Cullman Good Life Magazine - Summer 2017 by The Good Life Magazine

CULLMAN COUNTY

Jordan Lee hooked fishing’s biggest trophy; it takes a ton of hard work Jude Johnston’s rare interview offers a glimpse of his work and his mind SUMMER 2017 COMPLIMENTARY

Nate Brock moved, but his house is still a place of new beginnings

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Eat. Enjoy. Repeat. (Variations are optional) Many diners at Augusta’s are regulars – from once a month to once a day – and for great reasons. Charlie and Sherry Buettner eat dinner at least once a week at Augusta’s, working their way through the new menu then starting over. They started coming here regularly when Deb Veres and her family opened the sports grill in March 2015. “We were remodeling our house and were out a kitchen,” Sherry says. “We came here daily during that period,” Charles laughs. “Deb does everything fresh.” “It is always good,” Sherry agrees. “And they listen to you. The servers are not only dedicated to Deb and her team, they’re dedicated to us. They are passionate about what they serve and how they serve it, and there is a warmth you don’t find anywhere else.” Clarence Harris got to know Deb’s reputation

for quality food when she managed Logan’s. After she opened Augusta’s, he was an immediate regular. Now, he and his daughter, Karina, 10, eat there every Tuesday and Thursday – and 99 percent of the time they order the same things: rib eye for him; salad and salmon for her. “One time I got the club sandwich. It was good, too,” Karina says. “Sometimes I get the macaroni and cheese instead of the salad. Or the potato soup.” Clarence has branched out a few times, getting Deb’s great Philly cheese steak sandwiches and fried green tomatoes. If they have room for dessert, it’s always peanut butter ice cream cake. “It’s amazing,” Karina says. “Good food, plenty of it and great service,” Dad says. “When you add those three together, you have a winner.” Time after time after delicious time.

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Welcome

‘New beginnings’ stir thoughts about privilege and tolerance that perhaps apply to us all

ot by design, but, I notice, a number of stories in our summer issue have “new beginning” themes. One has a “New Being” theme. I count it, too. You can find those summer stories, but, as I write this piece, the world is greening anew outside my home office window. It’s still spring, the archetypal season of new beginnings. For graduating high school and college seniors, however, early summer also brings a grand opportunity for new beginnings. Some 20 years ago, while strolling around the yard, I was pondering that idea for a newspaper editorial aimed at graduating seniors and came up with this … You have lived among the splendor of mountains, forests, lakes and rivers. You have grown up in a land not completely covered with concrete, a land that, in good ways, is sometimes oblivious to the grind of the big cities. It is small enough to say hello to anyone on the street. Conversely, you are privileged to have grown up in a place not far from a center of high-tech engineering and science. Indeed, you have grown up in a place where the moon is truly a bit closer to Earth, where vehicles are built that can carry mankind to its destiny in space. You have had the grace and fortune to attend schools that have exposed you to the education you need to work in and contribute to this wondrous world of ours. You have grown up privileged. Not everyone is so fortunate. Take with you the knowledge of this privilege, but do not flaunt it. Carry it quietly. Use it wisely. Understand its responsibility. Apply your privilege to the art of tolerance, the social skill most lacking in our world today. Not everyone grew up with the same point of view from which to consider and interpret the world. It does not invalidate their opinions, views and culture nor make others any less wondrous or right than you. It merely makes them different. To this point of tolerance you are challenged to apply with wisdom the privilege of your upbringing. Do so and you’ll carry with you into the world not just the treasure of your privilege but the capacity for doing much good. That’s edited down, but disregarding the “mountains” reference the message is applicable to seniors across Cullman County ... and maybe all of us. I got another new beginning when I started Good Life Magazine, but I need to remind myself of this message every now and again. David Moore Publisher/editor

