Cullman Good Life Magazine - Fall 2020

CULLMAN COUNTY

Mama Duke is content seeing 102 years of history pass from Welti

Concetta Kreps has loved cooking since making French toast as a kid FALL 2020 | COMPLIMENTARY

A Navy pilot reinvents himself into an agritourism rancher

Dental Arts has provided high-quality dental care to our area since 1981. In 2015, Dr. Kari Bartlett took over Dental Arts continuing the tradition of dental excellence.

With the old office on 2nd Avenue growing crowded, Dr. Bartlett built a state-of-the-art office on 4th Avenue to better serve her patients.

She and her growing staff – complimented by her associate, Dr. Abby DiLuzio – remain committed to providing top-quality dentistry and friendly, personal service for you and your family.

We’d love to have you visit our new office and help you smile more!

Dental Arts is located in the new North Alabama Wellness Center on 4th Ave NE, across the street and a half block south of the Folsom Center.

Dr. Abby DiLuzio, associate Dr. Kari L. Bartlett, owner

Cosmetic and Family Dentistry Featuring: Porcelain Veneers, Dental Implants, Crowns, Bridges, Zoom Whitening, and Full Smile Rehabilitations.

205 4th Ave NE Suite 101 Cullman, AL 35055 2

AUGUST | SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2020

256-739-5533 www.dentalartscullman.com

C u l l m a n ’s Largest Furniture Showroom

CULLMAN FURNITURE MARKET

1807 2nd Ave SW ● Cullman, AL 4

AUGUST | SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2020

256-841-6755

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Community banking – it’s more than a cliché at Citizens Bank & Trust.

We’re proud to say we’re of the community, not just in it.

In challenging times when things take an unexpected turn, it’s good to know there’s a true community bank you can count on. With local leadership and banking decisions made right here, we make sure the help you need is one less worry.

The word “community” is a big deal at Citizens Bank & Trust, and no small reason we’re here when you need us.

BAN K & T RU S T Come see us at the corner of 2nd Avenue SE and 3rd Street.

223 2nd Avenue SE • (256) 841-6600 citizensbanktrust.com

Albertville 256-878-9893

Arab 256-931-4600

Elkmont 256-732-4602

Guntersville 256-505-4600

Hazel Green 256-828-1611

New Hope 256-723-4600

Rogersville 256-247-0203

Welcome

There’s a place for Good Life... even in these strange corona times

I

missed you guys!

Fortunately, in more ways than one, what I get out of publishing Good Life Magazine goes beyond a regular paycheck.

I love sharing photos with you through GLM – those I shoot and those shot by others, such as Liz Smith’s sunflowers on the cover. I also love meeting people, learning about them, writing their stories and sharing them on these pages. It’s a creative outlet that allows me to bring a little joy, a few bright colors and a taste of happiness to our readers.

(Gee ... as I write this, it’s turning out a bit differently than I’d intended. But bear with me.)

I enjoyed and tremendously appreciate my former career in newspapers, but the ratio of the stories and photos that brought readers pleasure – as opposed to news – was nowhere near that of Good Life Magazine.

That’s one of the reasons Sheila McAnear and I don’t pretend to publish a newspaper here. You won’t find the latest depressing stats and stories on Covid-19 in the following pages.

But the ubiquitous pandemic – or “damnpemic,” if you will – can’t be ignored. Heck, the resulting shuttering of businesses is the reason we felt it prudent to cancel our summer issue.

That’s why I missed you guys, our readers. And I know that at least some of you – perhaps even bunches of you – missed us, too.

These are, indeed, strange days.

Terrible for many of us.

Two people – that I know of – who are featured in this fall magazine are at home as I write this, both quarantined with Covid-19. It’s hit the family of the new pastor at my church, who only just recently moved from Cullman to Arab, where I live. I know others suffering from the coronavirus, and in all likelihood you do, too.

We cannot make the virus vanish. But here’s to hoping you can put it out of mind for a while and enjoy Good Life Magazine. Glad to have you back!

Mo Mc PUBLISHING LLC

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AUGUST | SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2020

Contributors After selling Deb’s Book Store, Deb Laslie works a lot more in the family garden. It’s big enough to take an hour to pick two rows of beans. “We didn’t have it this big last year when I was working,” she laughs. “And now I’m really working.” But no worries ... she still reads three or more books a week.

Seth Terrell says teaching English for Wallace State is different since classes are now streamed online with Zoom-like software. He can teach at home while wearing shorts – as long as he doesn’t stand up.

Making it nicer, he and his wife recently moved into the new home they built over the past year.

Steve Maze is interested in many topics, including unusual critters – be they factual or old lore. “I like things that have a ring of truth to them ... but not too much,” he laughs. Among such alleged animals are coach whip snakes. He doesn’t recall ever being whipped by the latter, but says he probably would.

Restaurant reviewer David Myers spent the summer sampling fare from the Gulf Coast to New Orleans to North Alabama. “Hey, my friends, if you know where to look you can find food just as good up here as down in New Orleans.” His dedication to the “effort” comes with a taste of irony: “Eat well – but stay trim.”

After Covid struck, GLM partner Sheila McAnear sewed 50-60 masks for her spiritual friends and family. More recently, she and son Terry, 21, had scares that led them to two overlapping quarantines.

It gave her time to reupholster seats in her boat – and the excuse for them to social distance on water.

GLM editor/publisher David More can get a little confused with an even keel. Add corona waves and it gets weird. He’s dealing with stories and photos from interviews and shoots he did last January and February for a summer issue that turned into the fall issue. “What year is this?”

David F. Moore Publisher/editor | 256-293-0888 david.goodlifemagazine@gmail.com

Vol. 7 No. 1 Copyright 2020 Published quarterly

Sheila T. McAnear Advertising/art director | 256-640-3973 sheila.goodlifemagazine@gmail.com

MoMc Publishing LLC P.O. Box 28, Arab, Al 35016 www.good-life-magazine.net

Local Heros Make It Happen h g u o r h t t e g l il We w this together

Good Life Magazine and our valued advertisers thank those who keep us safe and keep our community functioning AK Rentals Alabama Health Guidance of Cullman Andrews Sports Medicine-Cullman ARC Realty Augusta’s Sports Grill Basch Brothers Powersports Buettner Brothers Lumber Christ Lutheran Church Citizen’s Bank & Trust Cullman Regional Medical Center Cullman Cosmetic & Family Dentistry Cullman Economic Development Agency Cullman Electric Cooperative Cullman Furniture Market Cullman Jefferson Gas District Cullman Park, Recreation & Sports Tourism Cullman Power Board Cullman Savings Bank

Dairy Queen Grill & Chill Dental Arts Doyle Real Estate East Side Barber Shop Freedom Insurance Agency Freedom Marine Center Harrison Outdoors Heritage Pharmacy Johnny’s Bar-B-Q Joseph Carter Realty Justin Dyar Knight-Free Insurance Leonard Design Lesley Hyde - State Farm MarMac Real Estate Karen Richards Mitch Smith Chevrolet Inc. O.F. Richter & Sons Options

Pampered Chef - Jami Russell Peoples Bank of Alabama Cullman Regions Bank Royal Technologies Russell Marine Superior Custom Barns Southern Ghost Girls Standard Furniture Three Pears Tire Pros/McGriff Tire Van’s Sporting Goods Village Furniture & Gifts Wallace State Community College White Willow Walker Brothers Warehouse Discount Groceries WRAB/FUN 92.7 Wyn Cliff Point/Wyn Cliff Estates

Inside 10 | Good Fun

Numerous events are planned for fall, coronavirus allowing

14 | Good People

Christy Turner finds fulfillment through CPRST’s vast efforts

20 | Good Reads

Your fall list: ‘Someone to Watch Over Me’ and ‘Book Women’

23 | Good Cooking

Concetta Kreps offers a sampling of recipes with a delicious flair

32 | Good Getaways

‘Life is Amazing’ ... and on full display at Decatur’s Cook Museum

36 | A great non-plan Alan and Cindy Pass love that they fell into the lake life here

46 | Good Eats

Stone Bridge Farms ... no, all buffets are not created equally

48 | Snakes

These are the kind that slither (and roll) from southern tall tales

51 | Mama Duke

She’s been content watching 102 years of history from Welti

58 | Pickleball

Folks here are making a big ‘dill’ out of it with no pickle in sight

65 | Sullivan Creek

A Navy pilot reinvents himself producing ‘Akaushi’ beef cattle

70 | Out ‘n’ About

A flashback to those ads that graced high school yearbooks On the cover | September sunflowers grow profusely at Haynes Farm. Photo by Liz Smith.

This page | A barred owl rules this exhibit at the Cook Museum of natural History Photo by David Moore.

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Shelia Windsor F & I Manager

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Christie Bright BDC Manager

DISCLAIMER NOTICE Tom and Sarah McCaffrey, above, burned up the dance floor at Oktoberfest 2019, and a big crowd again turned out for the German dinner at Sacred Heart Church, right. But with coronavirus pandemic numbers still growing in Alabama, the state was still on a mandatory face mask order as the magazine went to press. This left the status of Cullman Park, Recreation and Sports Tourism’s annual Oktoberfest, Midnight Run and Christmas in Cullman events up in the air. (Check its Facebook page for updates.) What’s more, while still planned at deadline, all of the events listed in Good Fun are tentative. Photos by David Moore.

Good Fun • Sept. 6-7 – Sweet Tater Festival & Car Show Get ready to love yourself some sweet taters … and love yourself some fun. The 24th Annual Sweet Tater Festival returns to Smith Lake Park extending Labor Day weekend for some 5,000 of your closest friends. Hours are 9 a.m.- 6 p.m.

Sunday; 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday.

Admission is $5 for the weekend.

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Events still planned but ...

Vendors will be selling arts, crafts and food. There’ll be music both days, fun for the kiddies and the pool will be opened for its last splash of the season.

The Cruise Fest and Swap Meet is 9 a.m.- 2 p.m. Monday. Cruise Fest registration is 7-11 a.m. and $15. For more information, call: David Speegle, 256-385-1401.

And of course there will be

AUGUST | SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2020

lots of sweet taters donated by the Cullman County Sweet Potato Growers. More info? Call: Smith Lake Park, 256-739-2916; or visit: www. cullmancountyparks.com.

Sept. 12 – Motorcycle ride The 8th Annual Cullman County Bosom Buddies Foundation Charity Motorcycle Ride takes off at 4 p.m. from Buffalo Wild Wings in Cullman

and will circle through Hayden before returning for a “Ride Night.” Back at the restaurant there will be live music, vendors and meal deals at Buffalo Wild Wings until 9 p.m.

On-site registration 2-3:30 p.m. Cost per rider is $25; $15 for passengers. Rain out date TBD. To guarantee a T-shirt register and save $5, register online by Aug. 29 at: www.cullmanbosombuddies.com.

Sept. 14 – Million Dollar Hole-in-One Enjoy a great day of golf and qualify for chance to win a oncein-a-million lifetimes million-dollar hole-in-one. It’s Cullman Regional’s 29th Annual Hole-in-One Golf Extravaganza at TP Country Club with four-golfer scrambles starting at 7:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Activities also include a 6:30 breakfast, 11 a.m. lunch; 12:45 helicopter golf ball drop; putting contests during both scrambles and hole-in-one qualifying; culminating at 5:15 with the million-dollar hole-inone shootout and putting contest.

Afterward, relax with social hour during awards.

Sponsorships range from $250 to $10,000. Non-sponsor teams can sign up to play for $600 or individuals can sign up for $150 per golfer.

Secure your spot today to reserve the morning or afternoon session.

Deadline to sign up is Aug. 28. For more information, contact: Cullman Regional Foundation, 256-737-2565; or crmcfoundation@crmchospital. com.

• Sept. 19 – Hanceville Music Fest Headliner for the second-year event is Confederate Railroad. Set for 5-11:30 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Park, gates open at 5 p.m., Willie Underwood starts at 6:30 and the Tommy Crowder Band plays at 7:30 with Confederate Railroad coming on at 9.

Food trucks will be on site, and alcoholic beverages will be sold.

VIP packages – online, advance only – cost $40 and include special parking, restaurants, seats and a souvenir take-home chair. For VIP and $20 general admission tickets:

Confederate Railroad headlines the season’s first Hanceville Music Fest Sept. 19.

The Oak Ridge Boys, below, is one of the groups you’ll see if you sign up for the Wallace State alumni trip to Branson, Mo., Sept.- 28-Oct. 2.

www.eventbrite.com. Any remaining general admission tickets will be sold for $30 at the gate.

• Sept. 28-Oct. 2 – Autumn in Branson, Mo.

Enjoy Branson, fittingly enough, with five shows. See the Oak Ridge Boys, Clay Cooper’s Country Express, Grand Jubilee, Absolutely CountryDefinitely Gospel and Billy Yates Hit Songwriters Dinner Show. Roundtrip

AUGUST | SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2020

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includes deluxe motorcoach transportation, four hotel nights and 11 meals, including dinner with Chris Olsen from HGTV. Visit College of the Ozarks, take the Wildlife Tram and have a picnic at Dogwood Canyon Nature Park. A tour guide, luggage handling, taxes and meal gratuities included.

Sponsored by the Wallace State Community College Future Foundation, alumni members get a $100 discount on the trip. For non-alumni members rates range from $1,025 to $1,335 per person, depending on occupancy.

