, Team Relay and Fun
THE VILLAGES
CHANGE IS GONNA COME Here’s the latest on what’s opening and closing in the villages: • Western Market has Photo by Rebecca Wise (sadly) closed its doors after 70 years in town, but Publix will be moving into its Mountain Brook Village space. Its lease begins in March and it plans to open as a Greenwise store by the third quarter of 2019. • Two new boutiques are planning to open sometime this spring: Mon Ami for children on Church Street, and Milla Boutique for women in Mountain Brook Village. • Mountain Brook Village’s whiskey bar-casual fine dining combo Avo/Dram bid us farewell in late December, but Abhi, an Asian fusian concept run by Nepalese chef Abhi Sainju is opening a new location in the upstairs part of the restaurant space. Bring on the momos (Nepalese dumplings)!
• Cleaning & Exams • Crowns & Veneers • In-office Bleaching and Cosmetic Dentistry • Botox & Dermal Fill
Celia Davenport, DMD 2940 Clairmont Ave S, Birmingham 205-277-2297 davenportdentalandwellness.com MountainBrookMagazine.com 19
THE GUIDE Run Railroad Park
APRIL 20
Easter Egg Roll
APRIL 16 Anthony Ray Hinton, Tom and Marla Corts Distinguished Author Series Samford University Wright Center
Field in front of the Emmet O’Neal Library 10 A.M.
APRIL 20-24 Birmingham Barons vs. Jackson Generals Regions Field
It’s not Easter without eggs. Bring your kids for this annual event of fun and hunting. BYOB…bring your own basket, that is.
APRIL 26-27 Lebanese Food and Culture Festival St. Elias Maronite Church
MARCH 6-APRIL 19
Advent Lenten Lunches
APRIL 26-28 Magic City Art Connection Linn Park
Cathedral Church of the Advent WEEKDAYS AT 12:05 P.M.
Lunch is served! Or it will be during the six weeks of Lent leading up to Easter at Cathedral Church of the Advent. Each weekday the church hosts a preaching service at 12:05 p.m. as well as a homemade meal (and desserts!), just as it has since 1908. Find the full preaching schedule at adventbirmingham.org.
APRIL 26-28 Alabama Ballet Presents: Ovation BJCC Concert Hall
TASTE. SIP. REPEAT. Restaurants & Chefs, Wine, Craft Beer, Cocktails, Seminars & Special Tastings 22nd annual | April 27 & 28 | 12-3pm | Linn Park @ the 36th annual Magic City Art Connection
HOOVER’S
TICKETS: www.CorksandChefs.com VESTAVIA HILLS MOUNTAIN BROOK
HOMEWOOD LIFE
20 March/April 2019
SHELBY LIVING
&CULTURE
ARTS
THE BEAT GOES ON Riverbend has become the brotherhood—and the soundtrack—of this foursome’s teenage years. BY MADOLINE MARKHAM PHOTOS CONTRIBUTED MountainBrookMagazine.com 21
Max Simon first met fellow band member Stanton Langley in elementary school at Crestline.
L
Like most preteens, Max Simon relied on his parents for rides to meet up with friends. Unlike other kids, though, he and classmates Price Pewitt and Stanton Langley were often headed for The Nick, a dive bar in Highland Park known for live music, on a weeknight. They’d squeeze in some math homework before going on stage to jam out to their own blend of power pop and alternative rock—and then wake up the next morning and go to junior high like any other kid. Just a few years later these three, plus drummer Sims Ruffino, would find themselves on stage at Sloss Fest on the bill with bands they’ve long admired—a long way from when playing at Mafiaozo’s in Crestline after 3:00 in the afternoon or at a Halloween party on Dexter Avenue was a big deal. In
22 March/April 2019
PHOTO BY CHRIS BRYANT
the four years in between, their band Riverbend has not just been the brotherhood the high school seniors have grown up with, but also the soundtrack to their teenage years. “The band has been there consistently through my life journey,” Price says. “(I can) see where albums and EPs correlate with where I was. It’s a like a scrapbook.” In the same way that most people associate a certain pop song with a school dance or Friday nights with high school friends, it’s their own songs that are tied to formative memories. “And what’s crazy is other people’s school dance song can be a Riverbend song,” Max notes. “Not only are we able to create music that we all love playing with each other, but somehow people have latched onto it (too).” That includes “Hideaway,” a Riverbend tune that has
Stanton Langley wrote the lyrics to the band’s single “Hideaway” and credits his mom with the idea for their band name.
MountainBrookMagazine.com 23
HOPE IN HAITI Last summer Riverbend travelled to Haiti with Project House of Hope as a part of its mission to give people things not to just to live but to live for. And for Riverbend, of course, that meant teaching music. “It was one of the most beautiful experiences ever. You could only point and speak in one of the four Creole words you knew, but you didn’t need the words,” Max recalls. “It was incredible to see their reaction when you hand them a guitar for the first time, and show them how to play a chord. It takes me back to when I was 4 and my dad was showing me how to play.” Sims says. “And kids immediately picked it up when I couldn’t even speak English to them.”
become a community anthem of sorts. It’s the song everyone seems to know the lyrics to, at the perfect tempo to jump up and down to and bop your head to. But a 15-year-old Stanton had no idea that would be the case when he wrote the lyrics stream-of-consciousness style on breaks at work the afternoon before a show at The Nick. “That night I tried to remember the lyrics, and whatever those were were the ones we stuck with,” Stanton recalls. Looking back, music is also where the band members turned their teenage angst. “Whatever was going on at home, if you were tired of your teacher yelling at you or your parents fighting, we would go into a garage and play so loud we couldn’t hear anything,” Price says. “And not hear anything 24 March/April 2019
for hours after that,” Max quips. “We’d come in, and as everyone was tuning we’d all vent about our girlfriends and our parents,” Price continues. “And now to see where it’s cultivated into something bigger than ourselves is so weird.” The band’s roots go back to Crestline Elementary where Stanton and Max each knew the other as “the other kid at my school who plays guitar”—an unstated rivalry of sorts that they got over by their first “gig” together at the school talent show as fifth graders. “We had to change the lyrics from a song from ‘cold beer’ to ‘cold Coke,’ which is super rock-androck,” Max recalls light-heartedly. By junior high the duo realized that another classmate, Price, was playing bass, and he joined in on the fledgling band through Mason Music
Price Pewitt started playing music with Max Simon and Stanton Langley when they were in junior high school.
PHOTO BY CHRIS BRYANT
before they broke off on their own to practice and get gigs. Sims was in a rival band at the time until one day when he texted Price about a girl. “Two hours later we were talking nonsense and we became best friends,” Sims says. The deal was sealed one night at Stanton’s house. “We jammed, hit it off instantly playing ‘Black Sabbath’ by Pink Floyd, and before I even consulted the band I texted Sims to be in the band,” Stanton says. “I went to the bathroom and came back, and Sims was our drummer,” Max jokes. Speaking of Stanton’s house, it was actually his mom who came up with the name Riverbend. “We couldn’t think of anything better,” Stanton says. “All our ideas were terrible.
One day my mom says, ‘Why don’t you guys just call your band Riverbend because it’s the name of the street you practice on?’ I said, ‘Oh mom, that’s stupid.’ At the next show I couldn’t think of anything to say, so I said, ‘Riverbend.’” And it stuck. The guys behind Riverbend describe their sound as an average of all of their tastes or the “common denominator of all the strange stuff we listen to,” Max says. Their playlists have all evolved over the years, but these days Max favors “out there stuff, jazz, experimental, stereo lab I’m trying to implement into a pop sound… But it still just winds up being noisy. I am the resident noise maker.” We should note he was
205-447-3275 • cezelle@realtysouth.com
MountainBrookMagazine.com 25
also into bluegrass at one time. Price’s core is Radiohead and “psyche jam,” particularly “psych music and old garage-y sound with a new synth pop element” he’s hearing out of Australia. Sims, whose dad was a concert promoter, still favors the Southern rock— Allman Brothers and Widespread Panic— that he was raised on. And Stanton is more of an “old fashioned rock and pop rock” guy—the one with the most streamlined taste in music. In their earlier years, Riverbend songs tended to all follow the same formula. Max would play a riff on guitar, Stanton would write lyrics, and they’d bring that to the band. Now though they’re all dipping their toes into song writing—and mixing up anything and everything they can. Often they will all jam out something together that turns 26 March/April 2019
into a song, or one of the guys comes up with an idea and brings to the group to work on it together. They’re also working with producers Ken Johnson and Skid Mills out of Nashville to collaborate on their song writing. In all of their music there’s a lot more sound experimentation now too. “If you listen to our first two EPs, you would never ever think there is a room for a synthesizer in our music, but if you try hard enough and make them listen enough it will happen,” Max says. “Figurine,” the first track on their 2018 EP “The Extra Mile,” shows that off their next-level sound well. “There’s weird ambient guitar and droning synths and things that before you never heard (from us),” Max explains. “The whole song we are all on different pages. It comes together, but it’s more of a
soundscape of a song,” Price says. “Surrender,” also on the same EP, fits that mold, or lack of mold, too. “The breakdown of that song is one of our best musical moments on tape. There’s interplay between the bass and the drums that isn’t anywhere else. Every time we click into that I get so excited,” Max says. As much as playing to a Birmingham audience at venues like Zydeco and Workplay has been a major step in their journey, these days it’s festivals and playing the stage outside of town that are most formative for Riverbend. That and Sloss Fest last year—that was a big jump for them. “Sometimes music can be a lonely world, but when you are engulfed in other people there to see your music and having fun with other bands who are more bad ass than you are and want to help you, those are the shows that go down in your history book,” Price says. “It’s literally the best feeling in the world,” Sims echoes, “being up on stage with your three best friends and seeing people react to it is such a rush of adrenaline, and then to come off the stage and be around other musicians that are doing the same thing and are maybe better than you are and hearing them being able to relate is such an incredible feeling of comradery.” And, as Sims would tell you, they are all “hopelessly addicted to it.” Find Riverbend show listings and more at riverbendofficial. com or @riverbend_official on social media, and listen to their work on Spotify, BandCamp or Sound Cloud.