Contributors GLM is proud to welcome Loretta Gillespie to our lineup of contributors. She lives in Moulton but is well-known locally for her features in The Cullman Times. She’s also written for numerous other newspapers and magazines and authored a book. As a Cullman County Master Gardner, in this issue she tackles succulents. The full-time pastor at North Broad Street Church of Christ in Albertville and a millennial of Generation Y, Seth Terrell is working on a fine arts degree in writing. With a couple of Good Life stories under his belt in Marshall County GLM, he writes in this issue about one of Cullman’s unique citizens. Steve Maze, who lives in eastern Cullman County, often writes about characters in his family. What he doesn’t tell people is that he apparently has some squirrel in his family tree. At any rate, he been busy squirreling away stories for Good Life Magazine. Among them is a football story ready to go for the fall issue. Between working at Deb’s Bookstore in downtown Cullman 60 hours a week and power naps on her porch swing, Deb Laslie has the rest of her summer planned out: binge reading. Exciting? “I wouldn’t change a thing,” she says. “Well, more reading time. I’m about 10,000 books behind right now.” Finished with his story on Johnny’s Bar-B-Q, Patrick Oden has outfitted himself for summer. By his photo, folks in Cullman and Marshall counties will recognize him anywhere. Right? Besides his photography business and freelancing, Patrick has started a new project. Check it out at www.lakecityalabama.com. Ad/art director Sheila McAnear loves to go kayaking. And she has snorkel gear from previous cruises she’s made. So all she needs is a sleeping bag and she’ll be ready to go camping with friends this summer to Cypress Springs in Vernon, Fla. After looking at pictures of the water there she is getting excited.

Publisher/editor David Moore used to talk – too much – about newspaper work with his wonderful wife. Now Diane hears all about magazine work ... plus goes to the PO, makes deposits, helps with proofreading and offers tons of support. David would run her picture here, but he’s probably pushing his luck as it is.

Inside

10 Good Fun

Summertime means Rock the South and all sorts of fun things to get out and do

18 Good People

Angie Jochum built a senior program

22 Good Reads

A look at a thriller and “little” words of wisdom

25 Good Cooking

Curtis Mize once engineered rockets and space craft, but lately he’s been engineering cakes

34 A historic growth ring

Buettner Brothers Lumber Co. turns 125

38 Heron’s Watch

Nate Brock had his house designed as a place for a new beginning – and it still is

46 Good ’n’ Green

Succulents can seduce gardeners – and you

49 Jude Johnston

It’s a lot to grasp everything in the mind of this artist/engineer, but here’s a glimpse

56 Good Eats

Johnny’s Bar-B-Q has been around long enough for its swine to be on time

58 Lee brothers work at fishing On the cover: Marshall County Courthouse was appropriately bedecked for independence Day in 2016. Photo by David Moore. This page: This odd-looking plant, aptly called String of Pearls, is the kind of succulent that piques photographer Loretta Gillespie’s interest. Which is why she writes about them in the “Good ‘n’ Green” feature.

It might look easy to an Elite fisherman but Matt and Jordan say differently

65 David Warren

Cullman aerial photographer says he never saw the beauty until he left the darkness

74 Out ’n’ About

Visit the Donald E. Green Senior Center

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

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

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MAY | JUNE | JULY 2017

Marren Morris

Luke Bryan

Rock

the

South I

f a little drive up I-65 doesn’t count, it will be a homecoming for Sam Hunt when he takes the stage as a headliner for the Sixth Annual Rock the South outdoor music festival June 2-3 in Cullman. It’ll be homecoming, too, for tens of thousands of repeat fans that return annually for the outdoor extravaganza that’s grown into a force even greater than the EF4 tornado which caused the heartbreak and havoc that spawned the first concert. Before Hunt lit the fuse to his rocketing music career – he’s the fastest-rising new “country” star in years – the native of Cedartown, Ga., quarterbacked the UAB football team in 2006. He also had a girlfriend in Montevallo, with whom he got engaged in January. After several years of writing hits for the likes of Kenny Chesney and Keith Urban, in 2015 Hunt won “New Artist of the Year” from American Music and ASCAP Country Music Awards, and in 2016 his first album, “Montevallo,” was nominated for scads of awards. No doubt he’ll bring his “A” game to 10

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TICKETS

• Order at: www.rockthesouth.com • 2-day general admission – $99 • Glamping (glamorous camping with numerous amenities including VIP tickets); bed tent for two – $1,900; cot tent for 4 with keepsake sleeping bags – $2,300 . Rock the South, 45 minutes north of UAB. Joining him on the stage at Heritage Park – newly fitted with huge LED walls so the multitudes can see (VIP tickets were sold out months ago) – will be: • Marren Morris • Luke Bryan • Brett Eldredge • Muscadine Bloodline • Cody Jinks • Chris Hanson • Riley Green • De Jay Silver • Dustin Lynch • High Valley More than 25 vendors will further