Deadline is in early August, so act now if you’re up for the fun. Register online: www.wsccalumni.org; for more information call LaDonna Allen, 256-352-8071.

• Oct- 1- Nov. 14 – Thanksgiving Turkey, Ham and Ribs Place your order starting today for Thanksgiving turkeys, hams and ribs from the Cullman County Bosom Buddies Foundation. Turkeys, 15-17 lbs., are $30; hams, 10-12 lbs., $30;

full rack of ribs $25. Orders may be picked up 10-11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 21; and 4-5 pm Nov. 25, the day before Thanksgiving at Freddy Day Catering, 1628 2nd Ave. NW in Cullman. Will work with businesses on pickups. To order or for more information: Judy W. Grissom, 256347-5993; or Mary Dyer, 256-3390911.

• Oct. 3 – Catch a $10K stringer Go fishin’ and festin’ at Smith Lake Park’s Seventh Annual Bass Fest. A crowd of anglers will be vying to land the guaranteed top prize of $10,000.

Among other prizes, biggest fish wins $500, as does the top parent-child team.

During the day, 9 a.m.-6 p.m., there’ll be music, vendors and other fun activities at the park beach area where weigh-ins will be held.

Deadline for online registration is Sept. 24, fee is $150, and a mandatory meeting will be held at 6 p.m., Oct. 2 at the Agriculture Trade Center. (You can also sign up then for $175 cash.)

Fish Life will be there to sell apparel at the pre-tournament meeting and everyone that buys something will receive a ticket for a drawing to win $250 on tournament day (must be present to win).

For details and registration visit: http: www.smithlakeparkbassfest. com; or call Doug Davenport, 256590-2667; or Sara Morgan, 256347-8334.

• Oct. 3 – Fair Parade As long as the Cullman County Fair is on, the annual parade starts at 2 p.m. this Saturday and runs along U.S. 31 from Cullman First Baptist Church to McGriff Tire and Service. Cost to enter is $20.

Registering to participate starts after Labor Day at the fair office at Sportsman Lake Park.

• Oct. 6 – Little Pink Dress The second-year event benefits Cullman County Bosom Buddies Foundation and will take place on Tuesday at Loft 212 of Cullman.

Doors open at 5:30 p.m.; dinner

includes a four-course meal catered

by Teresa Dyer of Custom Catering.

A live and silent auction will also take place during the evening.

Christina Chambers will again emcee the event; guest speaker to be announced soon.

The Cullman County Bosom Buddies Foundation is an allvolunteer, non-profit that assists Cullman area residents while they are in a cancer treatment program.

Tickets are $65 each and along with dinner include a complimentary photo and gift bag. They go on sale Aug. 1 at: www.cullmanbosombuddies. com. For more information, to purchase tickets or to inquire about sponsorship contact: Louise Cole, 256-503-5301; or Judy Grissom, 256-347-5993.

• Oct. 8-17 – 66th Cullman County Fair Pending no state closing orders because of coronavirus, the Lions Club plans to go all out again for the Cullman County Fair. Gates are set

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to open and the fun will begin at 5 p.m., Thursday. There will be nightly pageants or entertainment at 7 p.m. and tons of exhibits, prizes and rides on the big midway.

General fairgrounds admission is free for kids 9 and under and $7 for all others. Arm bands for unlimited rides are $22; $25 on Fridays, Saturdays and Sunday. Admission and individual ride tickets are available at the fair. Senior Citizens Day is Oct. 14. Gates open at 5 p.m. weeknights and 2 p.m. both Saturdays and Sunday.

For updates and more info on rides and entertainment and registration info exhibits and pageants visit: www.cullmanfair.org; or call: 256-734-0661 • Oct. 10 – Hanceville Music Fest Hanceville’s second show of the fall (see Sept. 19) features the Kingsmen Quartet and Gold City with gates opening at 5 p.m. Presale tickets are available through Oct. 9 at City Hall for $10 and the day of at the civic center for $15.

They are also available for $15 at www.eventbrite.com. For questions, call: 256-352-9830 • Oct. 24 – Peinhardt Farm Day Young and old can experience hands-on activities at Peinhardt’s 40-acre antique farm and wellstocked museums. Learn how to make quilt samplers, how turpentine is made, and watch cotton being ginned. Hear old-time music, plow with a mule, compete in sack races and more.

The event – 9 a.m.-3 p.m. – is free for ages 4 and under, $5 for kids 5-11; $7 for 13 and up. The farm is located at 1711 Talley Ho Street, Cullman. For more info: www. peinhardtfarm.org; or FB Peinhardt Living History Farm.

• Oct. 31 – Trick or Treat at the Lake Campers at Smith Lake Park are decorating for Halloween, and area parents are invited to the bring their children there to trick or treat from 5-8 p.m. For more info call the park: 256-739-2916.

Good People

5questions Story by David Moore Photo by Leslie Dyer/Soulful Snaps

H

eritage Park, Cullman Wellness and Aquatic Center, Field of Miracles, Cross Creek Golf Course, neighborhood parks, Art Park, Donald Green Senior Center, Festhalle Marketplatz, Hurricane Creek, the 21-mile Duck River Trail for mountain biking and hiking, North Alabama Agriplex, indoor archery ranges, Oktoberfest, Strawberry Festival, Cullman Community Theatre, baseball, softball and volleyball leagues, flag football teams, Second Fridays, Christmas in Cullman, Christkindlmarkt, summer camp, arts camp, field trips …

It’s a crazy long and crazy fun list of activities offered to not just residents of the city of Cullman but all of Cullman County.

But guess what?

All of that fun requires a lot of effort on the part of a lot of folks.

Christy Turner can tell you all about the long hours, the hard work, the pressure and dedication required of her and the other 35 employees of Cullman Parks, Recreation and Sports Tourism, a $7 million department budgeted by the city of Cullman. She can tell about work and pressure, but she won’t. She simply doesn’t dwell upon the grueling aspects of the job. Far from it.

“Not one day since I started working here have I gotten up in the morning and not wanted to come to work,” says Christy, CPRST’s recreational development director. “Never. It sounds corny … but it’s true.”

When former CPRST director Nathan Anderson left Oct. 1, 2019, to take a private-sector job in Nashville, Christy – along with Kyle Clark – was named co-interim director. They remained in that position until March 2020 when Zac Wood of Cullman replaced Nathan as CPRST director.

“I am very excited about Zac coming 14

Christy Turner

She gets up each day, eager to be a part of Cullman Park, Rec and Sports Tourism in,” Christy says. “I can’t wait to work and grow with him and see a lot of our existing projects through.”

CPRST has been nationally recognized over the years for its top-notch programs and facilities. And last year it became Alabama’s first department – and one of only 178 across the country – to earn accreditation through the National Recreation and Park Association.

Yep. Park and Rec’s scope in Cullman – and across the county – is far-reaching.

C

hristy grew up in Crane Hill, daughter of Barbara and Ray Calvert, a stay-at-home mom and a dad who was a contractor and poultry farmer.

“I have wonderful parents that taught me how to work hard, serve God, be grateful, to laugh, never give up, and how to be a servant,” she says.

They also instilled in her a love of community and people.

After a friend’s father had a stroke, Christy was inspired to work in the healthcare field, which is why she majored in occupational therapy at Wallace State Community College, and why she later worked for Restore Therapy Services at USA Healthcare.

In 1997, another friend, Julie Edwards Graham, got Christy a blind date with Rusty Turner. They married that fall and went on to raise three children.

After a stint as a stay-at-home mom herself, Christy’s early lessons of service and community led her to volunteer in 2009 at CPRST’s then new Cullman Wellness and Aquatic Center. The position also dovetailed nicely with her earlier desires to be associated with healthcare, and she quickly felt at home.

What’s more, John Hunt, then director of CPRST, insisted that the new, firstclass facility existed to serve the entire Cullman community, not just people inside the city, which resonated strongly with Christy’s upbringing, “John always felt like the aquatic

AUGUST | SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2020

center was meant to be an extension of everyone in the community, not just one segment,” she says. “It’s always been a part of the community fabric.”

So she immersed herself in the team effort to serve the community, first as a volunteer with CPRST then going fulltime in 2011.

“I’ve felt like a part of the team since the beginning,” Christy says. “We are all very community-minded, servant-like people. We have a heart for community and to give of ourselves to help Cullman be Cullman.”

I

n Christy’s view, CPRST really took off in 2007 when the Field of Miracles became a reality, providing ballpark facilities for athletes with special needs.

“Chester Freeman helped make that happen,” she says. “He was one of the most giving, community-minded people I ever had the privilege of knowing.”

Field of Miracles is an example of CPRST and city leaders listening to the needs of the community and responding accordingly, Christy says.

“That happens often,” she says. “It’s why it’s not uncommon for one of our programs to lead to another.”

Such was the beginning of CWAC. The same happened with the youth volleyball camp that prepares kids for middle school sports, and – of special interest to Christy – with CPRST’s therapeutic recreation program. The latter uses the power of playing and leisure activities to help rehabilitate people of all ages and promote their overall wellness.

“During the busy season, Parks and Recreation program has over 200 parttime, seasonal employees,” she says of the program. “We have over 200 volunteers as well, including members of the Pilot Club, coaches and the girls basketball team at Cold Springs High School. They love it and won volunteer group of the year for their work with Therapeutic Recreation.”

SNAPSHOT: Christy Turner

EARLY LIFE: Grew up in Crane Hill, eldest child of Ray and Barbara Calvert; siblings are Stephanie Crider and Todd Calvert.

“God gave me all their good traits,” she laughs.

FAMILY: Married Rusty Turner, now a three-term Cullman County district judge. They have three grown children: Jordan, Rutland and Annelise, who is still in college.

EDUCATION: Attended Dowling Elementary and Dowling Junior High; graduated in 1989, Cold Springs High, where she played basketball. Worked her way through Wallace State Community College, graduating in 1995 with the first class of occupational therapy students.

CAREER: 1995-2005, worked in geriatric care for Restore Therapy Services at USA Healthcare facilities in Morgan and Cullman counties. Stay-at-home mom and sold real estate on the side until 2009. Volunteered with Cullman Park, Recreation and Sports Tourism at the front desk of the newly opened Cullman Wellness and Aquatic Center, then worked part time in programs and marketing; 2011 went full-time with CPRST in programs and specials events; now serves as recreational development director.

OTHER ACTIVITIES: attends Daystar Church. Member of the Cullman Regional Service Guild, Cullman Women’s League; former member of Second Century League.

Christy says CPRST’s team approach has nurtured a special relationship between the department and the community.

“We are part of the community as individuals, and when you are a part of something, it becomes bigger than you.

We are all investing in our community as well as individuals.”

In the end, Christy continues, it becomes good for everyone because “Cullman” means everyone in the community.

“I come to work every day knowing what I do makes a difference,” she says. “Beyond recreation and wellness, CPRST plays a part in recruiting businesses to the area. I want Cullman to have strong industry and quality of life in our community, because I want my children – all of our children – to be able to move back here, make a living and raise a family. CPRST is a vital piece in the quality of life in our community.

“I was born here,” she continues. “I have lived here my entire life. My roots are here, and I want to end my time here. I can’t imagine living anywhere

else. What a wonderful, fantastic community we have. And I am blessed to a small part of it.”

1.

What is the status on the new civic center building and what sort of doors and opportunities will the multipurpose facility open to the public?

It’s still in the early stages of the design process. We are gathering information on current and future needs and trying to put it all together in a plan that meets all those needs under one roof.

It’s a fluid situation.

When it’s built it will meet the needs for an indoor sports complex and an events center, and we’ll be able to convert it to meet civic needs.

While meeting the needs of our community, we hope to grow our sports tourism as well. We can recruit different types of sporting events that we couldn’t in the past because we didn’t have the space. For instance, large volleyball and basketball tournaments, indoor archery on a larger scale, trade shows, concerts, E-sports – online gaming – and larger craft shows. It’s kind of endless the things

you can do if you have a space large enough and can convert it.

The building will house CPRST’s central offices there, as well. At the moment, the central staff is located at a renovated house on Second Avenue just down from Depot Park. Before coronavirus, there were about a dozen people working in there.

The new offices will make the work flow much better. We are excited.

The civic center will be where the old Marvin’s was on Main Avenue. It will be walking distance to the aquatic center. We have not gotten that far into design to know if the walkways between the two will be covered or not. But being adjacent to the aquatic center, and having Heritage Park across the road and the Miracle Fields, senior center and the Ingle connective park all nearby … having so much in one general location makes CPRST an even better recruitment tool, if you will.

Not all places have everything that we have in one area. And it’s within walking distance of restaurants, too. It makes it very marketable, not just for sports tourism, but tourism in general.

CULLMAN

♥

Be an Ambassador We enjoy a great quality of life and quality job opportunities. We have dynamic people working to promote Cullman, but you are the perfect ambassador.

This is your home. You love it too!

We need you to…

Talk up Cullman with all non-residents you know and meet!

“Pastoring at Grace Chapel brought me here first. Then came the new office for Byars Wright. But family brought us here more than anything.”

– Trae Norrell, wife Sara Beth (Witcher) and Lou – glad to be in Cullman.

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AUGUST | SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2020

And the new civic center will be in the middle of it all.

2.

You’ve been involved with CPRST for about 11 years. In that time, what are some changes and services that you are most proud of?

I guess the biggest, “mostest” proudest thing for me is being a part of this team we have. It’s what we together, our team has accomplished. And I am most proud to be a part of it.