Let us guide you to your first home Buying a home is one of the most exciting—and complex—transactions of your life. You may have questions, and it’s important to choose a mortgage provider you can trust to communicate the important facts. Contact me today to learn more about how I can assist you with one of the most important decisions of your life: choosing your home financing. Daniel DiGuglielmo Producing Branch Manager NMLS# 267473 4009 Crosshaven Dr. Birmingham, AL 35243 205-908-3587 daniel.diguglielmo@caliberhomeloans.com www.caliberhomeloans.com/danield Caliber Home Loans and any above mentioned companies are not affiliated. [cc(company_info):full_name item="corporate"], [cc(company_info):address item="corporate"]. NMLS ID#[cc (company_info):nmls_number item="corporate"] ([cc(global_links):url item="nmls_co_stem"][cc(company_info):nmls_number item="corporate"]). [cc(company_info):phone_number item="corporate"]. [cc(disclaimer_parts):text item="copyright"] [cc(disclaimer_parts):text item="ehl"] [cc(disclaimer_parts):text item="consumer"] [cc(states):disclaimer item="AL"] [cc(states): disclaimer item="GA"] [cc(states):disclaimer item="FL"]
MountainBrookMagazine.com 27
READ THIS BOOK
(Historical) Books of the Year Recommendations from
Jim Noles Local Author
Jim Noles stays busy not just at a partner as his law firm but also writing—and reading—history and historical fiction. His latest book is Undefeated: A Story of Basketball, Battle, and West Point’s Perfect 1944 Season (Casemate Publishers, 2018) is now available in local bookstores and on Amazon. When we asked him for some reading suggestions, he decided to pull some of the books he’s asked for, and received, each year for Christmas to add to his shelves.
The Conquest of the Sahara
By Douglas Porch This Christmas: This is an old title—originally published in 1984—but has deservedly remained in print ever since. On its pages, Porch narrates the tale of France’s drift into perennial conflict in a pitiless corner of the world—an adventure costly both in national treasure and lives, and one that few French politicians seemed to have the will to stop.
Milk!: A 10,000-Year Food Fracas
By Mark Kurlansky Last Christmas: Kurlansky manages to make the history of a cold glass of milk a page-turner. That’s no small task but, if you read 2018’s Milk!, you’ll agree—or at least never fail to appreciate everything that went into, or did not go into, that carton of milk in your refrigerator.
World Gone By
By Dennis Lehane Christmas 2017: A year was worth the wait for this novel, which, in 2016, concluded Lehane’s Tom Coughlin crime trilogy, spanning from Boston in 1919 to post-war Tampa. The second novel in the series, Live By Night, was made into a Ben Affleck movie. Don’t hold the movie against Lehane, or the series.
Mornings on Horseback: The Story of an Extraordinary Family, a Vanished Way of Life, and the Unique Child Who Became Theodore Roosevelt By David McCullough Christmas 2016: My well-read father-in-law, John Klyce, surprised me with this one, and I had long heard what a great book it was; it lived up to its reputation. Read it and you’ll agree that “unique” is a gross understatement.
The British Are Coming: The War for America – Lexington to Princeton, 1775 – 1777
By Rick Atkinson Next Christmas: I already know what’s on next year’s list. Rick Atkinson, whose masterful World War II three-book history began with An Army at Dawn, has turned his attention to the American Revolution. This is the first in a new trilogy by Atkinson coming this spring.
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SCHOOL
&SPORTS
CRUSH DAY STRESS
Why building toothpick structures is just as much about civics as physics for these MBHS students. BY ISABEL ELKUS PHOTOS BY JACKSON ROSS MountainBrookMagazine.com 29
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“Please, please, please hold,” whispers Laurel Hand as she watches her prized possession of the moment, a toothpick structure. As the Mountain Brook High School sophomore and her two partners look on with nervous energy, they breathe a sigh of relief when the 55-pound weight holds on top of it. Shane Martin’s Toothpick Challenge isn’t really about the weight though—at least not literally. It’s more about the 1787 Philadelphia Constitutional Convention. And that requires more explanation, right? As a hands-on learner himself, Martin, a history teacher, wanted to engage the students who may be more kinesthetically inclined rather than auditory, so he decided on a building project that requires students to construct a tribased structure that can hold at least 35 pounds. “The catch,” Martin says, “is they have to build it with nothing but toothpicks, Elmer’s glue and their creativity.”
30 March/April 2019
Upon immediate reaction, his students Lindsay Whatley and Caroline Robinson both agreed: “This project is not going to be possible.” Laurel had a similar thought: “It seemed impossible up front, but once I started, it began to all make sense.” That’s just the reaction Martin is looking for—because of how they parallel the thoughts of the framers who had to figure out and manage the fledgling government’s separation of powers, the balance of the government and the weight of the country 231 years ago. “The project is a physical way for the kids to process the nation-building with the stresses of it, the concept of trying to put an idea into working reality, having to work together, disagreeing on the best way to build it, and it having to carry the weight,” Martin explains. “It’s not enough just to have the concept and the product but to [also] test it.” When he designed the project, Martin knew he needed
Two history students place teacher Shane Martin on a toothpick structure to test its strength.
MountainBrookMagazine.com 31
Martin’s students added textbooks as extra test weight after their structures passed initial tests for a grade.
stipulations in order to mirror the challenge of the framing of the Constitution. While the structure itself needs to have three base points, the toothpicks also have to be in groups of three, or as Martin likes to call these groupings, “bundles.” His instructions for the bundles are these: uCan only be three base points touching the floor. A base point can be a bundle or close grouping of bundles. (Have to be able to slide a toothpick between all bundles.) uMust be at least two toothpicks high (and weight bearing) without stacking or repetitious shapes over and over. uHave to be able to run a triangular bundle under your lowest cross members (no toothpicks/bundle can be laid horizontally on the ground). uHave to be able to run a toothpick between bundles (not inside a bundle, but between bundles). uCannot have paper spines on your bundles. uToothpicks CAN be broken and/or cut. All of these restrictions regarding the toothpicks alone are 32 March/April 2019
enough to make a tenth grader question the possibility of the project, but when Martin pulls out past examples each year that passed the weight test with flying colors, the doubts slowly dissipate and instead turn into ideas or strategies. For Lindsay’s group, they “started building upwards, building smaller to keep it compact.” Another strategy students used involved the formations of bundles themselves. “We’re trying to make little shapes to make a bigger structure,” Catherine Taylor shared mid-project. And for Emily King, “Triangles, we made lots of triangles.” Strategies extend beyond the structure too. “Pick your group members wisely,” Andrew Bell says. “That would be my biggest piece of advice.” Of course some students grow to be confident in their projects as more time wore on, but most worried about how the structures would hold under the stress of the weight. Emily King was “not confident, but hopeful.” However, after the infamous “Crush Day,” when all of the structures are put to the test, the students collectively released sighs of relief.
“Mine turned out to be a bit of a cluster, but it passed, luckily,” Daniel Carmichael recounts. On Crush Day, the students line up to test their structures with weight. The test not only evaluates the structure, but also a group’s willingness to go out on a ledge and jump and hopefully to land on a sturdy bed of toothpicks. There are three increments of weight: 35, 45 and 55 pounds. First the 35-pound weight is added, and if it stands, the group decides whether to add more weight and risk it collapsing for a higher grade. Martin’s rubric outlines each potential grade outcome up to 55 pounds, which makes for a perfect score. With this additional stress, Martin forces his students to think through their actions and weigh the risk with the reward. If a structure makes a perfect score, students can choose additional weight challenges for fun. That’s when you might find human weight being tested. The strongest structure to date even held Martin on multiple occasions. And the additional challenges were not uncommon this school year. After Crush Day in December, Martin recounted the results: “I’ve never had a whole class with everyone’s being so successful. First period, everyone’s held the maximum amount of weight.” Past students remember Martin’s project for more than its stresses too. “It really taught me how to work together with a group of people even when you have fails,” junior Hughes Thomas says. “But it also teaches you how to persevere for a successful end
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MountainBrookMagazine.com 33
product.” Junior Grace Carr added: “The project showed me another way of learning and helped bring the lesson of the framers to life, putting me in their shoes and making me see just how hard their job was.” The general consensus for the project is that the building takes much more work and patience than most people would think. “While it seemed elementary, the project was
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significantly harder than that,” junior William Wood says. However, challenge is in the name of the project itself, and it is also what makes the project even more unique. There is no simple answer to the build, nor is there a clear-cut design. The project instead relies on the students’ creativity: an aspect that is scary at first, but that makes it much more rewarding when the structure turns out to be a success. While the framers may not have constructed the Constitution for the United States of America out of toothpicks and Elmer’s glue, the parallels are there. Like the Toothpick Challenge, it was completed in a short amount of time with a short amount of patience but a high amount of stress. So, if the time ever comes to create a new Constitution, we can safely look to the Advanced American History students of Shane Martin for guidance with our toothpicks held high.
&DRINK
FOOD
FRIDAY NIGHT DIY
We tried our hand at pasta making at the Grand Bohemian Hotel’s cooking school. BY CHRISTIANA ROUSSEL PHOTOS BY MARY FEHR MountainBrookMagazine.com 35
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Some of the best memories in life happen around the dinner table. It is where bread is broken and our bellies cease to growl, where elbows hit the tablecloth and no one notices because the conversation is too good and the laughter too loud. It is where we share and commune and interact with those we hold dear. Now imagine expanding that same table to include a few strangers—actually, let’s call them “not-friends-yet”—a bowl of farm fresh eggs, a pile of flour and a generous instructor. That is the scene that played out recently at a Friday night pasta-making class held in the Kessler Cooking School at the Grand Bohemian Hotel in Mountain Brook Village. At 6 p.m., more than a dozen students trickled into the glass-walled classroom, some in pairs, some in groups, some from the neighborhood and some from adjacent hotel
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rooms. While Chef Joshua Towey made a few last-minute checks at the stove, a server greeted us and took beverage orders. A casual antipasto spread in one corner of the room let us know we should snack but not spoil our appetites, and we each found a spot at the table. With pasta water simmering and mise en place attended to, Chef Towey greeted the assembled students and led us through the evening’s syllabus of sorts. We’d be working together to make fresh pasta that would be formed into paper-thin sheets. We would also be making hand-turned ravioli and farfalle noodles from scratch. By this point, we felt compelled to roll up our sleeves and truly dive in. We broke into groups where some guests fed fresh egg yolks into the tube of a running food processor. The dough came together quickly and without too much effort, which had
Chef Joshua Towey leads a Friday night pasta making class at the Grand Bohemian Hotel.