Sam Hunt ensure Rock the South is a great party selling food from BBQ and burgers to Greek dishes and drinks from lemonade to beer and liquor. Promoters Shane Quick of Cullman and Nathan Baugh, who splits his time between Nashville, Birmingham and Smith Lake, started Rock the South as a one-time event in 2012 to celebrate the area’s recovery from the tornadoes of April 27, 2011. They’ve expanded the event ever since and generated some $400,000 in donations to Childhaven, Cullman Parks and Recreation, The Link, Alabama Forever and other community groups. – David Moore

Good Fun

Want to experience the fall colors in New England? Then sign up now for the Acadia Autumn Adventure Oct. 9-15. Sponsored by the Wallace State Community College Alumni Association, the trip includes a Salem Witch Tour, Acadia National Park, Kancamagus Highway, Franconia Notch State Park, Cannon Mount Tramway, Morse Farm Sugar Works, Mohawk Trail and much more. Cost for non-alumni members is $3,395 single occupancy, $2,795 double occupancy. Alumni members get a $100 saving off those prices, which includes all airfare and airport transportation, deluxe motor coach transportation, six nights at mostly Holiday and Hampton Inns, 10 meals, a professional tour manager, hotel luggage handling and activity admissions. For more information, contact: LaDonna Allen, 256-352-8071 or ladonna.allen@wallacestate.edu.

Summer’s here, and the time is right ... for everything • Now-Sept. 29 – Camping at Hurricane Creek Pack a tent and sleeping bag, head to Hurricane Creek Park on any Friday and camp out. It’s the only night primitive camping is allowed (otherwise you’re facing a fine). Pick up a $5 permit at 6 p.m. at the office. You can use the fire ring at the picnic area if you’re camping. Don’t forget the hot dogs and S’mores! For more info: Cullman Parks and Rec, 256-734-9157. • May 5-6 – Strawberry Festival Expect another huge crowd at the long-running, free-admission, Cullman Strawberry Festival 4-10 p.m. Friday and 7 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday. Last

year an estimated 8,000-10,000 folks bought more than 3,000 gallon buckets of strawberries from the farmer’s market at Festhalle, while the number of vendor booths reportedly doubled over 2015. This year, as well as fresh strawberries, you can buy strawberry ice cream, strawberry short cake, strawberry lemonade and strawberry daiquiris. For more info contact: CPR, 256-734-9157; or info@ cullmanrecreation.org. • May 13 – Stony Lonesome Mud Run If “crazy” is required to run 5K or one-mile walk/run in the mud, then 400 crazies participated in last year’s

event at Stony Lonesome OHV Park on Ala. 69 in Bremen. Register for the third annual mix of mud and mayhem by April 27 to ensure you get a T-shirt in your goodie bag and the early rates of $30 for the 5K (for those 13 and older) and $15 for the fun mile run/ walk (all ages). Group rates are available if you register at a Cullman County Parks site. You can also register starting at 6 the day of the race. The 5K and mile run start at 8 a.m. The course involves a variety of fun and muddy obstacles. And if it rains, well, it really won’t matter. It’s free to come out and watch MAY | JUNE | JULY 2017

contests, arts and craft booths, food vendors, fun things for the kids and, of course, the lake. The Cruze Fest, which ends at 2 p.m., attracts all sorts of cars, trucks, bikes and tractors. Registration to show is $15 and can be made up to noon that day; registration enters you in a 50/50 drawing for a $1,000 money tree. For more info call the park: 256-7392916.

Looking for a different challenge these days? Sign up for the one-mile or 5K Mud Run at Stony Lonesome May 13. It’s not your everyday deal ... the mud fly. For more info and to register online: http://www. cullmancountyparks.com; or call: Cullman Parks and Recreation: 256287-1133. • May 27 – Smith Lake Memorial Day

The Smith Lake Park festival – 8 a.m.–5 p.m. Saturday – has been expanded this year to include the third annual Smith Lake Park Cruze Fest and Swap Meet. Bands were still being lined up at press time, but along with lots of good entertainment there will be fun

• June 1 – EvaBank Midnight Run 5K Registration opens this day for the midnight event on Aug. 4 that sends about 1,000 runners through the streets of Cullman. At black light glow stations runners get neon, glowing colors thrown on them. Serious runners can bypass the fun. The race will be professionally timed and awards and cash prizes given to winners. T-shirts and goodie bags will be given to all runners; t-shirt sizes are granted on a first-come, first served basis starting with pre-registered runners. Fee is $25 per runner. Medals awarded to the top 3 in each age division; $250 to overall male and