That probably sounds cliché, but I’m proud of being a part of our community and the things we do for it every day. Not just at CPRST, but Cullman as a whole.

The team includes our city leaders … the mayor, council, economic development, the park board. We partner with the county on some things, and I enjoy working with them as well. Then there’s the staff I work with every day … all of the volunteers.

We are all a part of something bigger than ourselves and are working toward a common goal.

This goes back to the construction of Heritage park. That’s when we started

coming on the scene, if you will. That put us on the map.

John Hunt (Nathan Anderson’s predecessor as director of CPRST) was there when I started, and I got to work with him for almost five years before he retired. He was able to see growth in his 23 years that was significant to Cullman Parks and Recreation.

One of John’s intangibles, which showed in his work, was his love for the community. I could see that, but I don’t think I learned that from him – my parents taught me. But his love for the community was very evident.

John’s passing away on March 16 was tragic, shocking. His memory and legacy will continue to live on in our parks, and in the CPRST team.

And that team is the reason for all the wonderful changes.

I am most proud of this, too – I feel like we have become a good partner with our city and county leaders. We are a good tool for economic development and the other economic drivers that benefit us all.

3.

CPRST is in the midst of

refreshing all of its small, neighborhood parks. What’s been done so far and what’s still on the to-do list?

When Nathan came to CPRST, it was important to him, a top priority, to refresh the neighborhood parks. In that three years we have renovated Stiefelmeyer and Culpepper parks, Carroll Acres, Ingle – which we refer to as the Connected Playground – and Art Park.

Art Park is not complete because of all the rain at the first of the year, but it’s almost done.

Nesmith Park and East Side Park – or Lions Club Park – are on schedule for 2020 and 2021, with completion, hopefully, by 2021. The coronavirus has hurt that schedule, however.

When Nathan came on board, CPRST was really starting to look at how important neighborhood parks are to the impart on green space in the city, and how important they were to the neighborhoods to be a 10-minute walk away.

There is an importance for play and activity. That’s why our motto is “Get Out and Live.” That’s our goal for people, and it became real to Nathan. So he – along

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AUGUST | SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2020

17

with the park board and mayor and council – made it a priority.

The neighborhood parks needed updating, refreshing, so they encourage people to come out and play. To throw a ball. Or just be outside, be active and engaged.

CPRST has no plans to make new parks at this time. We just want to refurbish Nesmith and East Side so we complete the full circle with the neighborhood parks.

4.

CPRST is more than just sports and physical activities. The department offers numerous, nonphysical activities. What are some of them, and how did those offerings come about?

Art is certainly one of those offerings. While renovating the old City Park, we renamed it Art Park. We had in our mind that this park would be a way to encourage programs and other things to reach people’s creative side. We have a lot of talented people in Cullman, and we wanted to use this as a platform to foster and nurture their creativity.

An interesting side note ... this whole thing began with a renovation of the art building on the former City Park site. Interestingly enough, that building was the first office of Parks and Recreation back in the 1960s.

We were very intentional with the things we did with this park. We wanted it to have personality of its

own. We made bathrooms from old shipping containers. We had Donald Walker paint scenes and words on them unique to Cullman, our home. He painted murals under the culvert, too.

We also commissioned the first art piece. It was done by a local native, Heath McClain. He sculpted “A Farmer.” We had an unveiling last fall.

We have all of our art classes in the building and summer camp. We also offer piano and some music classes and hold theatre practice there.

CPRST is many things to many people. We heard from the community that there was a need that was not being met. They wanted art programs. We stuck our toe in the water and continue to listen and grow.

Another example is that we partnered with Cullman Community Theatre as an art outreach.

We do children’s threatre every January and partner with Cullman High School for a summer camp for theatre that’s open to everyone.

5.

What is something most people don’t know about Christy Turner?

I am a pretty boring person, but one thing most people don’t know is that we had a foreign exchange student last year, and now she has become the newest “member” of our family.

Our three kids now have a new sibling, Pia. She’s from Norway. She graduated as a senior from Cullman in 2019 and returned home to finish her

senior and 13th year of school there.

She plans to move back this year and attend Wallace State.

It feels like we have another daughter.

Not only did we gain a “child” in Pia, but we gained other family members as well. Her mother and her brother all feel like they’ve been with us from the beginning. We all speak by phone or Face Time at least once a week. They visited us and we visited them as well.

We spent the Christmas holiday with them in the Trondheim (a city of nearly 200,000 on a fjord of the same name in Central Norway). Her mom and brother visited with us for spring break in 2019.

Most people probably also don’t know that my favorite gifts are quilts from my grandmothers. Once, years ago, my late Grandmother Calvert gave me and all her grandkids hand-made quilts for Christmas. She did every stitch in those quilts.

We all opened then up and thought, “Oh. Yea. A quilt.” But when you are young, you just don’t appreciate what a gift that is. A quilt takes you back to the things that really matter. It grounds you in what you are, and reminds you where you came from and what you are here for. It is a tangible feeling.

As I grew older, I realized what went into that quilt. Today, it’s tattered and worn and used, and I think of her every time I use it. She wanted me to use it, and I do.

I am also a huge fan of college sports and the Green Bay Packers.

Good Life Magazine

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Good Reads

Pack Horse Librarian delivers a tale of ‘humankindness”

Revisiting McNaught comes with the threat of sleep loss

arely does a book draw me into another place and time so completely that I am unable to get the characters and their stories out of my mind for days, much less weeks on end. Such is the power of “The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek” by Kim Michele Richardson.

Awash in historical “A pig in lipstick is still a accuracy, it is the story of WPA Pack Horse Librarian stinkin’ pig,” she spat, her Cussy Mary Carter. wet hiss spinning in the Strong of mind and body, air as she swept past to and with the help of her her desk. I turned. Her red overprotective and highly eyes bored into mine. And intelligent mule, Junia, I held them, locked, and Cussy delivers more than books. She brings hope. lifted my chin two-man The story Richardson tall, snatching back some weaves about the of the humankind that librarians and their had been stolen. patrons, their lives and the circumstances under which they endure is wholly enthralling. These women braved the hills and hollers, the raging waters, icy rain, snow and sometimes even good weather to bring the love and joy of reading to the mountain people of Eastern Kentucky from 1935 until 1943.

This book inspired me to count my abundant blessings – and not only for the books we have available to us today. I am now thankful for the personal sacrifice of so many to spread “humankindness” to others. Would that we could all be as steadfast as Miss Cussy and as true as Junia.

– Deb Laslie

’ve been staying inside for quite some time now. (How about you?) Fortunately, I have an abundance of books in my personal library. There I found a copy of Judith McNaught’s “Someone to Watch Over Me” (2003) and was reminded of how a truly gifted writer can draw you into their “Miss Kendall, can you world and introduce you to some marvelous hear me? I’m Dr. Metcalf, characters and captivating and you’re at Good storylines.

Samaritan Hospital in Leigh Kendall is a Mountainside. We’re successful Broadway going to take you out of actress. Her marriage to the ambulance now and Logan Manning, scion of an old New York family, is into the emergency room.” the stuff of dreams.

But when Leigh’s car skids off an icy road on her way to meet Logan at their mountain cabin, her life skids out of control as well. When she awakes in the hospital, she’s told her husband is missing and she discovers his business affairs are not as “businesslike” as she had thought.

While the police suspect her of foul play (she is quite the actress), her stage career is usurped by her understudy, and Kendall realizes that the difference between friends and enemies is impossible to distinguish. Alone and determined, Kendall seeks the truth above all.

And you’ll lose sleep during this stay-at-home read. Pick up a copy at your local bookseller (you’ll probably find a used copy) and re-discover books by Judith McNaught.

– Deb Laslie

R

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AUGUST | SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2020

I

Ever notice how desserts bring a smile to your face?

Order from menu, pending Covid effects on availability.

Family platters and other menu items are still available for pick-up.

Nope, you just won’t find Augusta’s in NYC

Relax with Deb’s Loaded Tea.

You know who your friends are when times get tough. That doesn’t mean you know who – or what – will turn up on your porch in the middle of the night, but more on that in a minute ...

By any measure, life and business have been tough in this strange time of coronavirus. But support for Augusta’s Sports Grill has further enhanced owner Deb Veres’s long-standing appreciation for both friends and community.

When Covid-19 hit, she and her son/partner/chef Josh correctly figured working moms and dads would quickly burn out on feeding kids from burger joints, so they offered pick-up platters to satisfy families of four. Options included chicken tenders, wings, chicken, shrimp or beef Alfredo or sliders packed with Philly cheese-steak, burgers, grilled chicken or buffalo chicken. The response was gratifying.

Augusta’s reopened its dining room with socially distanced tables on May 12. Again, the locals responded.

Perhaps Deb’s biggest scare during these trying times was daughter Katie taking a travel-nurse assignment at a hospital in what was then the Covid-19 epicenter of New York City.

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“But I can’t say I was surprised she went there to help,” Deb says.

Some of the tragedy and intensity of Katie’s job was momentarily forgotten during a conversation she had with New Yorkers who were praising their steady diet of life among a jillion lights and the hustle and bustle of as nearly as many people.

“Well,” Katie replied, “I get to live on 40 acres.”

“What’s an acre?” was the puzzled response.

When she returns to Cullman, the locals asked, won’t she miss all of the big-city entertainment that goes on into the late hours?

“My doorbell rang at 3 o’clock one night,” Katie replied. “All of the dogs were scared and barking. Our donkey had gotten out of the pasture and wandered up on the porch. The Ring got a picture of it.”

You just don’t find that kind of entertainment in New York City.

“And with all of the turmoil we see on the news,” Deb adds, “I feel sorry for people who cannot live in a community like we do. I sure am glad we live here.”

On top of that, NYC does not have an Augusta’s Sports Grill … where friendly folks still go to find “Food for the Body. Good Times for the Soul.” |

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Good Cooking

For Concetta, it was love at first recipe ...

French toast Story and photos

By David Moore

C

oncetta Kreps has no inkling where she first tasted French toast, but it was probably back in the first or second grade.

She loved it and, by golly, wanted to make some. Since her grandmother was not there at the time, Concetta turned to the number two cook in her life, her mother.

“She told me to get a piece of paper.”

Along with lined school paper, Concetta grabbed a red marker.

“I was sitting at the table and she was telling me how to make it. I was writing it as fast I could.

“I made it right then and there,” Concetta continues. “I knew I had just done something wonderful. If my family ever wanted French toast, I would make it for them.”

Her first cooking achievement was soon followed by making popovers. Similar to Yorkshire pudding, a popular English side dish for prime rib roast, Concetta found them easy to make.

She also found a lifelong calling.

“I started cooking and never stopped,” she laughs. “I still cook a lot for friends and consider it fun.

“I think the reason I was interested in cooking is that my grandmother used to entice me to cook with her when I was a kid. It was always fun when I cooked with her – always fun.”

N

ancy and Louis Lovoy, Concetta’s parents, hailed from Birmingham where her mother’s family was long in the food business, whether it was owning convenience stores or wholesaling grocery companies.

When Louis and Nancy moved to

Cooking and food have played a big part over the years in the family of Concetta Kreps. She continues to find joy in cooking for other people.

Cullman, they operated Central Grocery, a wholesale operation, along with a tobacco franchise.

“Everything in my early life has always revolved around the grocery business,” Concetta says. “If you tried to cook something and messed it up, nobody cared. There were another 34 cases of ingredients sitting there.”

They baked cookies by the laundry basket full, especially at Christmas.

“If we brought friends home for dinner,” she says, “it was never like, ‘How are we going to feed them?’ It was like, ‘Just get over here and help us cook!’”

The other side of her family in Birmingham was also long involved in the food industry, and her namesake,

Grandmother Concetta Simonetti, was a great cook.

Concetta learned from her mom and grandmother, but found cooking more enjoyable with her grandmother; it was her favorite activity to share with her granddaughter.

“She was an absolutely, very talented cook,” Concetta says. “She was selftaught and cooking was her favorite thing to do besides spending time with her grandchildren. She never used a recipe. Once she read something, she memorized it and never looked at it again.”

Her mother, however, made the best coconut cream pie, Concetta adds. Her late husband, Gerry Kreps, said he’d never tasted one to beat it.

AUGUST | SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2020

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BASMATI RICE WITH TAHDIG (Persian potato and saffron rice) 4 cups of imported basmati rice (Royal is an excellent brand) 1-2 medium russet or Yukon gold potatoes, sliced Salt ½ tsp. saffron threads, crushed ¼ cup vegetable oil 2 Tbsp. butter, chopped In a container, thoroughly wash basmati rice in warm, but not hot, water. Turn several times and drain in a colander.

In a large pot with a fitted lid, half fill with water and salt it very well. Once the water comes to a rolling boil, add the rice and freely boil on high for 6 minutes,

uncovered, stirring a few times. Drain rice, rinse in cold water and drain again.

Wash and peel the potatoes and cut into slices. Wash the pot and pour vegetable oil into the bottom of it. Line the bottom of the pot with one layer of sliced potatoes. Add the rice to the pot gently, using your hands to mound the rice. Using a long handled spoon, poke 4 holes in the mound reaching to the potatoes. Place chopped butter on rice.

Place a kitchen towel on the counter; center the fitted lid on top of the towel, pulling the sides of the cloth up to the lid handle. Place the cloth-covered lid over the pan of potatoes and rice and steam the rice on low heat for one hour.