MountainBrookMagazine.com 37
MEET THE CHEF Birmingham native Joshua Towey has been cooking professionally for more than years. After studying hotel and restaurant management at Auburn University, he went on to complete his culinary degree at The French Culinary Institute (now known as the International Culinary Center) in New York City. Upon returning to Birmingham, he joined the ranks at Hot & Hot Fish Club and later moved to the kitchen at Bottega Restaurant— all further cultivating his love of working with fresh pasta, seafood and a wood-fired grill. After working as the restaurant sous chef at the Renaissance Ross Bridge Hotel & Resort for two years, Towey returned to Hot & Hot Fish Club, where he was sous chef and later chef de cuisine. Today, as the chef at the Cooking School at The Grand Bohemian, Chef Towey enjoys the culinary creativity of being in a hands-on kitchen, balanced with a schedule that allows him ample family time with his wife, Brittney, and their children Katelyn and Jonah.
everyone wondering why we ever buy store-bought noodles in the first place! Another group circled up around the pasta machine and learned how to pass the fresh dough through the plates, keeping the dough pliable. Soon several of us set about piping a butternut squash puree filling into the ravioli die, layering on a second sheet of pasta and crimping the edges just so. Many hands make light work, and we fell into an easy rhythm. Introducing ourselves to one another came naturally, and it was a delight to learn all the different means through which our fellow students came to class. There was the family of five from Houston, in town to attend the Porsche Driving School. This pasta-making class was 38 March/April 2019
the perfect way to unwind from a day on the track. There was the mother-daughter pair, taking in some long overdue time together. A young married couple was clearly enjoying a rare date night, and I could almost swear I saw them recreate the spaghetti scene from Lady and the Tramp, stealing a kiss between cranks of the pasta roller. The group of women in personalized red chef’s toques were easily identifiable as a terrific Girls Night Out squad. Soon enough, our pasta making was complete and we joined Chef Towey around the stove, as he pulled together the remainder of the meal. The aromas of roasting Brussels sprouts, pancetta and onions were heady, and we were all more than a little hungry! In no time at all, we were soon
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ladling heaping spoonsful of Pasta Carbonara and Pumpkin Seed Pesto-Filled Ravioli into deep bowls. A shower of fresh Parmiggiano-Reggiano on top quickly melted into an edible savory cloud. Bellies full and as the end of class drew near, we bid our new friends farewell and all promised to try our hand at pasta making at home very soon. At the very least, we knew we’d be back for another class with Chef Towey.
ATTEND A CLASS The best way to see what’s new at the Grand Bohemian Cooking School is to check out their offerings online. Chef Towey is always developing new classes while maintaining the ones guests have come to love and attend over and over.
40 March/April 2019
&STYLE
HOME
THE SOUL OF DESIGN Jeffrey Dungan captures his journey of creating timeless houses near and far in his new book. BY MADOLINE MARKHAM PHOTOS BY WILLIAM ABRANOWICZ & CONTRIBUTED MountainBrookMagazine.com 41
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The text of architect Jeffrey Dungan’s new coffee table book reads like an artist’s statement. “The design of every house is a journey for the imagination,” he writes, “so with each I try to do one thing that I have never done before. I enjoy drawing a house as it wants to be, knitting the site and its owner into a setting in which they can both live happily.” So it makes sense that the book’s roots lie not just in Dungan’s career designing homes but also in how he fell in love with words, especially poetry, and their power in college. He’d later couple those passions on blog and Instagram posts, to inspire others as he likes to be inspired. And then, after leaving his mark on home designs rural, urban and suburban across the country for a couple of decades, this St. Clair County native embarked on creating what would become The Nature of Home: Creating Timeless Houses. Dungan didn’t want the book to just boast pictures of his work, although you’ll find them in there too. He also wanted to articulate what exactly makes architecture powerful, what makes it transformative and timeless. “It felt like ploughing up of my soul to get it out and start to grapple with why I believed it,” he says of the writing
42 March/April 2019
Photos by Chris Luker
process. And indeed the text is a lens into the soul of the designer. “More than this, we hope for a home to be a citadel to protect us from life’s pressures, a bulwark and a comfort against the test of time and the stresses of life,” he writes. “In a place that feels permanent, that bears an air of lasting beauty, lies what we mean by the term timeless.“ Dungan’s publisher had originally talked about just printing around 5,000 copies of the book, but that number became 8,000 upon publishing in September 2018—and it’s now been printed a second and third time. If the first letter he received in response to the book—from a woman in Australia who somehow got a copy in her hands before Dungan himself did—is any indicator, what he values also resonates with many others. When we interviewed him for this article, the architect’s firm was working on projects in California, Colorado, Texas, Washington state, Nova Scotia, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic. But much of that work takes place in his glass-walled office space that overlooks Continental Bakery traffic in a village he finds quaint, charming, and, aptly, very English. If you’ve walked past his office building, No. 1906, you no doubt know it’s home to an
Jeffrey Dungan Architects Office No one spends more time anywhere than in their place of business, so why do so many work in awful surroundings with lay in grid ceilings of no inspirational value? I love our little spot in the uphill corner of English Village. Apparently so do photographers because they use our office as a backdrop almost every day, which we take as a supreme compliment. We gutted the inside and made it warm and inviting with reclaimed wood floors (some over 150 years old) and steel windows along with many other details, so we truly have an environment that promotes our work being inspired as well.
Chester’s Office This property had been an Eckerd Drug store and then a wine shop, and then sat empty for years on a very wonderful corner in English Village just down the hill from our offices. The new owners wanted to create a very special and well-appointed environment for their clients and employees, and they spared few expenses in doing so. We totally stripped and resigned the entire building with custom made klinker brick and a slate roof. We designed all the layout and renovations and worked with the irrepressible Susan Kasler on the interior decor and artwork. We are very proud to have turned an eyesore into such a complimentary part of English Village that I call “a gift to the street.”
architect with its leaded glass window framed in the dramatic entry and English style façade reminiscent of the homes he designs with his team. It’s also just up the street from the Chester’s International headquarters building he designed to look like a “proper English shop” (note the English theme here). Dungan has also left the imprint of his design thinking
on Mountain Brook homes, several of which are showcased in his book. On the pages that follow Dungan narrates how those houses came into being—in large part shaped by their owners. After all, as he writes in the book, “In many ways, designing a house is really just an excuse for a relationship. And like a relationship, the design always evolves.” MountainBrookMagazine.com 43
Photos by Chris Luker & William Abranowicz
Israel House I always enjoy designing for clients’ personas, it’s something that is more intuitive about people and their affect. One thing that struck me about these clients was how much an outdoorsy cowboy he was and she was pretty sophisticated—opposites attract they say. So I wanted a house with two gears. The exterior is a rich and quite approachable and warm feel that I call refined-rustic. The interiors by Beth Webb are more clean and modern and soft. The blend of the two made for some striking moments and makes both of both husband and wife quite comfortable, which is always the ultimate goal of our work. 44 March/April 2019
Photos by William Abranowicz
Dungan House After 25 years of making houses for other people, I decided to do one for myself. You’d think it would be easy, but sometimes the question “What do you want?” can be very difficult one to answer succinctly. I travel all over the country with our work, so I needed a low maintenance simple place. But of course I have so many ideas and options floating around in my head that it made simplicity a very difficult goal to achieve. So my house in some ways became a laboratory for experiments in design some ideas that perhaps would be risky to try on my unsuspecting clients. I worked with Betsy Brown on the interiors, which proved to be a perfect blend of my emotion-loving bent and her very quiet and cool serene touch.
MountainBrookMagazine.com 45
Photos by William Abranowicz
Thompson I House The most memorable aspect of this project is the owners. They have an appreciation of all things European and a love of thoughtful design. Once they found the perfect house to renovate in the ideal location, they completely threw themselves into the process. Because of the high visibility of the historic home, neighbors and others who passed by were able to watch the entire project unfold. The end result is a home that seamlessly blends the existing Tudor house with the new adaptations, edits and additions. This project was the first of many with these clients, and our friendship continues to this day. 46 March/April 2019
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Photos by Jean Allsopp & William Abranowicz
Thompson II House I had done a house years earlier for this same couple at the end of Country Club Road. I’m not sure if they were gluttons for punishment, but they wanted to downsize and called me again. On this piece of property on the opposite side of the golf course, though, downsizing was not an option dictated by the tiny lot, so we literally made a program of five rooms on the main level and poured so much detail and thought into each space. She is a talented artist and he is very into making things very well constructed. We made the walls almost 2 feet thick and had a roof from a decommissioned convent in Spain taken down and shipped across the ocean just in time to rest in its current location. To say we had fun would be a great understatement. 48 March/April 2019
Photos by Chris Luker & Emily Followill
Marino House I love the story of the lady of the house who I admire greatly. She is very soft-spoken (mostly) and had many ideas about the layout but left the feeling of the place more up to me. When I shared the design with her, she was very focused on the flow of things, and when we got to the look and feel, she was amazed at how it fit her and asked me how I knew what to do. I honestly just said, “Well, you’re very zen and confident and calm, so I just made it look like you.” It’s still one of my favorite breakfast nooks ever.
I strive to be the kind of person my dog thinks I am. Animal Hospital, Veterinary Care, Boarding & Grooming 2810 19th Place South, Homewood, AL 35209 StandiferAnimalClinic.com MountainBrookMagazine.com 49
Beard House A self-proclaimed Anglophile desired a house that looked like “an abbey from the Cotswolds fell from the sky and landed on the side of this mountain.� The request was not surprising since the client is a Tony Awardwinning producer with more than a slight flair for the dramatic. The site certainly helped with her request. Wedged between two curving roads, the slender hourglass-shaped property dropped about 50 feet, creating its own drama. Using the abbey theme as a metaphor, we designed a compound of sorts by using different masonry materials to render each structure. The result is a sprawling home along the hillside that appears to have grown over the course of centuries.
50 March/April 2019
Style Profile:
AT HOME
NEW TRADITIONAL
The new traditional is a fresh approach to a classic style. It’s a seamless mix of modern and classic pieces that feels comfortable and chic. The look can easily be achieved by combining antique furnishings with sleek modern accessories and layered textures. This creates balance and interest while still being inviting and homey. Complete the style by adding fresh flowers or greenery and a simple stack of coffee table books.
1. Caste Bronze ChairCirca Interiors & Antiques, $2900 pair. 2. Brass Thin T LED Task Lamp- Circa Interiors & Antiques, $575. 3. Stone Mortar c. 1900- Circa Interiors & Antiques, $295. 4. Antique Turkish RugPaige Albright Orientals, $1,500. 5. Long Neck Ball Vase- Leaf & Petal, $25.