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female winners; $200 to the overall masters male and female winners. Prizes for the best glow-in-the-dark attire. For more info: CPR, 256-734-9157. • June-July – Camp Cullman Registration is underway for Camp Cullman at Cullman Wellness and Aquatic Center, with two four-week sessions in June and July. Attend as many weeks as you want. Each is $115 or pay for seven weeks in advance and the eighth week is free. May 19 is the deadline to pay for the June session; June 16 is the deadline for the second. There’s a $25 registration fee. Space is limited to the first 80 campers who sign up. Camp includes arts and crafts, camp games, sports, swimming in the outdoor pool and water park, local field trips and weekly trips to places like the Coca-Cola Museum in Atlanta, the Birmingham Zoo and the Tennessee Aquarium. For more info, call CPR: 256-734-9157. • June 6-July 25 – Mommy and Me Art Class Registration is open for the 10

a.m. Tuesday session at the Art Guild Building at City Park. Cost: $60. Parents or grandparents can create keepsake crafts with their children ages 5 and under. Register at the Cullman Civic Center or online: www.cullmanrecreation.org. For more info, call CPR: 256-734-9157. • June 5-6 – Register for Nantahala kayaking Registration begins for the Aug. 5-6 Kayaking trip down the Nantahala River in North Carolina. The $35 trip includes a guided run of the famous river and overnight stay in campgrounds. Transportation will be provided to transport kayaks and gear, but boaters are responsible for their own travel arrangements or carpooling. Registration opens June 15 at the Cullman Civic Center or online. For more info call: Cullman Wellness and Aquatic Center, 256-775-7946. • June 9– Second Fridays at Festhalle The fun is 5-10 p.m. the second Friday of the month through Sept. 11 at the Festhalle Marketplatz and

Depot Park. Live music starts at 6 p.m., the farmer’s market will be open until 10 p.m. with local farmers and craft vendors, car shows, a free kid’s zone and the Warehouse District will be open late. It’s jointly sponsored by the Cullman Area Chamber of Commerce and CPR. • June 10 – Hanceville Antique Tractor and Engine Show The 19th annual event, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday on the campus of Wallace State Community College; enter across from Warehouse Discount Grocery. With the city of Hanceville as first-time sponsor, there will be races (of the slow tractor sort), a skillet throwing contest, the Parade of Power around campus and lots of fun and food, including homemade ice cream. The show draws 60-70 tractors. There is no registration fee, and admission is free. Bring a lawn chair for the races. For more info call: Charles Allen, 205-616-4173; or Bonnie Hamrick Brannan, 256-590-2478. • June 13-15 – Summer Outdoor Adventure Camp Registration for ages 7-14 is open at

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the Cullman Civic Center and at: www. cullmanrecreation.org for this fun camp at Hurricane Creek Park. The two-day sessions start at 10 a.m., cost $75 and include hiking, rock climbing, rappelling, wilderness survival skills, nature scavenger hunts, campfires and more. For more info, call CPR: 256-734-9157. • June 10 – Dodge City Days Thousands of people are expected this Saturday at Dodge City as vendors line Ala. 69, and stores should be hopping with fun events and great deals. For instance, Heritage Pharmacy will have a dunking booth and face painting. Details were not available before press deadline. For more info call: city hall, 256-287-0364. • June 17 – a “ducky day” at Sportsman’s Lake Make a ducky day of it at Sportsman’s Lake Park with the Duck Dash 5K and Duck Drawdown Festival – and maybe make $1,000 non-duck bucks to boot. The free-admission festival is 9 a.m.-3 p.m. and includes live music with The Overtones (10-noon), DJ music afterward, games, activities. Enter the kids fishing rodeo (10-noon) for $2 and win prizes. Same with the $2 putt-putt tourney (1-2:30 p.m.). A $10 armband gets you a train ride, paddle boat rental, putt-putt games and the bounce house. Buy a $5 duck – or a family of five for $20 – for a chance to win $1,000. The

The Evelyn Burrow Museum at Wallace State has no exhibits planned for the summer. But they have had people asking about the permanent collection, which has been down for a while to accommodate special exhibits. The permanent collection will be on display through the summer.

drawdown ends at 3 p.m.; you don’t have to be present to win. The Duck Dash 5K starts at 8 a.m. The fee is $30 adults; $15 children 12 and under; 6 and younger run free. All runners and walkers who register by May 31 receive a Duck Drawdown T-shirt and a one-duck chance on the drawdown. Register online at: www. cullmancountyparks.com. You can also register starting at 6 a.m. the day of the race. Overall first place male and female receive a DuckTastic Trophy. Runners are invited to make up their best duck costume for a chance to win the QuackTastic Trophy.