Boil 1/3 cup water and mix in saffron threads. Remove 1 cup of the cooked, mounded rice, mix it with the saffronwater and set aside.

Remove the rest of the mounded rice to a serving platter.

NOTE: The rice and potatoes on the bottom will be crispy and brown – this is the tahdig, Persian for “the bottom of the pot.” Using a metal spatula, carefully remove tahdig and place around the rice on the platter. Scatter the saffron rice on top.

Toasted, slivered or sliced almonds and barberries or dark raisins may be added on top of the saffron rice.

Prior to get-togethers, they discuss who’ll cook what.

Requests are often made for hough Gerry was six years crowd-pleasing favorites. older, Concetta knew him nearly “Wherever I go I have to make her whole life. cornbread dressing,” Concetta “Since I was in first grade,” she says. says. “He was the altar boy when “I really don’t have a favorite,” I had my first communion. He’s in she continues. “I have a lot of my communion photo. Gerry was things I like to prepare, but no an eighth grader and I was in the favorites.” second.”

A few of those include her In 1972, at age 18, Concetta apple cake and Cornish hens. graduated from Cullman High Her reputation has made her School. She was studying business a judge of baked goods at the at St. Bernard College when she Cullman and Lawrence County and Gerry started dating. They Fairs. married in 1980.

As often as not, Concetta Gerry traveled a lot with simply cooks for the joy of giving working for Canon, USA. Later away food to shut-ins, friends or in their marriage, they built the lucky neighbors. house on Lake George where Concetta’s mother kept the first recipe her daughter “As a caregiver of my Concetta still lives. wrote and prepared, and later passed it on to her. husband during his illness, it was He always enjoyed good remarkable and much appreciated cooking. Gerry loved cooking as doing, you want it to taste good and to look when friends brought prepared well, and was head of the kitchen for the Cullman National Guard. A younger good, simply because you’re proud of what dishes to our home,” she recalls. “At times you are doing. it was difficult to prepare a meal and take brother, Rickey Kreps, was the guest “When it tastes good and looks good, care of Gerry’s needs at the same time.” cook in the spring 2015 issue of Cullman it’s a total winner.”

She’s happy to pass that on.

County Good Life Magazine.

“That’s what I do best,” she says “I Presentation of food is important, It’s always fun when she gets together make it and give it away if I have time to but Concetta insists that “joy” is a more with her cousins in Birmingham. Not prepare a dish for friends in need.” important ingredient, even if cooking can, surprisingly – considering their common Along those lines, above and on the at times, be tiring. background – they all love to cook. following pages Concetta shares here some “You have to really like what you are “We call ourselves chefs,” she laughs. of her favorite recipes ... doing,” she says. “I think attitude is very “Everybody is a chef.” important. If you enjoy what you are Good Life Magazine

T

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AUGUST | SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2020

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“I didn’t know what I was missing,” Sonya says. “I had to start looking for a she shed.”

When she and James moved near Cullman in 2013, she used a vinyl-sided, manufactured shed for her potting and Christmas decorations. But it was shot.

The Dukes bought Superior’s 32x14-foot shed and provided Sonya options, such as sprayed foam insulation, window sills, finished walls, shutters and carriage house door and garage door. Ask Superior what they can do for your barn, shed … or, yes, she-shed.

A fair-minded and pragmatic barber and farmer, James built barns wherever they’d lived and knows they’re useful. And, he laughs, 57 years of marriage to Sonya saved him from writing a lot of alimony checks. Sure, he said, let’s find a she shed.

Looking everywhere, it was soon obvious – Superior Custom Barns, built by Mennonites over the years in western Cullman County, was tops.

“By far the best quality,” says James, builder of a dozen barns himself. “They have a better grade of materials and workmanship. They seal tight.”

Sonya loved the options. In fact, every week she had James at Superior adding something else to her she shed.

“I got a lot of brownie points,” James says.

Sonya got 9,000 views on Facebook the week she posted the picture of her she shed, shown at top of the page.

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CHICKEN AND PORK PASTA (An old-world country dish) 1 whole chicken, cut up, or 4-5 skinless breasts, fat removed, rinsed, patted dry.

4-6 pork chops, fat removed, rinsed, patted dry.

Lawry’s garlic salt Pepper 1 large onion, cut into thin slivers 1 15 oz. can tomato sauce 1 28 oz. can petite diced tomatoes 1 tsp. dried basil leaves (or fresh basil)

Thin egg noodles Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese, grated.

Sprinkle both sides of chicken and chops lightly with garlic salt and pepper.

Place chicken and chops in a large pan.

Scatter sliced onions on the meat. Top with tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and basil leaves. Do not stir.

ROASTED CORNISH HENS WITH PERSIAN SAFFRON RICE TAHDIG 4 fresh or frozen Cornish hens Extra virgin olive oil Lemon slices Small onions or sweet onion cut into wedges Garlic salt Garlic Pepper Lots of fresh thyme sprigs Clean hens by rinsing in cold water.

Soak in cold, salted water for one hour.

Rinse hens and pat dry with paper towels. Sprinkle the inside cavity with garlic salt and pepper. Carefully loosen skin over the breast sections and thigh areas, and gently clip membranes between meat and skin. Use as much fresh thyme springs as you prefer 26

under the loosened skin of the hens.

Rub hens with olive oil. Sprinkle with garlic salt and pepper. Place small pieces of onion cut into quarters, lemon wedge/slices, several sprigs of fresh thyme and one clove of chopped garlic inside the cavity. Fold the wings under and place on a foil-lined roasting pan with a 1-inch high rim.

Roast in a preheated 450° oven for 20 min. Reduced heat to 325° and continue to roast until internal temperature reads 165° at thickest part of the thigh.

NOTE: This dish presents beautifully. I prefer a fruit salad with Cornish hens and basmati rice. Just my preference.

AUGUST | SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2020

Place a tight cover or foil over the top to seal the pan. Bake at 375° for one hour. Uncover and turn meat, stir all together. Bake an additional 30-45 minutes, uncovered.

Cook egg noodles and put some of the sauce over them (photo on left). Serve the chicken and pork (pictured above) over noodles. Top individual plates with cheese.

TUNA CROQUETTES 1 can of pink tuna, (good quality as nothing else will do) 1 egg slightly beaten 2 Tbsp. grated pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese ½ cup dried bread, freshly grated 2 heaping Tbsp. of freshly chopped celery ¼ cup of mashed potatoes Salt and pepper to taste Dash of garlic salt Drain and press liquid out of tuna before adding to the other ingredients.

Mix all ingredients together and shape into croquettes.

Fry in hot vegetable oil turning to brown all sides. Drain on paper towels.

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ITALIAN STUFFED MUSHROOMS 12 large cup-shaped mushrooms 2 Tbsp. olive oil, approx.

1 medium onion, finely chopped 1 large clove of garlic, finely chopped ¾ cup of fresh, plainly grated bread crumbs, 2 Tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped 2 Tbsp. pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese, grated Salt and freshly ground black pepper Wash mushrooms well under running water and pat dry with paper towels. Remove and chop the mushroom stems.

Heat approximately 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a nonstick skillet and fry the onion and chopped mushroom stems gently for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook another minute.

Stir in bread crumbs and fry for 2-3 min. until crisp. Add parsley, cheese, salt and pepper to taste. Mix well and allow to cool a few minutes.

Lightly oil the base of a shallow oven-proof dish and arrange the mushrooms cup-side up in a single layer. Stuff the mushrooms with the cooled mixture. Cover loosely with a piece of foil and bake in a 375° for 25 to 35 minutes depending on size of mushrooms.

Enjoy!

NOTE: this recipe works well for all types and sizes of mushrooms.

They may be served as an appetizer or side vegetable. Delicious with roasted beef, lamb or pork.

GREEK SALAD Romaine lettuce Red onion, thinly sliced Dressing 1 large clove of garlic, pressed 1 tsp. dried oregano ½-¾ tsp. kosher salt ¼ tsp. coarse ground black pepper ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, strained ½ cup olive oil 28

¾ tsp. Grey Poupon Dijon Mustard Squeeze garlic with a press into a glass jar or re-sealable container. Add in the rest of dressing ingredients and shake well.

Store salad dressing in the fridge.

Remove dressing from the fridge 10-15 minutes prior to using to warm up the solidified oil or run the jar under warm tap water.

AUGUST | SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2020

Toppings Kalamata olives Pepperoncini peppers Feta cheese Croutons Anchovies (optional) Chopped tomatoes (optional) Add toppings to taste to the salad.

Pour dressing over salad and serve.

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WASHINGTON APPLE CAKE 3 eggs 2 cups sugar 1 cup Crisco vegetable oil 2 cups plain flour 2 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp. baking soda ½ tsp. salt 1 tsp. vanilla 1 cup chopped walnuts 4 cups thinly sliced, pared, tart apples (5 medium apples) Beat eggs with a mixer until thick and light. Combine sugar and oil; pour into eggs with mixer on medium speed. Stir together flour, cinnamon, soda and salt.

Add to egg mixture with vanilla and beat to mix. Stir in walnuts.

Spread apples in a buttered 9 x 13 x 2 pan. Pour batter over apples, spreading to cover. Bake at 350° for one hour.

Remove from oven and cool completely.

Spread with cream cheese icing.

Cream Cheese Icing 12 oz. cream cheese, room temperature ¼ cup melted butter 3 cups of powdered sugar * 1 tsp. lemon juice

Beat cream cheese until fluffy. Beat in melted butter. Add powdered sugar and lemon juice. Spread over cooled cake. Refrigerate.

PINEAPPLE AND CHEDDAR UPSIDE DOWN CAKE 1 20 oz. can unsweetened pineapple slices, unstrained ½ cup brown sugar, firmly packed 2 Tbsp. butter Vegetable cooking spray ¾ cup sugar ¼ cup (4 oz.) cream cheese, room temperature 2 Tbsp. butter, softened 2 egg whites 1 egg ¾ cup plain flour 1 tsp. baking powder ¼ tsp. salt ¾ cup (3 oz.) sharp cheddar cheese, finely shredded ½ tsp. vanilla extract Drain pineapple reserving ¼ cup juice. Place 3 pineapple slices and reserved juice in a blender and process until smooth.

Combine brown sugar and butter in a saucepan and cook over medium 30

low heat until melted. Remove from heat and add ¼ cup of puréed pineapple stirring until well blended.

Coat a 9-inch round cake pan with cooking spray and spread mixture in pan. Cut remaining pineapples slices in half crosswise and place over brown sugar mixture.

Combine sugar, cream cheese and softened butter in a large bowl. Beat on medium speed until blended. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.

Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add to creamed mixture beating until blended. Stir in remaining puréed pineapple, cheese and vanilla.

Pour batter evenly over pineapple slices. Bake at pre-heated 350° for 45 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cake cool a few minutes in the pan and turn out on a plate.

AUGUST | SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2020

* NOTE: Amount of powdered sugar depends on the moisture in the air when you make it. On a dry day, less can be used.

SFINGI (Italian donuts) 1 pound of Ricotta cheese, full fat ½ cup sugar 1 egg 1 cup plain flour 2 tsp. baking powder ½ tsp. salt Beat the cheese and sugar together by hand or electric mixer until the cheese is creamy. Add the egg and mix.

Add the flour, baking powder and salt gradually to the mix, because the batter will be very thick.

Heat an electric fryer half filled with oil to 375°. Oil is ready when a small drop of batter dropped in it bobs around. Carefully drop batter by the teaspoon full into oil and cook until each puff is golden brown, about 3 minutes. Each puff should turn over by itself; if not, carefully turn with a slotted spoon. Drain sfingi on paper towels.

To serve, dust with powdered sugar, a cinnamon and sugar mix or honey.

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Good Getaways

Life is Amazing – not to mention fun – with a visit to the Cook Museum of Natural Science

Story and photos

by David Moore

“L

ife is Amazing.” “Discover Something Amazing.”

These slogans show up everywhere at the Cook Museum of Natural Science in downtown Decatur.

But you don’t spend long at all there before the kids around you demonstrate another important aspect of the museum – it’s fun!

From live snakes, turtles, baby gators and bookoodles of bugs to creating lava-flowing volcanoes at a kinetic sand table and exploring inside a replica beaver lodge and a cave, exhibits galore await your kid – or grandkid – at every turn in this beautifully designed, 62,000-square foot state-of-the-art museum.

The amazement factor derives from the Cook family’s intrigue with the marvels of nature.

In 1928, John L. Cook of Decatur started what grew to become Cook’s Pest Control in six states. Secondgeneration John R. Cook Sr. in the 1960s had a large insect collection in a company warehouse.

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AUGUST | SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2020

Amazing exhibits await discovery around every corner of the Cook Museum.

Kids build mounds of kinetic sand that, with the help of laser lights, turn into lavaflowing volcanoes.

Elsewhere, they get an introduction to space. A 15,000-gallon salt water aquarium offers a view of life under the water. The $32 million facility will mark its first full year this June.

AUGUST | SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2020

33

A couple of girls dare to play with a replica alligator in an area dedicated to rivers and streams. In the background is a beaver lodge you can crawl inside. Another area allows you to explore a forest, including crossing a swinging bridge to the inside of the canopy of “Big Tree.”

Below, an Arctic fox chases Arctic hares.

“The community caught wind of it, and the family let people come in to see it,” says marketing manager Mike Taylor.