2 3 5
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Photo & Text by Jessica Clement of JMC Studio
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Jessica Clement is an interior designer and stylist who believes that well designed interiors should tell the story about the people who live there.
MountainBrookMagazine.com 51
Shining Bright for Spring IN STYLE
By Madison Freeman Photos by Lauren Ustad
1
LOOK 1
2
3 1. NATURAL STRAW HAT Fun up any outfit with this summery hat. George | $24
2. YELLOW STRIPED SUN DRESS Nothing says fun in the sun like yellow and white stripes. Dukes Clothier | $250
3. STRAW PURSE There’s room for everything in this bag that screams “spring.” George | $59
4. WHITE ANDRE SLIDE SANDALS Bring on the white now that it’s spring with these staple sandals. Monkee’s of Mountain Brook | $98
4
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1 1. YELLOW STRIPE BLOUSE This lightweight casual top pairs perfectly with any jean. Monkee’s of Mountain Brook | $90
2. LIGHT WASH JOE JEANS
LOOK 2
These jeans will be the most comfortable thing you ever put on. Monkee’s of Mountain Brook | $188
3. STATEMENT SANDALS These two-toned light sandals let your toes escape after winter. Dukes Clothier | $29
4. BENE HIGH FASHION SHOULDER PURSE
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Invest in this bag for spring, and it might just last you a lifetime. Dukes Clothier | Priced in Store
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Madison is a local fashion, home decor, travel and lifestyle blogger opening her door up for you on insidemyopendoor.com.
Spring Must Haves 1. THICK BANGLE
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This statement for your wrist comes with a unique patterned texture. George | $19.99
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2. NUDE OVERSIZED KEY CHAIN Every girl needs one of these in their oversized handbags to find your keys—and wear them on your wrist in style. George | $20
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Jim Reed, owner of Jim Reed Books downtown, always keeps Walker Percy books in stock and finds that any early editions of Percy novels he gets in the store sell quickly.
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One of Our Own By Matthew Stokes Photos by Patrick McGough & Contributed
Alabama has its share of famous citizens, but when discussing literature, the conversation often stops and starts with Harper Lee, Truman Capote, and, if one is feeling generous, Winston Groom. Those are impressive names, but when discussing Southern literature, Alabama is often wedged between the Georgian Flannery O’Connor on the one side, and the Mississippians Eudora Welty and William Faulkner on the other. Yet Birmingham can claim the novelist Walker Percy as one of its own.
MountainBrookMagazine.com 55
An 11-year-old Walker Percy sits for a Birmingham University School picture that hangs in The Altamont School today. Walker is pictured third from the left on the bottom row. Photo Courtesy of The Altamont School
Born here at St. Vincent’s Hospital in 1916, Percy spent his formative years in the Magic City before relocating to Athens, Georgia, and then finally moving to live with his famous uncle William Alexander Percy in Greenville, Mississippi. There he befriended a young Shelby Foote and would eventually settle down in Covington, Louisiana, and write several of the most consequential novels of the late Twentieth Century. While much of life was lived outside of Alabama, these early years among the hills of Mountain Brook and Birmingham’s Southside show up most prominently in Percy’s novel The Last Gentleman. The Percys were an Old South family, well known back in Greenville, Mississippi, and then ensconced in the New South city of Birmingham. The author’s grandfather, also 56 March/April 2019
named Walker, settled in Birmingham in 1886, marrying Mary Pratt Debardeleben, and securing work as a lawyer within Birmingham’s burgeoning coal and steel industries. He was a founding member of the Country Club of Birmingham, and portraits of both he and his son LeRoy Percy still hang in the club today to mark their terms as president, Walker in 1909 and LeRoy in 1925. Just as the elder Walker had married into the prominent Pratt and Debardeleben families, LeRoy married Mattie Sue Phinizy of a likewise prominent Georgia family. Walker Percy’s childhood was a tragic one, losing his namesake grandfather to suicide while just an infant. His father also took his own life when Walker was 13. His mother died later, when Walker was 15, in what the author
also considered a suicide. Yet despite the suicides of his grandfather, father and possibly his mother, he went on to make sense of life amid deeply held religious faith and left the world with an array of novels, letters and essays. His time in Birmingham corresponds with a number of important institutions and traditions. The great author often made the drive from the Southside over the mountain into Mountain Brook, and gives us fresh eyes to see Birmingham and Mountain Brook as they were then —new, troubled, invigorating and blooming with possibility. Young Walker and his two brothers, LeRoy and Phinizy, attended the Birmingham University School, which would later merge with the Brook Hill School to become the Altamont School. Percy biographer Jay Tolson notes the boys’ friends and classmates were the sons of the young city’s elite, suggesting that this was the world in which
Walker Percy’s grandfather and namesake was a founder of the Country Club of Birmingham, and portraits of his grandfather, pictured on the right, and his father LeRoy, pictured on the left, can still be found in the club to mark their terms as presidents. LeRoy once paired with the great Bobby Jones in a golf game against two other club members.
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RECOMMENDED WALKER PERCY READING NOVELS: The Moviegoer Percy’s first novel, which won him the National Book Award in 1962. The Last Gentleman A disenchanted lawyer on a search for meaning finds himself with a family in a house along a golf course, a setting that should be awfully familiar to Birmingham residents. Love in the Ruins A scientist searches for love and meaning in the post-apocalyptic wastelands of Louisiana. Signposts in a Strangeland A collection of Percy’s best essays, including his essay “Bourbon,” which includes his recipe for mint juleps
BIOGRAPHIES & MORE: Pilgrim in the Ruins: A Life of Walker Percy By Jay Tolson Perhaps the best-known Percy biography, Tolson’s work shows Percy as Twentieth Century pilgrim, very much like his own protagonists. Walker Percy: A Life By Patrick Samway A fine biography with a strong emphasis on Percy’s Catholicism. The Life You Save May Be Your Own: An American Pilgrimage By Paul Elie A literary biography of the letters and friendships shared between Percy, Thomas Merton, Dorothy Day and Flannery O’Connor. 58 March/April 2019
Dana and Tony Davis now live in the 1924 home that the Percys were the first to occupy at the corner of Country Club Road and Ridge Road. Tony says he started reading Percy’s writing after buying the house 34 years ago and enjoyed getting more insight into its meaning when Percy biographer Jay Tolson visited them as a part of his research. Civil War historian Shelby Foote also spent an afternoon with the Davises to see his friend’s childhood home and the attic where his father LeRoy committed suicide.
Walker grew up. All the same, Walker spent a great deal of time in Five Points South, then as now, a lively, bustling neighborhood of diverse residents and businesses. Walker’s father moved his young family into his father’s home on the corner of Highland and Arlington Avenues, a large gothic home that had been the sight of the elder Walker’s suicide in 1916. While his father was an Episcopalian, Percy’s mother was a Presbyterian. Upon their marriage, LeRoy and Mattie Sue joined South Highland Presbyterian Church, only to follow the Rev. Henry M. Edmonds when he left South Highland to form Independent Presbyterian Church in 1915. While little is known about their devotion to the theological shift that led to IPC’s formation, the Percy family was an
important building block to one of Birmingham’s most beautiful and storied congregations. LeRoy Percy found his own legal career to be very prosperous and in 1924 moved his family over the mountain to the new suburb of Mountain Brook, on a tract of land that would overlook the soon-to-bebuilt Country Club of Birmingham. Designed by famed Birmingham architect Hugh Martin, the home is today occupied by Tony and Dana Davis. Like the home Percy described in The Last Gentleman, it sits on a slight hill, overlooking a beautiful golf course. The home has long been a source of intrigue for Percy fans, allowing the Davises to assist Percy’s biographer, Jay Tolson, and hosts numerous Percy fans, including Shelby Foote, the noted
Photo courtesy of The Altamont School
author of The Civil War and Percy’s friend since high school. Tolson’s biography is not the only one to offer great detail on Percy’s life in Birmingham. In Walker Percy: A Life, Father Patrick Samway of Saint Joseph’s University provides readers not just with the narrative of Percy’s time in Birmingham up to and including its tragic end, but also weaves in powerful examples from Percy’s work that parallel his young life in Birmingham. Perhaps the most delightful anecdote is the tale of Percy and his brothers attending Camp Winnepe in Eagle River, Wisconsin. The camp was directed by Coach Homer Thomas of Birmingham, and one of its counselors was a young football player from the University of Alabama, Paul W. Bryant, nicknamed “Bear” and destined to roam the sidelines of Legion Field and Denny Stadium for three decades. Samway went on to further detail Percy’s Birmingham life in a brief book entitled Walker Percy in Birmingham, which was created for the Altamont School’s centennial celebration. (Good luck finding a copy—The press run was limited to 500 copies.) In many ways Walker grew up with Birmingham. He saw his first movies in Five Points South, an experience reimagined in The Moviegoer. When Charles Lindbergh came to Birmingham, Walker and his family were among those who greeted him at the Tutwiler Hotel. At the Country Club of Birmingham, LeRoy once surprised members by introducing a surprise partner for a round of doubles: the famed golfer Bobby Jones, who was an old friend of Mattie’s family back in Georgia. While much of the Percy family’s life in Birmingham was marked by tragedy, they moved in and out of many of Birmingham’s, and Mountain Brook’s, most important moments in the early Twentieth Century. All in all, to know Percy and his life story is to know Birmingham and Mountain Brook in their infancy and their promise. MountainBrookMagazine.com 59
60 March/April 2019
Curating
Chic
Megan LaRussa talks about her road back home and how she coaches women to embrace their own style evolution.
By Milan Ballard | Photos by Mary Fehr & Wendy Yalom
MountainBrookMagazine.com 61
Megan LaRussa works with clients from her office space above dg in Mountain Brook Village.