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For more info call: Cullman County Parks and Recreation, 256-734-3052 • July 1 – Smith Lake Park 4th of July Fireworks and Music Festival Get an explosive jump on Independence Day 9 a.m.–9 p.m. Saturday with this annual event. Plans were not finalized by press time, but as usual there will be great entertainment, games, fun and food and arts and crafts vendors. The pool also opens that day. Fireworks start at 8 p.m. Admission is $5 person. For more info call: Smith Lake Park, 256739-2916.

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• July 11-13 – Summer Art Camp Camp, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. daily, will feature craft projects, drawing and painting at the Cullman Civic Center and nature-themed crafts at City Park. Cost is $75. Registration is open at the Cullman Civic Center or online at: www.cullmanrecreation.org. For more info call CPR: 256-734-9157.

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• July 8 – 5th Annual Dirt Therapy Day Off-road vehicles are always a hoot at Stony Lonesome OHV Park on Ala. 69 in Bremen. But on this particular Saturday you can leave behind the wheels if you want. All you need are an old pair of pants and a top if you’re a female, and you are welcome to all the mind, nerve and emotional therapy running, sliding, rolling and splashing in tons of mud have to offer. Therapy is cheap at the regular admission fee of $10 for the day. For more info call the park: 256-287-1133.

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• July 18-20 – Summer Theater Camp Theater camp, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., includes instruction in acting, dancing and musical performances. Cost is $75. Registration is open at the Cullman Civic Center online at: www.cullmanrecreation.org. For more info call CPR: 256-734-9157. • July 22 – 24-Hour Night Ride and Barbie Jeep Races Stony Lonesome’s first Extreme Barbie Jeep races in February drew 70-80 participants and 1,500 spectators. It’s works with grown-ups (usually men, of course …) who rumble – and tumble – down steep four-wheeler trails on non-motorized Barbie Jeeps. Google it to get an idea of the insanity level involved. Usually in the summer the park is open for trail riding 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m. But this Saturday and Sunday, for the regular admission price, you can ride until your arms and legs drop off, your wheels drop off, or midnight rolls around. For more info call the park: 256-287-1133.

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Good People

5questions Story and photos by David Moore

few tears were shed on the last day of February at the Donald E. Green Senior Center. It marked Angie Jochum’s last day there before retiring after 16 years as the center’s director and 23 years with Cullman Parks and Recreation. Farewells, if not tears, started the day before. “I want to tell y’all goodbye,” Angie tells the center’s choir group after joining them for a few songs. “I will miss all of you. There’s a place in my heart for each and every one of you. I’ll never forget you.” Among the sad “ahhhs,” several seniors ask if she’d still come sing with them. “I will,” Angie says then laughs. “But the first month I’m going to rest. I’m not doing anything.” “You’ll get to see your grandkids more!” one of her choir friends points out. “Yes,” Angie says. “I will.” It’s apparent, even to a visitor, that Angie has a close bond with many of the nearly 2,000 seniors who participate in the array of programs the senior center offers. For one thing, she honestly cares about and loves them. They also sense, even if they don’t know the details, that Angie’s background is not one of privilege. “I come from the school of hard knocks and made my own way,” she says during an interview. “I was not fortunate enough to be able to go to college. I had to prove myself. What I learned, I picked up on my own.” Indeed. Angie was a freshman when medical seizures forced her to leave high school. Then, married only a short while, Angie turned 17 the day before her daughter, Nikki, was born. “I went to work immediately,” she 18

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Angie Jochum

With heart, head and drive, she built a top-notch program for senior citizens says. “I had to be the breadwinner. It was a rough road for a while.” While working an assortment of jobs, she diligently applied herself to studying and earned her GED through Cullman High School in 1973, the year she would have graduated. She liked numbers and took accounting classes at Wallace State Community College for a while, but then her grant money ran out. “There are years of my life,” Angie says honestly, “I would just as soon forget.”