It proved so popular that in 1980 John Sr. built a separate building for the collection, which drew 750,000 visitors through 2016.

At that point, the family closed it and began planning today’s museum.

It opened June 2019 and in less than two months drew 40,000 visitors – not including school field trips and such.

That’s a lot of people discovering how fun and amazing life and natural science can be. On top of all that fun, a visit to Cook museum turns out to be extremely educational.

Good Life Magazine

If you visit ...

Re-opened July 8 to the general public, the museum is limiting capacity and using time-slot ticketing among other coronavirus safety measures. Call to reserve tickets or purchase online.

Located at 133 4th Ave NE in Decatur, Cook Museum of Natural Science is open 9 a.m.

- 5 p.m. Monday-Friday; 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Saturday; noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.

Tickets (without tax) are $20 ages 15 and older, $15, free 2 and under; military and seniors are $17; groups of 15 and more are $17 adults, $13 children.

A shop and cafe are in the building. For more info and special events, such as animal feedings: cookmuseum.org.; 256-351-4505.

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They took a ‘Pass’ on detailed plans ... and it worked out great

Alan and Cindy Pass stand on the seawall with one of their Labradors, Bob, their son-in-law, Judd, and newest grandson, Jonathan Judson, born in April. Grandchildren MaryJo, 6, David, 4, and Alan, 2, crew the kayak with its captain, Mary Alice.

The Passes’ daughter is also a major in the Army and a physician at Fort Benning, Ga. Mary Alice graduated from West Point in 2008, where Judd also graduated; he is now a stay-at-home dad and pursuing a master’s degree in divinity. Not pictured is Alan and Cindy’s son, Wayne, who attended the University of North Alabama, later earned an associate degree and is a veteran of four tours of duty in Afghanistan and Kosovo. An Army warrant officer and military intelligence specialist, Wayne is stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McCord near Tacoma, Wash.

“It all goes to show that if the best laid plans of mice and men can oft go awry, then surly the vaguest of plans of women and men can sometimes work out fine.”

Story and photos

by David Moore

A

also was an instructor with both combat and administrative units.

On the other hand, Cindy was an assistant director of an Army band and was later commander of the USAREUR

“Our goal,” Alan says, “has always been to work hard, be good at the job and invest in the future.”

T

lan and Cindy Pass didn’t draw up floor plans for their retirement home he first glimmer that the Passes’ on Smith Lake. They future might entail Cullman bought an existing lake and Smith Lake happened house with the idea of quickly with a plan it being their eventual extending no further than a retirement home, but as fun weekend. things worked out, they In the summer of 1996, moved here a decade Alan, Cindy and their kids, before they fully retired.

Mary Alice and Wayne, Their retirement home drove up from Jacksonville plans changed because to visit his sister, who they both unexpectedly owned a cabin at Misty found second-career jobs Harbor. with Cullman City Schools Alan and the kids at the same time. Who were exploring Smith’s would have imagined that, labyrinth of sloughs in their after their Army careers boat when they saw an marched them around the interesting lake house with U.S. and Germany for 20 a for sale sign in the yard. years?

“I was impressed with It all goes to show the appearance of the house. that if the best laid plans I brought Cindy back – of mice and men can oft ‘just to look at it.’ She still Retired from the Army and second careers with Cullman City go awry, then surly the denies it,” Alan laughs, “but Schools, Alan and Cindy Pass –and Bob – sit on part of the deck before I knew it, she had set vaguest of plans of women he built six or seven years ago. “You can look at it and sit on it,” he up an appointment with a and men can sometimes work out fine. real estate agent.” laughs, “but if you go near it with level or a square we’re going to “Love at first sight” is Even after all of these have problems.” Although he insists he has no knack for carpentry years, the seemingly not only a romantic term; work, he’s now working on a second deck on the other side of random toppling of it’s a real estate term as the house. Before Alan retired from his school job and Wayne dominoes that landed well. graduated from Cullman High, they built a seawall along them here is a source of “It’s not big and fancy,” the waterfront of their property. In family lore it’s Cindy says of the house. amusement and wonder for Alan and Cindy, though “It’s kind of rustic. It’s referred to as “The Great Wall of Pass.” for them “seemingly tranquil and exceptional, secluded and just beautiful random” would be a figure (U.S. Army in Europe) Soldiers Chorus. of speech. … the perfect place to relax or sit on a She also served as a protocol and TAC “It was a God thing,” Cindy says. swing with a cup of coffee.” (tactical) officer.

While both served in the Army, their The quiet slough, she recognized, Though their jobs differed, the Passes would be a perfect place for the kids military careers took divergent paths. held similar concepts of what it takes to swim. And every room of the house Alan’s first assignments were as a to be good officers. Adhering to those platoon leader and later as a troop and offered a view of the lake. concepts, they felt, were not only good company commander of M60A1 battle All in all, it brought to mind her for the Army, but for their personal lives. memorable summers at Lake James, tanks. Among other assignments, he was 38

AUGUST | SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2020

Originally built in the 1970s, the house has 2,700 square feet on three floors with four bedrooms, two baths and a laundry room. In their 24 years of living there, the Passes have done a number of remodeling and updating projects, including the kitchen and new window across the front overlooking their slough. The den and master bedroom and master bath downstairs got heated tile flooring.

Indiana’s fourth largest lake covering 1,200 acres in the northeast corner of the state.

“That was my goal,” she says, “to always come back to something like that.”

So they bought the house, planning to rent it during the year to pay off the mortgage and move there after they retired.

Well, that was the plan …

W

hen Alan and Cindy bought the lake house, both had already retired from the military, earned master’s degrees from Jacksonville State University and started second careers, she teaching third grade and technology there in town, he teaching eighth grade geography and Alabama history in Trussville.

But when they entered the military, second careers in education were not even maybe-one-day plans.

Alan was born and raised in Birmingham, graduating in 1968 from the former Banks High School, less than 20 AUGUST | SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2020

39

The guest bedroom on the main floor has a lake view and a door leading to the second deck on the north end of the house. An heirloom, the double wedding band quilt on the bed was a wedding gift to Cindy’s great grandmother. miles from where he started his teaching career. He earned a business degree from The University of Alabama in 1972, thanks to an ROTC scholarship, which came with a two-year commitment to active duty.

His first assignment was with the 8th Infantry Division in Mannheim, Germany (1973-76), leading a platoon of five M60A1 battle tanks. Similar to the M60A3 at Cullman Veterans Memorial Park, these 105-mm wielding tanks were the mainstays of the Cold War era.

“I loved working with tanks and soldiers,” Alan says.

After taking an advanced operations course stateside, Alan returned to Germany as a captain assigned as a logistics officer for a 54-tank battalion with the 1st Armor Division near Nuremburg. From there he spent 18 months as company commander with USAREUR headquarters in Heidelberg, 40

and then in 1979 joined an instructor group for what amounts to “basic training” of new officers at Fort Benjamin Harrison near Indianapolis.

Enter 2 Lt. Cindy, to her first assignment after earning a music degree on an ROTC scholarship from Indiana University. She was a student and Alan was one of her instructors. Neither, however, made a blip on their personal radars screens.

A

fterwards, Cindy was assigned as a TAC officer in support of the course she’d just completed. In this position, she and Alan ended up in jobs that were parallel to each other. She’d ensure students got to training on time, where she’d turn them over to an instructor, which was often Alan.

“We had a great respect for each other professionally,” she says.

Maybe it wasn’t love at first sight

AUGUST | SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2020

as it was with their house, but shortly before Alan was transferred to Fort Riley, Kansas, in 1982, something blipped on that radar screen, and he invited her to a Fourth of July picnic.

“I couldn’t pass up the most handsome armor officer at Fort Harrison,” Cindy says.

Ah… so fireworks?

“Actually,” she says, “horseshoes.”

And after the horseshoes, Alan left for Kansas.

“It was like a month after I left that I began to communicate with her,” he says.

“He called me every day!”

“That’s not true,” Alan insists.

Either way the relationship grew. And for her birthday on Oct. 10 he offered to fly her to Kansas to spend a few days.

“My family asked incredulously, ‘You have leave and you’re going to Kansas?!’”

The next month Alan flew her out for

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41

Thanksgiving and, wearing their dress blues, he escorted her not to the officers club, but to the traditional dining hall buffet to eat Thanksgiving dinner with the soldiers.

“It was so easy to relate to each other,” Cindy says. “We had similar concepts of being a good officer … Do your job, take care of your soldiers and your mission will be successful.”

A

lan proposed to Cindy in January 1983, just prior to a trip they’d planned later that month to ski at Lake Tahoe. But with family scattered and Alan en route to a new assignment in Germany, they figured what the heck and opted to elope.

After standing in line for a marriage license at the courthouse in Reno, they were married by a justice of the peace in the beautiful home of mutual friends in the midst of a snow storm.

After the trip, Alan deployed to the First Infantry in a small city near Stuttgart. Six months later, the Army transferred Mrs. Pass to Germany to join him.

In early 1985 they moved to a small German town between Alan’s new assignment as a major and operations officer with his old tank battalion in Mannheim, and Cindy’s assignment in Heidelberg as commander of the USAREUR Soldiers Chorus. The 18-voice choir performed and danced for dignitaries around Europe and performed good-will concerts in villages where the Army held exercises.

The Passes “lived” in a townhouse but seldom saw each other – when Cindy was at home Alan was in the field; when Alan was at home Cindy was touring Europe in a Mercedes bus entertaining the allies.

They only saw each other about six months of that year, but when they were together, they enjoyed traveling in Europe.

When they returned to the states in December 1985, Alan was assigned to Fort Pickett, Va. He was the director of planning, training, mobilization and security for the base that was primarily used by the National Guard and elite forces such as the Navy Seals and the FBI Hostage Rescue Team.

Cindy, now pregnant, left active duty and became a Reservist and the family moved into an idyllic farmhouse on Pickett’s 52,000-acres. She gave birth that March to Mary Alice and, the following year, to Wayne.

“It was the perfect place to have and raise kids,” Cindy says. “We got our first of many Labradors – Humphrey – and enjoyed the peace and quiet and security of it all.”

I

The loft was Wayne’s former bedroom. Today, it multi-tasks as a guest living area, a place Cindy can work on musicals and costumes ... and somewhere Alan can store his old banjo. The loft has a door out to a landing and steps to the north deck.

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AUGUST | SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2020

n 1988, Alan was assigned to an unaccompanied year in Korea as an operations officer. Knowing his next duty station was Fort McClellan, Ala., Cindy and the kids moved to neighboring Jacksonville.

Alan joined them there in 1989 with an expectation of retiring from this assignment, and education evolved into their plan for their second careers.

While at Ft. Pickett Cindy had served on a task force as part of the Army’s efforts to focus on the quality of life for young soldiers and their families.

“I got an interest in early childhood development and that led me into teaching,” she says. “As officers we were

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Under Alan’s coordination, computers often called upon to conduct training and military-straight lines of students in the present instruction so education seemed were installed in every classroom hallways, she staged youngster-level to be a logical transition to the civilian systemwide, initially for administrative musicals, such as “Seussical JR,” “Sound world.” purposes. Along with two talented of Music,” “Oklahoma” and “Pirates of Besides, she laughs, recalling her technicians, he oversaw not only all this Penzance.” She also expanded classroom TAC officer days, many of her young hardware, but also brought internet into technology, introduced robotics, trained lieutenants were a lot like third graders. every classroom. other teachers and earned National Board With their kids heading into school Before retiring in 2010, he headed Certification. in a few years, teaching would dovetail the initiative to provide laptops to every Today – along with CHS drama coach perfectly with their Wayne Cook and others lifestyle as a second – Cindy volunteers her career. So Cindy passion and talent to started studying early the revived Cullman childhood education Community Theatre. at Jax State, began teaching in Jacksonville ducation was a City Schools in 1992 fulfilling second career and earned her master’s for both of them. in 1994.

“Alan, with the Alan, still on active help of many talented duty at Fort McClellan, people, did some took night and weekend unbelievable things courses at Jax State. with technology in the After retiring in ’93 as school system,” Cindy a lieutenant colonel, says. “And everything he earned his master’s I did in the Army set in social studies and me up for success in started teaching at teaching, especially at Hewitt-Trussville the high school.”

Middle School in ’93.

The Army exercised They bought their considerable control Not surprisingly, the Passes pack a lot of military and family pride. Some lake house in 1996, over their lives, the of it on a living room table includes civilian and Army photos of Wayne figuring their second Passes say. They careers were set: they’d worked long days, often and Mary Alice. Cindy has West Point blankets from Mary Alice and retire in 10 years or so under heavy pressure. her husband depicting their graduation years. The binoculars are for and move to Cullman But housing, insurance spotting wildlife, such as big turtles and, recently, red tail hawks.

County. As mentioned and such were provided earlier, that was the for them. plan …

“We didn’t plan middle and high school student. where we lived,” Cindy says. “But we’d For her part, Cindy was at Cullman get there and say, ‘Let’s make the best of hen the Pass family came to the High until 2004. During that time she this.’ lake in May 1999, however, Alan learned “When you work really hard all of that Cullman City Schools had an opening not only directed the chorus as she did in Heidelberg, but also took on Cats 55, the for a technology coordinator. While your life, this is what you can get,” she local assess TV station, doing everything teaching, he’d become interested in the says of the opportunities they were able to from selling commercials and writing integration of technology and education, provide for their children growing up and copy to camera work and editing. so, with his interest piqued, they delayed their retirement life on the lake. And if In conjunction with the chorus, Cindy renting the house that summer and he they arrived here without ever laying out a took on the principal’s dream of returning master plan, they never worried about it. pursued the job opening. big musicals to the Bearcat stage with “You don’t happen to have a third “We say everything, both good and “Annie Get Your Gun,” “Camelot” and grade position open do you?” he asked at bad, every move we made, every meeting “Bye-Bye Birdie.” She recruited the his interview at the central office. we had, the Lord made it happen,” says vocational department to build sets, the No, he was told, but the high school Alan. “It was part of His plan.”