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Megan LaRussa always knew fashion was her calling. And it all started with inspiration from her personal style icon, her mother, Marie Wright. “She has always dressed very flattering and authentic to herself,” she says of her mom. Marie gave Megan the power to be herself growing up, never telling her to dress like everyone else. And today she gets to share that same advice with the women she coaches in style—living out Yves Saint Laurent’s famous quote, “Fashions fade, style is eternal.” But she’s had to learn that herself as an adult too. After graduating from Birmingham-Southern College with a degree in art history, Megan followed her passion for fashion to New York City to attend the Parson’s Design Program and work as a trend forecaster, catching fashion
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shows and learning the industry as quickly as she could while documenting her experiences on a blog. She had arrived in the city with her fearlessness in dressing, but as time went on she noticed her confidence fading as she began comparing herself to others in the industry. Rather than dressing true to herself, she found she was dressing like her coworkers who had much different body types than her own. It wasn’t until a stylist in New York mentored her about body types that she realized she had been dressing for someone else’s body. “Dressing accordingly can be very freeing for women,” she says, “especially when body issues come into play.” And now that’s what she gives other women the knowledge to do, weeding out what works and what doesn’t, whether they
are shopping in a store or their own closet. After less than two years in New York City, the budding fashion stylist realized she craved something more from her career and missed the tight community of the South. “Retail can be tough,” she says. “You don’t always get to know someone on a personal level and really understand her or her style.” And so in 2010 she moved back home to Mountain Brook to try her hand at a more personable form of fashion with freelance wardrobe styling and fashion show production. Relatives and friends began seeking her advice on outfit choices for special events, wardrobe updates and cleansing their closets. As her clientele began to grow, Megan realized she could coach women to embrace their own style right where she grew up. Nearly a decade later, today Megan works out of her office above dg in Mountain Brook Village, with a brand she takes
deep pride in and a small team of likeminded women to help her navigate her increasingly busy schedule. Her clientele spans across the Southeast and beyond, and she shares her industry knowledge as a speaker at schools, businesses and garden clubs. When it comes to her personal style, Megan has been inspired by travel and cultural immersion, starting with her first trip to Paris. As a nod to her art history degree, she finds herself in museums, galleries and taking other various art forms along the way. And as a self-proclaimed magazinehoarder, she finds inspiration from home in her two favorite publications, British Vogue and Porter. Although she no longer attends New York Fashion Week, she stays current with updates from various blogs and editorials like Women’s Wear Daily, a website dedicated to all things fashion. Megan’s style clients range from their mid-30s to their 60s, many of them mothers who haven’t had time to focus MountainBrookMagazine.com 63
MEGAN’S TOP PICKS • Dream Purchase: Classic
Chanel blazer, a staple piece that can be passed down
• Blog: Garance Doré, a
French fashion illustrator and photographer
• Currently Reading: In Praise of Difficult Women
• Vintage Item: A 1950s prom dress from Zoe’s
• Café Spot: Continental Bakery
• For Lunch: Brick & Tin
• For Dinner: Chez Fon Fon • Unique Gifts: Outpost
• Jewelry: Jordan Alexander • Skincare: Village
Dermatology and Beaute
• Boutique: Tulipano
• Sushi: Bamboo on 2nd
• Sweet Treat: Chocolata • Drinks: Paper Doll
• Entertainment: Alabama Theatre
on themselves for years, or women who feel lost in their wardrobes. And that’s where she comes in, “to help them get back into having fun with their wardrobe.” Along the way she finds many women she works with struggle with “dressing their age,” often dressing too mature rather than too youthful. Their outfits date them, keeping them from looking pulled together and fresh. So she shifts the focus to her concept “Style Evolution.” That might mean shopping at different stores, trying different cuts of fabric, or even different hem lengths, ever teaching women to be thoughtful about what they wear. “With every decade we are changing, be it lifestyle, profession, size,” she says, “and if your wardrobe does not evolve with you, a style rut can occur.” But “wardrobe and fashion are not meant to be stagnant,” she’ll tell you. And in it all, “Nothing is more valuable than confidence,” she emphasizes. Laura Colebeck has now added much of Megan’s terminology to her fashion know-how too since they worked together on her personal style. After a comprehensive closet cleanse, Megan led her through a 64 March/April 2019
full wardrobe rebuild focused on tips for shopping online for her body type. “I was at ground zero, so Megan recommended books for me to read, magazines for me to subscribe to. And I learned so much by working with her at our private sessions,” she says. Clients like Laura stay up-to-date with Megan’s style membership site, Style Yourself Chic, which houses her favorite style tips, articles and videos. “Not every woman grew up learning how to shop or dress her body,” Megan notes. “We as women think we should naturally know these things.” Her Facebook group allows women to ask questions like what to wear to important events and if their favorite blouse is still in style, and her fashion tips also transition over to her Instagram page where she shares content as well as client stories. On whatever platform she’s giving style tips, Megan recognizes women don’t fit into a cookie-cutter style category, but rather a multi-faceted style that describes the person that they are. To find their personal style, Megan has her clients think about the image they want to portray, and suggests they consult Pinterest, magazines, blogs and
Instagram. “Visuals are a great tool to find what you’re really attracted to,” she says. Her clients select a group of images that inspire them, and from there, a common theme for their personal style is formed. She also takes her clients’ measurements to create a body type guide to help them dress confidently and understand why certain styles won’t work for them. Another concern Megan’s clients face is fashion in the workforce. Some women become stressed transferring their personal style into office wear, and for busy working women, getting dressed for work can be monotonous. If the same pieces are chosen, workwear becomes a uniform. “My clients just want what is easy and comfortable,” she
says. “They want an ‘easy button,’ but for fun, personal and professional outfits.” The popular capsule wardrobe concept might create ease in outfit selection, but Megan isn’t sold. She finds it’s limiting for most women, though she believes in having staple pieces that mix and match, along with the skillset to put it all together. “We are not meant to look like the same robot,” she says. “Nothing is more boring than buying something straight off a mannequin. Curate your closet and find cool pieces when you travel, or try boutique and vintage shopping.” One way to build your staple collection, Megan says, is to add a few investment pieces of “certain foundational basics”: MountainBrookMagazine.com 65
SPRING TRENDS TO WATCH Megan is curating a Spring 2019 trend guide for all her clients, spelling out the top ten trends and how to wear them. Expect a continuation of fun statement sleeves, but with a more ethereal, peasant shape. These bohemian pieces will pair with utility items for a fun, fresh look. Yellow will be the color trend.
a pair of well-fitting dark jeans, a beautiful white blouse, a classic leather jacket and a great nude pump. A little black dress is classic, but Megan finds it is more important to have one go-to dress in any color you choose. Investment pieces don’t have to break the bank, but simply be the best quality for your budget. “Look for pieces that are timeless in shape and cut without a lot of trendier details,” she says. “Otherwise they won’t have longevity and aren’t worth the investment.” When making an investment purchase, she says, “Consider cost per wear. Can you wear it multiple ways? How long will it last?” Accessories are often worth the investment, and Megan 66 March/April 2019
believes strongly in the “magic of the third piece.” A scarf, necklace, blazer or a great handbag can be the missing link that completes the outfit. For Megan, that often means her hoop earrings or one of the beautiful silk scarves she inherited from her great-grandmother, another personal style icon of hers. As she curates style from her hometown, Megan also dreams of travelling to Paris to shop with clients—she has even begun brushing up on her French. But no matter where she goes, the core of her advice remains the same: “Dress confidently. What’s the worst that could happen?” Learn more about Megan’s work at meganlarussa. com or follow her on Instagram @megan_larussa.
2019 BUILDERS AND BUYERS GUIDE
Real Estate • Interior Design • Kitchen and Bath Remodeling Outdoor Living • Organization MountainBrookMagazine.com 67
BUILDERS AND BUYERS
Russell Building Supply 110 Wheat Street • Harpersville, 35078 205-672-2224 • RussellDoitCenter.com At Russell Do it Center and Russell Building Supply stores, you’ll find a complete assortment of lumber, building materials, hardware, electrical and plumbing supplies, paint, tools, and lawn and garden merchandise. Russell Do it Center stores deliver first-class service, top-rate products and competitive Do-it-Best pricing. Russell Do it Center has a proud history of service to customers across Central Alabama. They currently have nine convenient locations to serve you, comprised of six Russell Do it Centers and three Russell Building Supply locations. All locations carry a complete assortment of lumber, building materials, doors, windows, specialty millwork, hardware, tools, plumbing, electrical, paint, lawn and garden, and more for contractors and homeowners. Regardless of which location you may utilize, all of our locations are deeply embedded into the communities that we serve. No matter the job size, Russell Building Supply has you covered.
Fixtures & Finishes 2500 2nd Ave S • Birmingham, AL 35233 205.323.5616 • halley@fixturesandfinishes.com • www.fixturesandfinishes.com Established in 2015, Fixtures & Finishes offers an exclusive collection of well edited plumbing, tile and lighting products for the kitchen and bath. Fixtures & Finishes is locally owned by Mary Louise Choate. It is Alabama’s only Waterworks boutique with a two-story showroom on 2nd Avenue South. Homeowners and designers alike, are able to explore the many vignettes displaying a wide array of plumbing, tile, decorative lighting and hardware. The trained and experienced consultants help clients uncover their style and create a design to match their vision and specifications. Fixtures & Finishes can easily help you with any project large or small. Whether you are remodeling or building a new home we have everything for the kitchen and bath. We welcome you to come browse our inspirational showroom and consider making an appointment to receive individual assistance in your selections. We are open Monday through Friday from 8-5. PHOTO BY JEAN ALLSOPP
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BUILDERS AND BUYERS
A Better Closet 1031 14th Street • Calera, 35040 205-621-1638 • Abettercloset.net • Sales@abettercloset.net A professional design and installation service, A Better Closet delivers custom storage solutions to help organize every room of your home. A Better Closet is a locally owned, family-operated business, and we have been building custom storage for over 30 years. Our designers and craftsmen will transform every area of your home (floor to ceiling) to the custom storage of your dreams – with beautiful, lasting results that are guaranteed over the life of your home. At A Better Closet, exceptional service is built in to the equation. When you schedule a free in-home consultation, we focus on finding the plan that is best for you, because we know your home, family, preferences and needs are unique. A Better Closet wants to maximize every inch of space to increase your home’s storage potential and value. Whether you want to make the most of a walk in closet, custom storage, kitchen pantry or home office, A Better Closet can help.
SouthFirst Mortgage Making Dreams Come True… 6930 Cahaba Valley Road, Suite 202 • Hoover, AL 35242 205-991-5911 • www.southfirst.com SouthFirst Mortgage was established in 1994 as a residential construction lending office as a division of SouthFirst Bancshares Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of SouthFirst Bank with offices in Sylacauga, Talladega, Clanton, Birmingham and our newest office, Alexander City. SouthFirst Mortgage offers a wide range of loan products to the needs of various buyers. We have the flexibility of a portfolio lender for a “common sense” loan file to fit your unique needs. We offer a variety of product options and excellent rates to our borrowers through our in-house products and the many investors we have correspondent relationships with.