SGA as ushers and band members to play choir director had just retired ...

“It all worked out,” Cindy agrees. “It in the pit.

No plan could have worked better. played a big part in our children’s success At East Elementary from 2004 until Alan and Cindy were hired and, on top in school. And, hey, we get to live at the retiring in 2016, Cindy taught third of everything else, Cullman offered their lake!” graders where, in addition to having kids excellent schools.

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AUGUST | SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2020

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Good Eats

Stone Bridge Farms serves an upscale buffet that’s cooked irresistibly well Story by David Myers Photos by David Moore & Rose Myers

I

admit, I like to eat. And I like to eat a lot of food. So you might surmise that I’m a frequent visitor to buffets. Unfortunately, I’m married to a woman who pays attention to how much – or how little – she eats and is not a big buffet fan. She also pays attention to how much I eat – can’t blame her for that.

But not all buffets are created equal.

That’s what we found out when we drove out the back roads of Cullman County to iconic Stone Bridge Farms. Located on 136 acres, this breathtaking campus of endless green grass, stunning landscaping and lodge-like structures is an all-inclusive venue that – lucky for me – offers a spectacular buffet twice a week.

46

Once inside, it’s clear there’s no reason to be concerned about coronavirus in this place be-cause it’s huge. Tables have wide open spaces around them. The buffet line stretches out so there’s plenty of room between people, and the staff serves plates while wearing masks and gloves.

Now on to the star attraction – the food.

I lined up and immediately had to choose between six meat offerings. I looked to see how much my plate could hold but the nice server suggested we pick three samplings each.

She promised that I could come back as many times as I wanted, so I chose a pork chop, fried catfish and boneless ribs.

Rose went for the Stone Bridge chicken, a signature dish, as well as barbecue chicken and meatloaf.

Advancing to the vegetables we face

AUGUST | SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2020

more big decisions: fried okra, cream corn, green beans, baby Limas, black-eyed peas, English peas, Stone Bridge potatoes, mashed potatoes, pinto beans with ham, squash casserole, baked beans, corn on the cob and turnip greens. We just loaded up because everything looked irresistibly good.

A

t first bite, it was amazing how perfectly cooked each of the proteins were.

The star was the Stone Bridge chicken, the most tender chicken we’ve ever tasted. I couldn’t identify the subtly sweet flavor but I definitely could appreciate it.

Also delicious was the catfish, cooked perfectly crisp and flaky. The pork chop was juicy and tender. Same for the boneless ribs. The BBQ chicken was smoky, the meatloaf spicy and yummy.

Clockwise: Salad bar offers fresh choices; fried chicken and Stone Bridge chicken with mashed potatoes, green beans and squash casserole; sweet potato dumplings, ice cream and caramel; there are buffets and then are great buffets; meat loaf, fried pork chops, okra and tomatoes and Stone Bridge potatoes. It’s all good.

Color this New Orleans boy well satisfied.

Rose, meanwhile, was obsessed with the vegetables, murmuring between bites that several talented grandmas must be in the kitchen whipping out fresh veggies the old-timey way.

The squash casserole had a buttery crust and a subtle sweetness. The okra was fresh and crunchy, while the mashed potatoes were deliciously creamy.

The seasoning and tenderness of the green beans is exactly what made me fall in love with them when I first came up from the Big Easy three decades ago. The black-eyed peas were divine and paired with the turnip greens and cornbread made a real treat.

The star here was definitely the Stone Bridge potatoes, a dish of French fries cooked with cheese, bacon and the perfect

touch of seasoning. I see why they put their name on these spuds.

Stuffed and happy, alas, we had no choice but to head to the dessert bar. The temptations there were peach cobbler, chocolate cobbler, strawberry dump cake, chocolate dump cake and banana pudding dump cake. So full already, we had to settle for little bites of each.

If there has ever been better peach cobbler I have not had the pleasure of eating it. The chocolate cobbler was a new confection for me and a welcome one. Each of the cakes was a sweet dream.

A

ll of this is available for $15 per person, which includes drinks and tax. This is a culinary steal.

Stone Bridge Farms is owned and operated by the fourth generation of

the Rev. V. L. Foust family, Ron Foust.

A minister for over 50 years, Ron’s grandfather married, baptized and conducted funerals for hundreds of people in Cullman County. His home created wedding memories for many couples.

Ron is carrying on the tradition by offering 10 venues for family reunions, anniversary celebrations or corporate events, as well as catering services and floral design to make any wedding magical.

Stone Bridge Farms is about eight minutes from downtown Cullman. It’s open for dine-in service on Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sundays 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Curbside to-go orders are available Thursday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Good Life Magazine

AUGUST | SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2020

47

Here’s what happens when southern pot-belly stove storytellers in country stores turn to tales of sneaky snakes ... and get on a roll Copyrighted ink drawing by Richard Svensson. He’s from the South, too ... the village of Bräkne-Hoby in southern Sweden. The image is used with his permission.

Story by Steve A. Maze

T

he South has always produced its fair share of snake stories. One of the best places I ever heard these stories was from pot-bellied men sitting around a pot-bellied stove at old country stores.

Stories would usually center around the largest snake someone had seen. Of course, it wasn’t unusual to hear about giant rattlesnakes that reached an exaggerated eight to 10 feet long. Of course, these monsters were obligated to have 20 rattles and a button on the end of their tail.

The storytelling would then drift off to more unusual specimens they had personally encountered such as the coachwhip, bull snake, milk snake, hoop snake and joint snakes.

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According to the old-timers, the coachwhip is a non-poisonous snake that is black in color and reaches up to six feet in length. Its most unusual trait is the scales on its tail, which appear to be braided or plaited, resembling the leather whips people once used while riding in a buggy.

The snake is known to wrap itself around the leg of a person or animal, and whip its prey with the plaited tail. The tail administers a stinging blow, and the frightened prey can run itself to death with the snake still wrapped around its leg.

A

nother intriguing species is the milk snake, which has many of the physical characteristics of a black racer.

In fact, some people say it is a black racer.

The snake is said to have a fetish for milk

AUGUST | SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2020

and will slither up to a pet’s bowl to flick at the nectar with its tongue. The tale most associated with this particular scaly reptile is that it will “milk” a cow.

A farmer once claimed that his cow produced the same amount of milk every morning before she was turned out to pasture, but was dry when he went to milk her each evening. After this happened for several days, he followed to see what was happening.

When she stopped at a creek, he stared in amazement as a black snake raised its head, attached itself to the cow’s udder and milked it, moving from one teat to the other. Mystery solved, the farmer claimed.

The bull snake grows up to five feet in length, and has a yellow-brown or cream colored skin with black and brown markings. Its small head is equipped

snake. It is about five feet in length with a black narrow body. Its bite is non-poisonous, but it’s claimed to have a spike – or stinger – on the end of its tail that is supposedly deadly.

The most unusual characteristic of the snake is its uncanny ability to form its body into the shape of a barrel hoop. Actually, it resembles a bicycle tire more than a barrel hoop … at least from what I have been told.

There are two theories as to how it rolls itself into a circular form. The first has the snake grabbing its tail by its mouth and forming a circle so it can roll up on its edge.

The second theory has the serpent holding its tail up into the air and gradually bending it over until a circle is formed. That enables a hoop snake lying at the top of a hill to roll down to the bottom where water might be found.

After the snake gains speed, the spike becomes deadly. A person struck by the stinger will supposedly swell to an unbelievable size and suffer a horrible death.

Several people also told me they had seen a tree struck by the spike. The leaves immediately began to wilt and the tree died within 24 hours.

That’s why most old-timers believe the snake bends the tail over to form a circle. It would be hard to strike a person or tree with the stinger in the snake’s mouth.

P

with a large nose shield that enables it to dig for burrowing mice and other mammals.

The snake’s most unusual trait is that it makes a loud hissing noise and is sometimes mistaken for a rattlesnake. Old-timers will tell you that it “blows” hard enough to part the grass on the ground. The noise resembles a snorting bull, thus the name bull snake.

One farmer recalled a day when he and his father encountered a bull snake while cutting sugarcane. The son had walked over to the edge of a thicket where a jug of water sat in the shade, and at that moment a startled bull snake reared its head like a cobra and began blowing.

The young man’s father came running with a scythe he was using to cut the sugarcane, but the snake slithered away at great speed before meeting its demise.

A

nother fascinating serpent is the hoop

erhaps the most fascinating of these unusual reptiles is the joint snake. It is nonpoisonous, dark brown in color, and grows to be more than four feet long. The snake is “jointed,” and these joints will break up into separate pieces when struck by a stick or automobile.

“They just fly to pieces,” an old-timer said.

Becoming disjointed is simply a defense mechanism to fool the aggressor into thinking it is dead. After taking on the appearance of a broken jigsaw puzzle, it is said the snake will “reassemble” the joints and slither away.

Some say the serpent will reassemble after an hour or two, but others say the process takes 24 hours. The snake is also said to hunt down its separated joints so they can be reassembled in the correct order.

I realize some of the snake stories spun around a pot-bellied stove might have been embellished.

Most of these old-timers believed the unbelievable encounters with these rare reptiles because they knew someone who had seen them … or they claimed to have seen them in person.

I guess you will have to make up your own mind as to whether you believe them as fact. And a lot of that might depend on whether a coach whip has ever gotten hold of your leg.

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As a century and more of history paraded past, she’s lived nearly the entire time in Welti, content to take the good with the bad and make the most of life.

Margaret Ruth ‘Mama Duke’ Story and photo above

By David Moore

T

hrough her front door, past the porch, beyond the road and pasture, Margaret Ruth Harris Duke can see the house where she was born in the Welti community on Dec. 12, 1917. Daughter of Vesta and Alpha Goodson Harris, after age 3 she grew up in an old farmhouse that once stood where her own house stands now.

Home has always been close at hand.

After she and Hanley Duke married in 1938, they lived and farmed one year in the Brickyard area just west of Cullman then lived back in Welti until 1943 with her Grandma Goodson. After that, they lived three years in Bolte, where Stone Bridge Farms is today.

Other than that, Mama Duke, as she’s known, has been perfectly happy to live her life in Welti.

History has flipped many a page in her 102 years. Some of those pages of history flew smack in her face, such as World War II. Others tickled her imagination with marvels of human achievement.

But more often than not the pages of history simply fluttered away on breezes such as those that once cooled her family as they sang sacred songs on the porch.

“I am,” says Mama Duke, “well content with my life.”

World War I, however, could have easily disrupted her contentment from the start.

Nine months before she was born, the first U.S. troops joined their allies in the trench-waged massacre of what was thought to be “the war to end all wars.”

Shortly afterward the U.S. entered the conflict, the Selective Services Act was passed.

Mama Duke grew up hearing there was snow

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51

Vesta and Alpha Harris pose for a portrait with their children, Milly, Ruth (the future Mama Duke), Robert, Sue, Polly, Eleanor, and Raymond. Ruth is unsure of the exact year the photo was taken, but it was before she married Hanley. on the ground when she was born, and it was still there two weeks later when her father, Vesta Harris, traveled to Georgia, called up by the new Selective Service.

But his situation dealt him – and his new baby – a favorable hand.

“He was a farmer with young children,” she says, referring to herself and her older sister, Eleanor. “He got to stay home.”

T

he 19th Amendment granting women the right to vote was ratified in August 1920. Mama Duke – known as Ruth back then – was not immediately affected. It was 1923 before she even started first grade at Welti School. For the record, that was the “old” Welti school, which was replaced the following year by the “new” Welti School still used today.

For many people, Nov. 28, 1925, 52

was a red-letter date … The Grand Ole Opry transmitted its first radio broadcast.

Mama Duke was a third grader.

“We heard that every Saturday night,” she recalls. “We had a battery radio.”

The lack of electricity necessitated the battery. It also meant no luxuries such as fans.

“We sat on the porch a lot of time because it was the coolest place,” Mama Duke says. “We got to singing church songs, Mama and Daddy and all of us, up on top of this hill. If anyone had the wind blowing, we could get it on our front porch.”

The wind blew up from Brindley Creek. That was back before Forest Ingram Lake was dammed up and Welti Falls came to be as we know it today.

“Our land went down to the creek before the falls,” Mama Duke recalls.

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“We had family and community picnics by the creek. Sometime we stayed all night and slept in the wagons.”

She doesn’t recall the date May 21, 1927, but she marveled to hear that the dashing young Charles Lindbergh completed the first transatlantic flight from New York to Paris. Modern technology turned the world a little smaller.

‘And,” she correctly adds, “someone kidnapped his son.”

T

he stock market crashed Oct. 29, 1929. The ensuing decade of depression laid low – and outright destroyed – many people. Interestingly, Mama Duke and her family were relatively unaffected.

“I remember hearing about it,” she says.

“We had everything we needed, but

we didn’t have much money. We had our farm and grew our own food and raised the hogs and cows and chickens.”

Vesta could not buy gas or tires for his used Model T, so it set in a shed until the tires rotted off. He was also unable to pay his annual $84 note on the farm, but it was never repossessed; the Federal Land Bank gave him another year, and he paid it off.

Mama Duke recalls making occasional 14-mile roundtrips into Cullman with her daddy on the wagon. He sometimes bought the kids cheese and crackers. But most necessities they bought were from “the rolling store” and the Sears and Roebuck catalog.

“We were proud of what we had and tried to take care of it,” Mama Duke says.

Through 1934, she continued to walk to and from Welti School, cutting the round-trip down to three miles by taking shortcuts along a pasture fence. While some kids were able to attend Fairview and thus continue beyond the ninth grade, that wasn’t in the cards for Mama Duke, who by now had her full complement of siblings: Martina Eleanor, Lucy Mildred, Raymond Fay, Robert Talmadge, Opal Earline and Nellie Sue. (Three of them are still alive: Robert, 96, Opal, 93, and Sue, 90.)

she had her eyes on him first. They had dated for two years.

“He was nice,” she says. “We both loved music, sacred music. I think that attracted us.”

About the time sparks started between the couple, the Harris family hit a milestone in their lifestyle in 1936 – they got electricity.

“I think that’s the biggest change that I’ve ever seen,” Mama Duke says.

After getting married, they moved to Brickyard for a year where they rented a house and land and grew a crop. The

monthly, or TVA, which charged $2 for 25 kilowatts.

After choosing Alabama Power, Hanley was asked why they didn’t opt for more than twice as much power for the money. “Well,” he responded, “we just got an iron and a radio.”

What if you get a stove and refrigerator, people asked. “I’ll never live to see the day we can afford to have all that,” he replied.

“But we did,” Mama Ruth grins.

E

arly Sunday, Dec. 7, 1941, Japanese warplanes launched a surprise attack on U.S. forces in Hawaii, shocking the nation and much of the world.

“I was listening to a preacher on the radio that afternoon, a preacher in Birmingham,” Mama Duke recalls. “They broke in and said Pearl Harbor had been hit.”

History disrupted her quiet farm life. But as events unfolded, Mama Duke didn’t worry about losing the war; she worried about family members going to fight.

“There were lots of days you wondered about them,” she says, “especially when you heard of a big battle.”

As a young father and farmer, Hanley was not drafted. His brother, n June 1938, Superman Wallace, was not so flew into existence with the fortunate. first issue of Action Comics.

He was flying in a That September, as an B-17 over Holland on appeasement to a SupermanDec. 16, 1943, when wannabe, Hitler was allowed German antiaircraft The happy young newlyweds ... Ruth and Hanley Duke to annex a portion of flak hit a bomber in the day after their wedding on Nov. 5, 1938.

Czechoslovakia, opening the his formation. Falling maw of hell to World War II. out of the sky like a On a much happier and deadly domino, it struck house had no electricity, which she says low-key note, on Nov. 5, 1938, in Welti, Wallace’s bomber. Both crashed, killing was a big adjustment after having it for Margaret Ruth Harris married James Hanley’s brother. two years at home.

Hanley Duke, 24 of Bolte. She was Meanwhile, Mama Duke’s oldest The next year they moved in with nearly 21. brother, Raymond, had left for England her Grandma Goodson back in Welti.

He had finished ninth grade in nearby earlier that year as a B-17 waist gunner.

There, they had the option of tying onto Welti and met Ruth through ballgames He flew his last mission over Europe and Alabama Power, 10 kilowatts for $1 and singings, though she confesses that returned home in 1944 on D-Day.

I

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53

This photo of Hanley and Mama Duke Ruth’s children, in-laws and grandkids was shot at church in December 1972.

From left front are: Tim, Jon, Rena, Hanley, Ruth, Kelly, Sherri, Nelda, Sherman, Sheila; from left back are: Wendell, Margaret, James, Elna Von, Kerry, Janice, Mitch and Donald.

Her younger brother, Robert, was in Italy for three or four months, ostensibly in a support role because of his health.

“They got short of men and he went out and fought, too,” Mama Ruth says.

One night, “they saw a car coming down the road with its lights on and blowing the horn. It was during a blackout, and they couldn’t image what was going on.”

War had ended in Europe.

Hearing the news, she cried in relief.

M

ama Duke didn’t fight during war years, but she did fight through labor twice.

Her and Hanley’s oldest son, James Allen, was born in pre-war 1940. He worked at the old A&P and later had a store in Welti and farmed. He and his wife live today on “The Dirt Road,” which is also home to Mama Duke.

Nelda Fay Duke Bailey was born in 1942, followed by Janice Ellen Duke Jarrells in ’44. Nelda married a Baptist 54

preacher and they live in Arab. Janice, now a widow retired from a career in education, lives in Hokes Bluff.

During the 1940s – when not rearing kids or farming with Hanley – Mama Duke loved listening to the Ma Perkins radio soap opera.

About the time the Soviets were blockading Berlin in 1948, Hanley bought a Model A flatbed.

“We had the three children and all of us rode in the cab of that truck,” Mama Duke laughs. “We got in, but it was full.”

In 1951, while a new war waged on the Korean peninsula, the youngest of the four children was born. Wendell Harris, now a semi-retired engineer, lives in Gardendale with his wife.

In 1956, after James got his driver’s license, Mama Duke decided to get hers, too, though she used it very little.

“I had to go back more than once to get it,” she grins.

AUGUST | SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2020

James was still in school when the Dukes bought their first TV. “We couldn’t hardly wait to get through supper and get things cleared away so we could go watch our programs,” Mama Duke says. “We had good programs, too. I liked Lawrence Welk. The kids liked cartoons.”

1

959 was a big year. Alaska and Hawaii joined the union. Lee Petty took the checkered flag at the first Daytona 500. And on another race front – the space race – NASA selected its first seven astronauts for the Mercury program.

“I admired them,” says Mama Duke, who marveled at the space program as she once did Charles Lindbergh.

Big news for her family was that Vesta and Alpha sold their farm and old house where Mama Duke grew up, to her and Hanley. With help from James Allen,

Here are the family members who gathered for Mama Duke’s 100th birthday party in December 2017. they paid it off in six years and started tearing it down in 1967 to build one of their own.

“If those walls could talk,” Mama Duke says.

While the Vietnam War raged that summer and fall, the family tore down the old house and built a new one. The Dukes borrowed $10,000, built the house for $8,000 and moved in Dec. 1, 1967.

In following years, with children moving out and more time on her hands, Mama Duke began quilting and was shocked that she could sell her works for $8 or $10 per piece.

After several heart attacks and strokes, Hanley died Feb. 25, 1998. He and Mama Duke had been married almost 60 years.

Along with death there was life. Her family grew to include 10 grandchildren, 26 great grandchildren and five great-greats.

And Mama Duke always had church, which she loved. A long-time member of Mt. Zion Baptist, she recalls the old days when they had a preacher only once a month. Welti Cumberland Presbyterian Church did likewise, and many people visited the other church whenever its preacher was there.

“I believe actions speak louder than words,” Mama Duke says in an oral account of her life she gave at age 91. “If people can’t see I’m a Christian there is no use to try to tell them.”

I

n the wee hours of April 28, 2014, Mama Duke’s house was hit by an EF2 tornado. She hunkered safely in a grandson’s nearby basement, but the storm ripped the roof off her house.

Fortunately, Wendell diverted carpenters working at his lake house to his mother’s house, and they began reconstruction that morning. At the same time, they extensively remodeled inside.

So it is that now she can look through the glass of her storm door, across the way and see the house where she was born, as well the neighboring house her parents built when they sold their old home to Mama Duke and Hanley.

Other than the four years right after they married when they

Mama Duke got a beautiful cake for her 102nd birthday last December ... even if she did get shorted a few candles.

AUGUST | SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2020

55

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Mama Duke took up crocheting about two years ago after a small stroke. But it’s quilting she was best known for, and one year in her prime she and sister Milly churned out some 50 quilts. lived as far as 15 miles away, she’s proudly says she spent her entire life in Welti.

Well, she notes, back in her 80s she did travel to Connecticut once for a family funeral. Her only time to fly, she was surprised at how huge the world appeared.

“There were clouds on the way up there. They looked like snowballs, and you couldn’t see the ground at all,” she says.

On the way back, it was clear, but she was not too keen about looking down.

That rolling scenery from the jet plane is a bit like all of the history her life has spanned – Mama Duke has been happy to let history do its own thing without watching much through the window of TV news.

Even if it’s part illusion, living in Welti, she says, has allowed her the feeling that she has a little more control over life than a faster-paced city dweller.

“I am well content with my life,” she says. “I don’t know nothing I really wished I had seen or done. I tried to be content with what life gave me and make the best of it. I just don’t have no desire to try to do something outstanding.

“I have been disappointed and had bad things I didn’t like,” she adds, “but I tried to make the best of it.”

She does, however, like to keep her front door open. It lets her keep an eye on the world she knows and loves best.

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It’s lots of fun, competitive as you want and a good way to sneak in activity without dreading exercise Rules are simple if not a little quirky.

(Hint don’t get caught in the kitchen.)

Controversy might crop up over a call on the court, but no one usually gets too heated et’s clear this up first. The game of about it. The biggest controversy may be pickleball has nothing whatsoever to do the question with pickles – of whether well, at least not pickleball is when you spell played first and “pickles” with a foremost for fun, lower case “p.” a competitive More on the rush, or as a name later. sneaky way So … what is to be active pickleball? without dreading It’s a game exercise. concocted And though with elements pickleball was of tennis, invented for and badminton, loved by kids, racquetball and those pesky older ping-pong with folks are the ones a twist of Wiffle you’ll probably ball tossed see enjoying in for good themselves on measure. You the courts in play it indoors Luis Lopez follows through with form Cullman. or outdoors on a developed over a lifetime of sports.

You can play badminton-sized singles, but most court using a people enjoy modified tennis doubles for the social aspects of the game. net over which you swat a plastic ball with holes in it using what appear to be oversized, But because of the coronavirus, Cullman Park, Recreation and Sports Tourism had squared-away ping-pong paddles.

Story and photos

By David Moore

L

58

AUGUST | SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2020

to cancel indoor pickleball at the Donald E. Green Active Adult Center. Since May, however, the group of 15 or so local players have resumed play Tuesday and Thursday evenings at neighboring Ingle Park where Park and Rec built four outside courts.

As a note, while pickleball itself is not contagious, it is apparently quite addictive.

D

an and Becky Stevens were among Cullman’s first pickleball players.

In February 2019 they responded to an announcement that Stephanie Neal, director of the active adult center, placed in the Cullman Shoppers’ Guide that the center planned to open an indoor court.

Becky, who was a Gregory growing up in Gold Ridge, retired five years ago from East Elementary. Dan, a specialist with Alabama Health Guidance Medicare Insurance, moved to Cullman in 1990. When they met, tennis was one of their commonalities.

They had friends in Phoenix, Ariz., who were playing pickleball a decade ago, but

Dan Stevens lunges for a point-saving shot as his wife and pickleball partner Becky watches. the Stevenses had never tried it themselves.

But they were curious and showed up at the center with tennis friends Rita and Dr. John Nelson in tow.

“We invited them because we didn’t know if anyone else would show up,” Becky recalls.

They were not alone.

Luis Lopez and his friend Don Watts were in the gym, saw the Stevenses and joined them, as did Larry Hullett.

Games on.

Larry soon started bringing his wife, Serena, who in turn invited her sister, Minnie Heaton.

“When they all started playing, the center added more courts,” Becky says.

By virtue of her dedication, Becky became ad hoc organizer of the loose group of regular, semi-regular players in Cullman.

“She was that way with tennis,” Dan says. “She sends out a text prior every day we play to get a count on players so they know how many nets to put up.”

Fourteen players, he adds, is about the most that show up.

A

s far as he knows, Luis Lopez and his buddy Don Watts started pickleball in Cullman.

“We learned the rules and basics from the internet,” Luis says. They talked to Stephanie Neal who agreed to purchase a net and other equipment and run an announcement in the Shoppers’ Guide.

Originally from Puerto Rico, Luis attended college in New York and lived in Georgia 38 years before moving to Cullman. His active life includes a stint as an AA third baseman, tennis for years and formerly running six miles a day. He still hits the treadmill.

“This is active and fun,” Luis , 74, says of pickleball. “It’s good for you … keeps you younger.”

Ricky Lee, who heard about pickleball on the Rick and Bubba radio show also saw a notice in the Shoppers’

Guide last September and decided to try it out.

“I thought I could play against the old people and just mop the floor with them,” the 66-year-old laughs. “I found out I’m ‘old people,’ too. When I first started I would be so out of breath I couldn’t hardly go.”

“He’s still out of breath,” Luis quips.

“It’s worked wonders for me,” Ricky laughs. “I’m nowhere near the best here, but I bet I have as much fun as anyone. I wish more people would get involved so we could have more play.”

At age 60, Rodney Whittle’s the youngster of the pickleball group. An allaround athlete in high school, he actually played open-league pickleball while at the University of North Alabama.

He later golfed, played tennis and ran as long as his knees held out. Then his wife read an announcement about pickleball in the paper, suggested Rodney try, and he started last fall.

“I get picked on here as the baby,” he

AUGUST | SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2020

59

grins. “I’m used to that. I have two older brothers, and that made me more competitive.