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BUILDERS AND BUYERS
Urban Home Market 1001 Doug Baker Blvd #101 • Birmingham, AL 35242 (205) 980-4663 • urbanhomemarket.com At Urban Home Market, we offer unique home furnishings that will inspire you to express your personality within your home. Our range of styles include everything from rustic flare to classic elegance. While shopping, check out our Market Place where you can find specialty boutique items such as clothing and accessories. Our degreed interior designers are accomplished and dedicated; each having over twenty years of experience in residential and commercial design. The designers work with clients to achieve a shared vision that fosters creativity and delivers results that exceed our client’s expectations. We are a locally family owned business that takes pride in offering programs that support new home owners as well as other local designers and realtors. Shop Urban Home Market and let us help you make your house a home!
MCJ Company Interiors 2717 2nd Ave S • Birmingham, AL 35233 (205) 458-2700 Margaret Jones’ upscale design shop, MCJ Company Interiors, on 2nd Ave S provides both clients and designers with a place to explore unique products that are not available just anywhere. Her industry relationships provide the total experience. Her relationship with TCS Furniture makes it possible for people to sit on the actual furniture rather than ordering from a picture. Loyal designers like Mark Kennamer Designs have contributed to the success of MCJ Company Interiors. Margaret has worked as a buyer and as a designer so she can see and understand the needs of the designer and client as she has insight into both. She still works as a designer and loves being able to communicate with people that do and do not have a designer, helping to design a space the clients will truly love.
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BUILDERS AND BUYERS
Cahaba Glass 160 Chandalar Place Drive • Pelham, 35124 205-621-7355 • Cahabaglassco.com • Cahabaglass@hotmail.com Cahaba Glass is your ultimate resource for any automotive, residential and small commercial glass needs. For the home, we specialize in the installation of custom shower enclosures, mirrors, glass shelving, furniture top glass, cabinet door glass and specialty glass. Our glazier will replace unsightly window units and patio door glass to give your home that “like new” look. If your small commercial building needs updating, we offer a full range of glass and architectural products to meet your needs. Our experienced staff will assist you with your automobile insurance claims to make the necessary repairs or replacements due to breakage. When you choose Cahaba Glass Company, you are choosing a proven leader in the glass business. Let us help you make your project shine!
DSLD Land Management Design Build Landscape 1178 Dunnavant Valley Rd • Birmingham, AL 35242 205-437-1012 • www.dsldland.com • dsldsocialmedia@gmail.com DSLD Land Management is a family owned and operated full service design/build landscape contractor serving the Birmingham area for over 30 years. DSLD welcomes projects of any scope and size, and stands ready to serve our clients with one of Alabama’s most credentialed professional staffs. We also employ a dedicated and experienced field service team with all requisite trades on board. Full Service Landscaping: We take care of everything – landscape design, installation and construction. We strive to exceed your expectations. We achieve that through careful planning, setting clear expectations, and providing excellent all-inclusive service. We Always Listen to You: We listen to you from initial consultation through build out. We understand that every customer has a unique area and ideas for creating an amazing outdoor space. MountainBrookMagazine.com 71
BUILDERS AND BUYERS
Vulcan Pest Control 115 Commerce Drive • Pelham Alabama 35124 205.663.4200 • www.vulcantermite.com Protect your most valuable assets! Don’t let termites cause destruction on your property – get them gone quickly with professional termite pest control. If you’re looking for the best termite company in Central Alabama you’ve found it. Vulcan’s Termite Division has over 120 years of combined experience providing commercial and home termite treatment. Our staff works diligently to provide inspections and necessary reports in a timely manner so the stress of buying or selling your home is minimized. Schedule your FREE termite inspection today! One of our termite exterminators can evaluate the situation and suggest the best treatment method.
Holcombe Doors and Windows 120 Atchison Dr • Chelsea, AL 35043 205-509-4547 In 1993, Holcombe Doors and Windows opened our showroom to respond to the need for efficient and effective doors and windows. We offer assistance with the selection and proper installation of our products for residential and commercial renovations, additions and new construction projects. We install our products so we can take care of your project from start to finish. Our main window and door lines are Sierra Pacific, Loewen and Kolbe. Windows are available in a wide variety of colors, configurations and materials. We also sell a high-end Poplar interior door and moulding line manufactured by Koetter Woodworking. Interior and exterior doors are available in a multitude of styles, sizes and finishes. Whether you are seeking products that are historically accurate, conventional, or contemporary, Holcombe is proud to be a part of your projects and to help you add to the value, comfort and security of your new or renovated home or business. 72 March/April 2019
New Showroom now Open
Speaking the Same Language How Mitchell’s Place is expanding its educational and therapeutic mission to all families. By Tracey Rector | Photos by Rebecca Wise
MountainBrookMagazine.com 73
Both students with autism diagnoses and those without learn and develop together at Mitchell’s Place.
A
At Mitchell’s Place, communication is key. For the past 14 years, teachers there have focused on helping preschoolers to communicate and to request what they need—a combination of classroom education and therapy developed for children affected by Autism Spectrum Disorder. But those same tactics help typically developing children in their classrooms too. Perhaps no one can speak to that dynamic more astutely than Mitchell’s Place therapists who wear another hat too, as mothers of neurotypical children who have benefitted from the programs there. “It was a wonderful experience for my child,” Education
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Director Samantha Pate says. “Academically, he was definitely ready for kindergarten, but the emotional and social benefits were most pronounced. He would come to me and say, ‘Mommy, I helped my friend today open his banana.’ It gave him such a sense of accomplishment and pride.” Developing character and cultivating a sense of acceptance and a desire to help others are perhaps the most crucial results of typical children learning alongside their autistic peers. “Talking about feelings and verbal problem-solving are stressed here, and these are skills that pay benefits for all children,” says Jan Hobbes, a speech
language pathologist. “My daughter has learned to advocate for herself,” she says of a skill that might not be stressed as much in other preschool settings. Since its inception, the Early Learning Program (ELP), which is the daily preschool program, has included neurotypical children as well as those diagnosed with autism. Because difficulty with communication is one of the key components of autism, strategies to help preschoolers learn to verbalize and increase their ability to communicate with their teachers as well as their peers is a primary focus. Not surprisingly, the techniques used with autistic preschoolers benefit their typical classmates as well. Anne Walker, director of outpatient services and an occupational therapist, says the skills taught and reinforced
every day in the preschool classrooms are necessary for all students as they approach kindergarten. “Things like learning how to be in a group, how to sit in a chair, how to wait your turn … These are things every kindergartner is expected to know,” she explains. Samantha agrees: “Classroom routines are huge when you go into kindergarten, and if you don’t have access to a group setting beforehand, you’re going to have to play catch-up.” Now after seeing how much typically developing children benefitted from the strategies used with their autistic peers, the therapists at Mitchell’s Place have come up with a way to share their expertise with those not on the spectrum who aren’t enrolled in their preschool. The result is two new programs that are available to preschoolers where play and learning go hand-in-hand. Motor Mouths MountainBrookMagazine.com 75
THE BACK STORY
Jan Hobbes, a speech language pathologist at Mitchell’s Place, works in a classroom here and speaks to the benefits of the school for her neurotypical daughter.
Mitchell’s Place opened its doors in 2005 on Overton Road, the brainchild of Mountain Brook residents Alan and Nancy Meisler. After their young son was diagnosed with autism, the Meislers soon realized the huge problem facing families in their situation: the few services that were available for intervention and education for autistic children were scattered in different locations, and because of that, coordinating therapy was an almost impossible task. With Mitchell’s Place, expertly trained therapists and educators work together under one roof to maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of autism-related services.
is geared to 2- to 4-year-olds who can independently participate in a small group setting. Mommy and Me Talk Time is for caregivers and children from 12 to 24 months. Both groups focus on communication and social skills under the watchful eyes of trained speech and occupational therapists. “The idea for Mommy and Me Talk Time came from conversations outside of work, from parents who had lots of questions for me about language development,” Jan says. “It’s for any parents who might have some minor concerns. They’re not necessarily worried about autism, but many times parents will say things like, ‘She’s 20 months and she’s not really talking.’ They are not sure what they should be expecting. We focus on language development, what to expect, and then tried and true strategies they can try at home to get communication going.” Take the Pike family for example. Lucy Pike’s older son who is on the autism spectrum attended the Early Learning 76 March/April 2019
Program and saw dramatic progress. “Being in such a language-rich, therapeutic environment was amazing for him,” she says. But her younger daughter, who is neurotypical, also received crucial assistance from the Mommy and Me program. Lucy says she noticed that her 2-year-old daughter “seemed to be struggling a bit in the language department.” But after six weeks in the play group, her language had accelerated. “Lily was only saying a few words before we started, and she progressed to 4 to 5 word sentences very quickly. She now regularly communicates what she needs and wants through words.” And, she says, her daughter thoroughly enjoyed the play group because it made learning so much fun. Anne stresses the learning in it too. “The Mommy and Me program is a great enrichment activity for parents or caregivers to do. Every strategy we talk about in class is something that’s really easy to incorporate into their daily
“
(My child) would come to me and say, ‘Mommy, I helped my friend today open his banana.’ It gave him such a sense of accomplishment and pride. - Samantha Pate
”
MountainBrookMagazine.com 77
routines,” Anne says. “Early intervention is important, so if a parent is concerned, it can’t hurt to call about it.” Mary Margaret Moore echoes Anne’s sentiment. A special education teacher in Mountain Brook Schools’ preschool program and the mom of a typically developing daughter who attends Mitchell’s Place ELP, she would encourage any parent with questions to find out more. “Take a tour!” she says. “Walking through the halls, you will see that it is very
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much like a typical preschool, but with small class sizes, a high teacher-to-student ratio, and research-based curriculums and practices in place. The teachers and staff are highly trained and they love what they do.” And that’s just why Mitchell’s Place has become an answer to prayer, not just for families with children on the autism spectrum, but many of their friends and neighbors as well. If you have questions about your child’s language or social development, the Motor Mouths and Mommy and Me Talk Time programs are available to help. Call Mitchell’s Place at 205-957-0294 or visit mitchellsplace.com for more information. Language development is the primary red flag for autism, but the experts at Mitchell’s Place hope these programs will alleviate the concerns of many worried parents and give young children the skills and confidence that will set them up for success in kindergarten.
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Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce C O N N E C T I O N S
New Member Spotlight
Welcome, 2019 Mountain Brook Chamber Board of Directors!
- Quest Integrative Health Coaching - Stephens Plumbing - Chick-fil-A Eastwood Village - Legacy Roof Contractors - Mon Ami - Donaldson Group
New Gold Member Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C
New Platinum Member
President – Vince Schilleci (Dominick Feld Hyde) Executive VP – Tonya Jones (Tonya Jones SalonSpa) VP Government Affairs – Representative David Faulkner (Christian & Small) VP Community Affairs – Melinda Curtis (Community Volunteer) VP Marketing Communications – Lauren Nichols (St. Vincent’s) VP Membership – Millie Rudder (IberiaBank) & Walter Crye (Greenhalgh Insurance) Dr. Cal Dodson, Dr. Lori Smith, Dan Bundy, Frank Caley, Terry Chapman, Kaye Emack, David Faulkner, Will Haver, Steven Hydinger, Amy Jackson, John Rucker, John Wilson, Alice Womack, Tonya Jones (Tonya Jones SalonSpa), Gina Harris (Great Smiles Orthodontics), Mike Mahaffey (Pet Vet Express), Cathy Catalano (KH Management), Simin Regins (B. Prince), Ann Sanders (Mountain Brook
Plaza), Dr. Jenny Sobrera (Village Dermatology), Ladd Tucker (Ladd Realty), Joseph Braswell (Guin Service), Ricky Bromberg (Bromberg’s), Betsy Dreher* (Ray & Poynor), John Evans (Lane Parke Development), Laura Finch (Laura Luckie Finch LPC), Paul Graham (Grandview Medical Center), Krista Hughes (Hughes Advocacy), Laura Hydinger (All In Mountain Brook), Brian Lett (Alabama Power), Katrina Porter (Katrina Porter Designs), Knox Richardson (McLeod), Parker Stringfellow (Bryant Bank), Hollins Rush (Regions Bank), Martha Gorham (RealtySouth), John Wilson (Borland Benefield), Paul DeMarco (Parsons, Lee, & Juliano), Dr. Cal Dodson (Red Mountain Wellness & Internal Medicine), Sam Gaston (City Manager), Alice Womack (Oakworth Capital Bank), Dr. Lori Smith (Community Volunteer), Suzan Doidge (Mountain Brook Chamber), Molly Wallace (Mountain Brook Chamber)
Ray & Poynor
101 HOYT LANE 80 March/April 2019
MTN. BROOK, ALABAMA 35213
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Exceptional Foundation’s Chili Cook-Off Brookwood Mall 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. Sponsored by Grandview Medical, MDVIP, Great Smiles Orthodontics, Over the Mountain Dentistry, & Southern States Bank 7.5k Option Available...Walkers Welcome! Register at www.Village2Village10k.com
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WWW.MTNBROOKCHAMBER.ORG MountainBrookMagazine.com 81
OUT & ABOUT
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BATTLE OF THE BANDS
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PHOTOS BY CANVAS BAG MEDIA
Eleven bands made up of local students ages 10-18 years old took the Saturn stage for Mason Music’s Fall 2018 Rock Band League Battle of the Bands, presented by Otey’s and Taco Mama. The league’s adult band, Daddy Long Leg, also performed for the crowd. 1. Jenasis Nash and Scarlett Padgett
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2. Steel City Six: Luke Beckham, Frank Poole, Emily Watson, Gray Irby, Ethan Raley and Ben Carroll 3. Jay Pickett 4. Jordan Mann 5. Tanner Hutson, Reid Ramsbacher and Madeline Stephens 6. Dylan Haigler 7. Kate Lauterbach and Bay Matthews 8. Fall 2018 Rock Band League 9. Philip Smith 10. Phillip Pickett 11. Thomas Jernigan and Anson Harris
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OUT & ABOUT
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SPONSORS: PLATINUM City of Birmingham This is Alabama GOLD Birmingham Magazine Birmingham Mountain Radio 107.3fm Homewood Life Joe Piper Starnes Media SILVER Bell Media Kinetic Communications Alabama Power
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BRONZE Publix Super Markets Charities Encompass Health BlueCross BlueShield Birmingham Convention and Visitors Bureau Over the Mountain Journal
April 26-28
STEEL Alabama State Council on the Arts & the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency Babypalooza Magazine Bancography Bham Now Birmingham Business Journal B-Metro Event Rentals Unlimited Excursions by CityVision Jemison Investment Company, Inc. LeafFilter North of Alabama WBHM Public Radio 90.3fm Yarbrough Festival Foodservice
Linn Park, downtown Birmingham, Alabama www.magiccityart.com
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OUT & ABOUT
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LIBRARY FAMILY NIGHT
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PHOTOS BY ELEANOR KERR
The Emmet O’Neal Library hosted Miss Kit’s Bubble School for Family Night on Jan. 8. 1. Virginia Murphy, Leary Ray and Brooklyn Paulk 2. Virginia Blair, Annie and Louise Angelillo and Alice Gaddy 3. Emma Rais Bahrami, Charlotte Chambliss, Ruby Reese and Eliza Baker
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4. Miss Kit’s bubble demonstration 5. Bibb and Hamilton Girvin, and Juliet Beale 6. Holt Sullivan 7. Anthony, Jake and Elizabeth Lessa 8. Grace, Camille, and Vivien Rediker, and John Bannon Thorper 9. Miss Kit interacts with audience members.
SUBSCRIBE NOW! Your Stories. Your Community. Your Magazine. Visit MountainBrookMagazine.com or call 205-669-3131 to subscribe for $16.30 (6 issues) a year.
84 March/April 2019
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OUT & ABOUT
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Homewood Rotary’s Annual SIDEWALK
CHALK ART FESTIVAL
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Saturday May 4, 2019
8:00 a.m. ‘til 3:00 p.m. Homewood Central Park
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$500 for Best of Show $300 for Most Creative $300 for Chairman’s Choice $100 for Best Of Show-Youth Division 9
Chalk Provided! If you or someone you know would like to p please email Brett Richardson brett.p.richardson@gmail.com
ate,
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OUT & ABOUT
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MBHS BASKETBALL VS. SPAIN PARK
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PHOTOS BY ELEANOR KERR
On Jan. 18 the Mountain Brook High School Varsity Boys Spartans defeated the Jaguars 71-18 and the Girls team lost to Spain Park 51-43. 1. Jessie Holt and Lexie Colgate 2. Caroline McCabe, Maddie Majors and Ansley Powell 3. George Davis
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4. Ferris Schwefler and Emma Culhane 5. Hannah Straughn and Grace Turner 6. Rae Evelyn Gibbs and Harper Cook 7. Trent Wright and John Webb 8. Kate and Ginny Bakken 9. Ty Davis and Tucker Crawford 10. Anna Littleton 11. Linley Simmons, Jane Haley and George Pelekis
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MARKETPLACE
Marketplace Mountain Brook Magazine • 205.669.3131
Acceptance Loan Company. Personal Loans! Let us pay off your title loan! 224 Cahaba Valley Road, Pelham. 205663-5821
Need appliance or air conditioner parts? How about a water filter for your refrigerator? We have it all at A-1 Appliance Parts! Call 1-800-841-0312 www.A-1Appliance.com INDUSTRIAL ATHLETES $17.68 hour + production & safety $$$ incentives. Grocery order selection using electric pallet jacks & voice activated headsets. Apply online at AGSOUTH.COM or call Charlie Seagle at (205) 808-4833 Preemployment drug test required. Automation Personnel Services Hiring IMMEDIATELY For: Automotive Assembly, General Labor, Production, Clerical, Machine Operator, Quality, Carpentry, Welder, Foundry. Positions In: Calera, Clanton, Pelham, Bessemer, McCalla. Walk-in applications accepted. Clanton (205)280-0002. Pelham (205)444-9774. Bama Concrete Now Hiring: Diesel Mechanic 4 Years Minimum Experience. CDL Preferred. Competitive Pay. Great Benefits. Apply in person: 2180 Hwy 87 Alabaster, 35007 Bent Creek Apartments. Affordable 1 and 2 Bedroom. On-site Manager. On-site
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Maintenance. 3001 7th Street. North Clanton, AL 35045. TDD#s: 800548-2547(V) 800-5482546(T/A) bentcreek@ morrowapts.com Office Hours: Mon-Fri, 8am4pm. Equal Opportunity Provider/Employer Boise Cascade Now Hiring for Utility Positions. Starting pay $13.33/hour. Must be able to pass background screen. Please apply at www.bc.com Carroll Fulmer Now Hiring Class-A CDL Drivers. Over-the-road positions available. Dry vans. No hazmat. Must have one year over-theroad. Experience and a clean MVR. Competitive pay and bonus package. Good home time. Call 800-633-9710 ext. 2 Church Transportation and Logistics, Inc Now Hiring Birmingham, AL based Transportation Company looking for Class-A CDL-Drivers •Average 22,500/mileswk •Must be at least 23yrs-old•Starting pay at .43/mile increase to .45 in 6-months•18-months driving exp. Call:205925-1977 Ext:2309 or Email: recruiting@ churchtransportation.net NOW HIRING!!! •Director, Pharmacy Services •Director, Material Management •RN-ER RFT 7pm-7am •RN-ICU RFT 7pm-7am Email resume to: Blaine.Green@cvhealth. net or go to www. cvhealth.net EEO Employer M/F/D/VDrugfree-Workplace
MountainBrookMagazine.com
DCH Health System Caring. For Life. $5,000 *Sign-on Bonus for full time RNs *For More Info Contact Annie. Miller@dchsystem.com. Apply online at: www. dchsystem.com REPLACEMENT WINDOW SALE!!! Any Size Double Hung Window up to 101 UI $238 Basic Installation EcoViewWindows.com Visit Our Showrooms 836 S.Hull St. Montgomery,AL 334-676-3001 40 E.Commerce Dr. Pelham,AL 205-564-8480 $2000 SIGN ON BONUS NEW PAY SCALE TO QUALIFYING DRIVERS EVERGREEN TRANSPORT, is accepting applications for local drivers in the Calera and Leeds, AL, area. Must have Class A CDL, good driving record, 1 yr verifiable tractor trailer experience. Good pay and benefits. Apply in person at 8278 Hwy 25 South, Calera, AL, or call for info 205-668-3316. MECHANICS NEEDED Evergreen Transport LLC has two immediate openings for Class B Mechanics at its terminal in Calera, AL. One for night shift and one for day shift. Call Jason at 205-668-3316. Job duties include repairing, maintaining and overhauling of heavy duty fleet truck/trailers and other tasks assigned by supervisor.