He’s unsure if competition on the court eclipses the fun of playing.

“I like them both, but it is pretty competitive,” Rodney says. “And I like the comradery. We have a pretty good group of people.”

A

ccording to various sources, Pickleball was invented in 1965 by three dads who would ferry their families from Seattle to spend weekends at second homes on nearby Bainbridge Island.

One typically wet day the kids got bored and started complaining about nothing to do. Joel Pritchard, a congressman from Washington, and Bill Bell, a successful businessman, took action. Scrounging around, they found an old badminton net, a rough set of ping-pong paddles and a Wiffle ball.

Thus armed, the dads took the kids outside to an aging, asphalt badminton court and said to swat the ball around. Competition, naturally, led to keeping score, which necessitated rules.

Barney McCallum joined the fun the following weekend.

“I’m down there playing this … thing,” he recalls on YouTube.

“This is on a Saturday. Then the next day I couldn’t get out of bed fast enough to go down there and play.”

The new game took on a world of its own as they tried scoring methods of other sports, including tennis. Rules were developed on an as-needed basis. For instance, another dad, Dick Brown, was a tall guy who too easily racked up points by charging the net and spiking the ball.

So the “kitchen” line was invented. Dick – and everyone else – had to stay behind it.

Barney quickly realized ping-pong paddles were too small and broke too easily, so he cut out a pattern and cut out larger, but simple paddles from plywood.

Though the game was meant for all ages, it wasn’t long before the parents’ enthusiasm monopolized it. Pickleball, they found, was fun exercise, and they could be as competitive as they wanted.

A

fter the Seattle families deserted Bainbridge Island that fall, Barney discovered the 20-foot width of his street worked great for length of the court, and so pickleball took to the streets.

Barney and Joel’s wife, Joan, have differing stories as to the origins of the game’s name.

Pickleball started in Cullman County long before it reached Cullman. Sharon Drake, serving above, taught and coached at Fairview for 36 years and annually attended state PE conferences where coaches were introduced to new equipment and ideas. It was probably at the 1999 conference that she learned about pickleball and ordered equipment for four courts that could be set up in the gym. So, through 2007, mostly fourth and fifth graders enjoyed two-week sessions of pickleball. “But I didn’t actually start playing until March of last year when the announcement ran in the Shoppers’ Guide,” she laughs. “I thought I could play tennis when I retired, but I found out after two days on the tennis court that pickleball is what I enjoy and can do … when it comes to having fun.” Ricky Lee wears a T-shirt bearing “his” rules for pickleball.

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61

Larry Hullett, left, returns a shot while his doubles partner Rodney Whittle is already anticipating the return volley. The winner is the first to reach 11 points. If the game is tied at 10, it’s takes a 2-point led to win. One of the trickier rules of pickleball involves the “kitchen,” a no-volley zone extending seven feet from the net and from sideline to sideline. If your foot crosses the kitchen line while you’re hitting the ball, it’s a fault.

Joan was a competitive rower on a crew boat in college. “Pickle boat” is an obscure term from the sport.

In choosing rowing teams, the best oarsmen were picked first. The leftover, mismatched rowers crewed the socalled pickle boat. With the new game’s mismatched mix of sports, Joan thought pickleball was an appropriate name.

Barney contends the game was named after the Pritchards’ cockapoo puppy, Pickles, who was fond of chasing and running off with the plastic ball. He remembers everyone sitting around the Pritchards’ cabin applauding and toasting the name.

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The doggie origin makes for a cuter story and is certainly less arcane, but the Pritchards note they didn’t get Pickles until two years after the game was invented.

Then again, maybe the name of the game was that long in coming.

Either way, pickleball has grown and is now played by more than 2.5 million people and through the USA Pickleball Association, leagues and tournaments are set up for amateurs and pros, and the sport continues to grow.

S

o, pickleball ... fun, competitive rush, or a good way to stay active?

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“It’s all three of them,” insists Becky.

“Dan and I wanted to get the exercise.

It’s definitely fun. And we love to see the people we play with. Those are the three things we were hoping for when we started playing pickleball.”

Pickleball is played starting at 6 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday at Ingle Park. After the Donald E. Green center reopens (which is unknown because of Covid-19), play is expected to resume there at 2 p.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays.

For more info, call the center: 256-7344803.

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Story by Seth Terrell Photos by David Moore

H

e simply can’t help himself. Cullman County cattle rancher Greg Anderson has a soft place in his heart for stories of the American dream – old cowboy tales of toughness, ballads of underdogs and outsiders, of average people, bootstraps firmly pulled, propelling themselves toward greatness.

“I love to hear stories of people reinventing themselves,” he says, as he hikes up the side of a bluff on the northwestern side of his ranch in a pair of Double H cowboy boots.

It is three in the afternoon as a steady rain drizzles over the perfectly sculpted green hills of Sullivan Creek Ranch, softening everything in sight. There is a modest wilderness behind him, stretching from the hills down to the sandy flats of Sullivan Creek itself.

At the top of the bluff trail the view opens to the serene vastness of 300 rolling acres where Greg’s herd of Akaushi cattle await him. They stand gentle as puppies, their reddish hides dampened with new rain. Across the way his horses graze westward, unshaken by the weather. All the earthen colors collide, from green to sorrel to gray. It’s a watercolor portrait that puts the fortunate viewer in mind of endless frontier.

This is ranch life.

This is a story of reinvention.

Navy pilot Greg Anderson reinvents himself into a rancher ... and his Akaushi-raising ranch into an example of agritourism

T

he Flying ‘A’ brand that marks the entry to Sullivan Creek Ranch, seems the perfect symbol for Greg’s story. Raised in Smyrna, Ga., Greg grew up hearing stories from his dad who had grown up on a dairy farm in New Hampshire. Something about those stories stuck, but it would be a few decades before the seeds of farm life could fully take root.

Meanwhile, Greg’s country called.

There were 18 years as a Navy pilot, flying anything from the futuristic-looking E2 Hawkeyes to the slick Gulfstream 550s. As 66

a lieutenant commander, Greg flew special missions out of Andrews Air Force Base, and served as a Navy flight instructor.

There were days and days of soaring through the clouds, cruising at 460 knots (around 530 mph) when the magnitude of endless blue sky sparked dreams of endless green pastureland.

Though the focus was always on the mission at hand, the ranch dream was ever flourishing in his heart.

Greg had had some experience with horses, but while stationed at Andrews, he befriended an elderly widower who

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owned a horse farm a few miles away. The horse farm became Greg’s haven where he could polish his horsemanship and, most importantly, keep the dream of owning a cattle ranch alive and well.

W

hen Greg retired from the Navy after almost two and a half decades of service, there were stops in Georgia with Gulfstream Aerospace, then his job took him to Birmingham. But once he fixed his eyes on the storybook hills of western Cullman County, he was here to stay.

After driving up another hill on the

Sullivan Creek Ranch sprawls over 300 acres, with cattle grazing on three rolling hills. Greg’s house sits on a fourth hill. He’s in the business of selling beef and welcomes visitors. While the mailing address is 151 County Road 1047, Vinemont, the ranch is actually four miles northwest of Jones Chapel.

property, Greg tells the story as his Akaushi heifers grow curious and press against the back of his Honda Pioneer UTV. “The older man that owned this place at the time told me that he saw the same look in my eye that was in his [eye] when the place was originally purchased.”

Greg smiles and reaches out for one of his brood cows that will soon calve. She brushes close with her rain-soaked muzzle.

“That meant so much to hear him say that.”

When Greg purchased the acreage that now comprises Sullivan Creek Ranch in 2016, the farm’s commercial herd of cows

through agritourism that has now led to a successful business born out of a lowimpact, community-centered, farm-to-table experience.

A

s the herd bunches together and scatters, Greg heads back toward the house atop another hill across the way.

This tale of reinvention is not only a personal one, but it grew to encompass the entire ranch. He and his fiancé, Emily Osborne, have totally recast this 1986 ranch house. The aesthetic is both artful and modern, yet there is a rustic vibe that seems to come straight from the pages of “Lonesome Dove.”

That very novel so happens to rest on the coffee table in Greg’s Cattleman’s Club lounge-room as he pulls off his boots and walks inside. The Cattleman’s Club is a wing of the house designated for good conversation and good food. As evidence of that quintessential ranch hospitality, Emily offers up a perfectly crafted meat plate as she joins the conversation.

Such hospitality has become the essence of the Sullivan Creek Ranch business model. Greg’s ranch is open to guests through the Harvest Host program in which people from all over North America stop in for a scenic getaway and a memorable stay on the ranch.

“The aesthetic value is a crucial part of the business,” Greg offers. All Harvest Host guests to Sullivan Creek Ranch are consumers not only of this bucolic soulstirring aesthetic, but they also directly purchase his USDA inspected, mouthwatering beef.

And beef is king here on Sullivan Creek Ranch.

came with it. In those early days of his reinvention from Navy pilot to rancher, he made some mistakes.

“I was no cattleman,” Greg offers, his trademark humility seeping through. Soon enough, however, he realized his ranch tale had to emerge from fantasy and become sustainable and viable. “I knew I didn’t want to be a hobby farmer.”

He willed the ranch to evolve with him. Gone were the days and ways of typical commercial farming. Greg set his sight on direct marketing his beef. He began to build an expansive customer base

T

his height of royalty – where beef is king – was obtained because early on Greg paid special attention to aspects of ranching that can so often go astray in a farming business – genetics and quality.

His focus on genetics led to his successful cross-breeding of black baldy stock with the high-performing Akaushi.

The hybrid vigor of these two cattle breeds resulted in a dual herd of spring calving and autumn calving brood cows.

If that sounds a bit technical for describing ground beef and steak, consider that Akaushi is recognized as perhaps the most tender, juiciest and healthiest beef available in the world. The breed itself is

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Greg cross-breeds his purebred Akaushi bull with black baldy stock, above left, to create an Akaushi -Simmental hybrid, top right, a source of some of the best beef possible. An agritourism operation, Greg welcomes campers. Earlier this year, Alan Gouk and Gail Richard of Toronto visited the ranch twice.

Above, his lab Buck swims in Sullivan Creek.

At right, Greg checks a cattle chute.

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is active duty with the Navy, Japanese, and when crossed with stationed aboard the USS Samson. certain other cattle breeds the Greg holds gracious ties to result is the highest quality beef the old ways of ranching, too. He product on the market today. does most of his work atop his Greg isn’t simply motivated best mount, Lefty, a stout Bay by superlatives, however. His who, along with the other horses, naval experience, coupled with helps keep the herd moving freely his systemic thinking, has created through Greg’s intentionallyanother productive “hybrid vigor” designed series of herding lanes – he is a cowboy with an MBA. and catch pens. And once a year, “You can do a lot with he invites farmers and folks in agriculture when you’re a and around the area to the ranch Dinner bell or triangle? It’s perhaps the only arcane systemic thinker,” he says. a one-of-a-kind, old-school detail about Sullivan’s Creek of which Greg is unsure. for There are two foundational branding extravaganza.

A better way to get his attention – especially for online principles on which his ranch “It’s my way,” Greg says, “of beef sales – is: www.sullivancreekranch.com; business depends: transparency thanking all those I’m connected and quality. While the quality of with who make this whole thing or you can call him: 256-595-4090.

Greg’s program is hard to match, work.” The communal nature it is transparency that sets him of ranching is one that unites apart. His farming practice is one supplier with customer and brings community. And my goal is to support of good land management and healthy about appreciation for all who love and this community to provide quality livestock husbandry. work the land. produce to motivated consumers.”

Ranching, as Greg sees it, is inherently Emily, who grew up on a farm in relational. There is a tightly woven he reinvention tale for 52-year-old Campbellsville, Ky., agrees with Greg. harmony between cow and rancher, land cowboy Greg Anderson is in some ways A professional artist, joining Greg in the and cow, horse and rancher. This harmony business in Vinemont offers her endless just beginning. sustains the vitality of Sullivan Creek Make no mistake – the directinspiration.

Ranch and its Flying ‘A’ brand.

“It’s all really come full circle for me,” marketing beef business, especially one as finely tuned and well-planned as Greg’s, she says, looking out the bay window reg insists that this relational toward the pastures where the horses have is hard work. Yet the original gleam is still fixed in this cowboy’s eye. transparency necessarily involves come near. The couple is to be married in And how could it not be? While beef is community. He and Emily are proud August. certainly what’s for dinner, it is the thrill to call Cullman theirs. As such, he is a Perhaps any tale of reinvention is not of working cattle, meeting people from member of the Cullman Area Chamber complete without strong, gracious ties to across North America and sharing the of Commerce, serving as its agritourism the past. sheer beauty of the Sullivan Creek Ranch representative.

The Andersons remain a military that serve as dessert.

“I believe in Cullman,” he says. “I family. Greg’s son, Jake, is an Army Ranger, while his daughter, Casey, really, truly believe I’m part of an ag Good Life Magazine

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Out ‘n’ About Remember those old ads from your high school yearbook back in the 1960s? Their look and style? Maybe a crooked photo or two. These images are courtesy of the Cullman County Museum. Barring changes in coronavirus restrictions, the exhibit rooms of the museum are open, but temperature checks, masks and social distancing are required. Public restrooms are closed. The museum continues its virtual outreach though Facebook and Zoom and has some short, interesting videos on Facebook. For more info: 256-739-1258.

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