Now Hiring Heavy Equipment Operators and CDL Drivers Competitive pay and benefits. Pre-employment drug test required Equal Employment Opportunity Employer Call: 205-2986799 or email us at: jtate@ forestryenv.com Franklin Iron Works Now Hiring. Grinders & Laborers. Must apply in person: 146 Tommie Drive, Thorsby. Mon-Fri. 10am-3pm. DRIVERS Hanna Truck Lines is seeking Professional Flatbed Drivers. 53 cpm No surprises: Starting pay (all miles): 51 cpm, 52 cpm at 6 months, 53 cpm at 1 year. 100% Outbounds loads Pre-loaded & Tarped. 75% Inbound No Tarp. Late Model Peterbilt Trucks. Air Ride Trailers. Home weekends. Low cost BCBS Health & Dental Ins. Matching 401K. Qualifications: 18 months Class A CDL driving experience with 6 months flatbed; Applicants must meet all D.O.T. requirements. Contact recruiting at 1-800-634-7315 or come by HTL office at 1700 Boone Blvd, Northport. EOE Housing Authority of the Birmingham District Hiring: Homeownership Lease-Purchase Facilitator Resident Services Coordinator-ROSS Human Resources Specialist Compliance Data Analysis Application Data Entry Clerk Assistant Vice President of Housing Operations
Director of Public Safety Custodian View complete description and apply at www.habd.org or 1826 3rdAvenueSouth Birmingham, Al 35233 NOW AVAILABLE LPN’s, RN’s 12 HOUR SHIFTS CNA’s Full-time & part-time Apply in person: Hatley Health Care 300 Medical Center Drive Clanton, AL 35045 Health Services, Inc. Clanton Family Health 107 Medical Center Dr Clanton,AL 35045 Current Opening: •Patient Account Representative •Medical Assistant •LPN Unit Coordinator Helping Hands Estate Sales Serving clients over 7yrs Professional & Experienced We can help sell the contents of your home! Contact for information: 256-2835549 tbob56.wixsite.com/ helping-hands Industrial Coatings Group, Inc. is hiring experienced -Sandblasters -Industrial Painters - Helpers. Must be able to pass drug test and e-verify check. Must be willing to travel. Professional references required. Please send resume to: icgsecretary@ hotmail.com or call (205)688-9004
MARKETPLACE Jefferson State Community College Intent to Employ PartTime Instructors -Daytime English Instructor -Nighttime Speech Instructor - Nighttime Biology Instructor. Please visit www.jeffersonstate. edu to view qualifications or to obtain application forms. Jefferson State Community College Human Resources, 2601 Carson Road, Birmingham AL 35215 Phone: 205856-7764 or 205-8567899 EOE Owner Operators Wanting Dedicated Year Round Anniston, AL www.pull4klb.com SHEETMETAL & MANUFACTURING HELP WANTED •Sheetmetal/ Layout •Manufacturing Helpers •Sheetmetal Machinery Operators Multiple positions Paid holidays, typical shifts are 6:00am-2:30pm Must be reliable & on-time Call RICK: 205-644-9633 Need FREE help with your Medicare? Call your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) today at (800)AGE-LINE (800)-243-5463. M&M Trucking Company hiring experienced trailer and tractor trailer drivers. Minimum three years verifiable experience required. Tanker and dump experience a plus. Apply in person w/MVR at M&M Trucking Company. 980 Lee Road. Auburn, AL 36830. Now Hiring!! •Caregivers-ADL’s, assist with medications and some lifting 7am-3pm, 3pm-11pm, 11pm-7pm •Activity Director PartTime •Cooks-some 12/ hr shifts Call Shay McNeal 205-620-2905
Marble Valley Manor. Affordable 1 and 2 Bedroom Apartments for Elderly & Disabled. Many on-site services! 2115 Motes Rd, Sylacauga. 256-245-6500 •TDD#s: 800-548-2547(V) •800548-2546(T/A). Office Hours: Mon-Fri, 8am4pm. Equal Opportunity Provider/Employer Are you a motivated professional? Are you looking for a dynamic career? Are you ready to control your own level of success? See why McKinnons’ is an exciting place to work and grow. Now accepting applications for Sales, Service, and Detail Shop. Apply with the receptionist. 205-7553430 Shake up your career!!! Are you looking for something new and FUN? Milo’s is always looking for great managers to come join our growing and dynamic team. Apply online at miloshamburgers.com Montgomery Stockyard Drop Station at Gray & Son’s in Clanton. Call Lane at 205-3894530. For other hauling arrangements, contact Wes in Harpersville 205965-8657 MOUNT HOME BUILDERS, INC. Build on your lot custom homes! Our plans or yours! Visit www.mounthomebuilder. com for price quotes and to see completed homes & homes under construction! 205-2990114 Production Jobs. Willing to Train. AAM in Columbiana is HIRING for multiple shifts. Email resume to dcurtis@grede. com or apply in person: 130 Industrial Pkwy, Columbiana, AL 35051
NOW HIRING Class-A CDL Driver Must have clean driving record, two years experience Will train drivers on tank Drivers home nightly Contact Keith at: 205-438-4959 INDUSTRIAL CLEANING IN VANCE Requirements: •18 Years Old •HS Diploma/GED •Able to work variable shifts/ weekends/holidays •Able to lift up to 50lbs constantly, stand on your feet for 8hrs •Able to pass drug screen/background check Complete your application on line at www.naonsite.com Production / Manufacturing Vance, Alabama Starting pay: $12.00 – $14.50 / hr. • Have 2 years+ Production/Manufacturing experience. • Have Recently Lived in Alabama at least 2 years. • Have A High School Diploma or GED. • Are at least 18 years old. Complete your application on line at www.naonsite.com Oxford Healthcare in Montgomery currently hiring certified CNA’s and/ or Home Health aides in the Clanton, Marbury and Maplesville areas. Must be able to pass complete background check, have reliable transportation and have a strong work ethic. Serious inquires only. Call 334-409-0035 or apply on-line at www. Oxfordhealthcare.com Move in Special! 3/2 Garden Home w/garage. Dishwasher, Fenced backyard, Great Room w/ vaulted Ceiling. Calera Schools. Rent $1150. FLAT SCREEN TV!! (205)433-9811
Southeastern Food Merchandisers NOW HIRING Class-A CDL Food Service Delivery Drivers with 1 year experience!!! Pay & Benefits •Home daily •Schedules allow you to depart and return to same terminal daily •Dispatches are single day routes, nothing runs overnight or multi-day! •Paid by weight delivered, miles, and stops •Drivers running single driver routes are earning $75,000-$100,000 yearly! •Team and Helper routes are earning $65,000+ yearly What we offer in addition to route pay! •Attendance/Accuracy bonuses •Wkly-pay w/ direct deposit •401(k) w/ company match, eligible after 6-months with quarterly enrollment •Blue Cross of AL health & dental insurance, company subsidized •Two different medical plans for Blue Cross depending on your needs •Vision Insurance, company subsidized •Basic Life and AD&D 100% employer paid •Company paid Short-Term Disability •Voluntary Life & AD&D also provided on post-tax basis for you, and your family Email resume: ofrye@southeasternfood. com Call:205-685-4534 South Haven Health & Rehab, Hoover NOWHIRING!!! • LPN’s & RN’sAll Shifts-Shift Differential -$3000 Sign on Bonus!!!! • Dietary Aide Apply in person or email: ken. holmes@nhsmgt.com
Stellar Staffing, LLC Customer Service Is Our Passion NOW HIRING!!! Pelham • Calera • Alabaster • Clanton Starting pay: $10hr-$13hr • General Labor • Heavy Equipment Operator • Machine Operator • Crane Operator Please apply on-line: www. stellarstaffingllc.com Questions Call: 205-9162860 CLOCK REPAIR SVS. * Setup * Repair * Maintenance. I can fix your Mother’s clock. Alabaster/Pelham. Call Stephen (205)663-2822 Electrician - FT Supreme Electric, local-based company in Pelham. Must be willing to learn & work hard. Go to: supremeelectric-al. com Print employment application under Contact Us. Mail to: Supreme Electric 231 Commerce Pkwy Pelham, AL 35124 or call 205-453-9327. TaylorMade Transportation Hiring CDL Drivers for Flatbed Regional Division! BCBS Insurance After 30 Days. To apply call: (334)3662269 or email: s.smith@ taylormadeinc.com Become a Dental Assistant in ONLY 8 WEEKS! Please visit our website capstonedentalassisting. com or call (205)5618118 and get your career started! White Oak Transportation is hiring CDL-A drivers in your area. Great Pay! Excellent Benefits! Visit our website www.whiteoaktrans.com for more information EOEM/F/D/V
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MY MOUNTAIN BROOK ELIZABETH HANAWAY
Miss Olympian + Mountain Brook High School Dorian
Study Spot
The Emmet O’Neal Library When I was younger, my mom would take me to the library so I could rent a DVD or a picture book. Nowadays, the library has become my favorite study spot, especially during winter exam week, where you can always find me with a Diet Coke and a candy cane, courtesy of the library!
The AP Chem Family
Mr. Rosenstiel’s Classroom As a member of what Mr. Rosenstiel calls “The AP Chem Family,” I spend much of my school day in MBHS Room 509. But not only do I spend my time here balancing reactions and finding rate law constants, I also often find myself stopping by to hear Mr. Rosenstiel’s latest piece of advice or to eat lunch with my favorite teacher and fellow Chemistry Family members.
Queso Please
La Paz After a casual Sunday evening service at Saint Francis, my family and I love to drive into Crestline and stop by La Paz for dinner. I always order the BBQ chicken quesadilla, but usually fill up on their amazing queso before the waiter even takes our orders.
Scenic Strolls
The Botanical Gardens One of my fondest elementary school memories was the day we all laced up our hiking boots and marched from MBE to the Botanical Gardens. The Japanese Garden is my favorite.
For a Superman Scoop
Mountain Brook Creamery Mountain Brook Creamery is my go-to Saturday night spot to laugh with friends over a scoop of Superman or a vanilla malt. I love seeing so many familiar faces here!
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Come visit our new facility, including the new Spa Cahaba
2279 VALLEYDALE RD. SUITE 100 HOOVER, AL 35244
Holly Gunn MD, FAAD
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