he break that would change Angie’s life – and eventually put her into the position to positively affect the lives of several thousands of area seniors – came when she was hired part time as a scorekeeper for CPR’s baseball and softball programs. She parlayed a side job into working nights at the civic center as a receptionist and running the evening programs there. Significantly, that included senior citizen dances. “I loved getting to spend time with those guys,” she says. “It really interested me.” In 2004, at the urging of assistant director and athletic coordinator Greg Conkle, Angie was hired full time as receptionist and administrative assistant. She learned how to schedule a zillion ball teams and for two summers aptly juggled the city’s huge baseball and softball programs. Along the way, she caught the attention of Ed Jochum, who was then CPR’s maintenance supervisor. They married in 1999. Angie also caught the attention of CPR director John Hunt, who told her the board had voted to dedicate the gym at Ingle Park to full day use by seniors. Aware of her good rapport with the seniors at the dances, John asked Angie

if she was interested in directing the expansion of the senior programs there. Are you kidding? May 1, 2000, Angie eagerly dove into the lives of many senior citizens … not to mention into a new life for herself. “I loved it from the minute I stepped in the door,” she says, “even though it’s very demanding. We have a lot going on and lots of hours and work behind the scenes people don’t know about.” “But it’s always been a fun job. I have enjoyed working with Park and Rec since day one.”

. Why is it important to provide activities and a meeting place for senior citizens? Most of the seniors who come here are widowed. They need a place to come together for emotional support. Emotional support is one thing, but even though a lot of seniors stay busy outside of the center, when they are here and use the exercise equipment they’re using muscles they do not typically use at home. When they line dance, they are doing a light cardio workout. And they have to count, so they have to use their minds and think of the next step. I tell them it’s not perfection – it’s participation. When they line dance they might not be perfectly lined up, but they are participating. If you sing with the choir here, you use the opposite side of the brain than what you typically use. I thought that was interesting. You are constantly using your mind and thinking. And the seniors are developing friendships … the leisure side of the senior center. A lot of times inactive people can become shut-ins. They need to be out socializing, making friends. We have had some couples meet here, like Dave Gratz. He came here from

Snapshot: Angie Jochum

FAMILY: Daughter of Nathan and Valeria Smith, both deceased since 2011, Angie has lived in Cullman all her life. (“I have squatter’s rights,” she laughs.) Her brother, Keith, died in 2015. She attended Cullman High and Wallace State Community College. Her daughter, Nikki Mewbourne, lives in Trussville; two grandchildren, Kaitlyn and Nathan Mewbourne. CAREER: Worked as an apprentice with her brother, who owned K&S Plumbing; went to work full time for Cullman Parks and Recreation in 1994; retired Feb. 28, 2017. AWARDS: Alabama Recreation and Parks Association’s district award as Professional of the Year Award; Promoting Wellness Award from the City of Cullman Parks and Recreation Board; and The Cullman Times Unsung Hero Award. She served as the 2010 Burgermeister of the Cullman Oktoberfest.

Michigan and didn’t know anybody. I introduced him to a group of seniors here, and he hit it off with Barbara Tubbs. They’ve been together every day dancing. Just coming together and making friends … a lot of times the only time they see anybody is when they come up here. Seniors need interaction and to be engaged. They get that here – and our activities here are free. We don’t want people to be in solitude.

. When you became director at the Donald E. Green Senior Center, it averaged 62 participants per month. Now participation is pushing 2,000 seniors per month. What are the keys to that success? The park board and Mr. Hunt got together and decided there was a need in the community to offer more social, leisure and recreational opportunities for seniors. First off, they decided to make this a full-time senior center that gave us the place from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., four days a week, which gave us the facility to have more programs. In the beginning, seniors only had the gym from 8 to 11. That was part of me coming over here – to offer a full-time senior program. We are not a nutrition program. People are here for the activities. We had the facility and more room, so we offered more programs. The park board let me do what I wanted to do. I got with the seniors and

asked what their interests were. We’ve done everything from hiking at Bankhead National Forest to rappelling at Hurricane Creek Park. Our senior choir program actually developed from hiking at Bankhead. About a half dozen of us were hiking there and came upon Pine Torch Church out in the forest. It still had log seats, and there was a piano propped up on old hymnbooks. We had a pianist with us and started singing there in the church. We had so much fun that when we came back to the senior center Monday I said, “We have a piano here. Let’s sing a bit.” The choir started with 15-20 that first day. It’s grown to about 50 – and they are good. They get invited to revivals and fifth Sunday singings and funerals. They are made up of all denominations. We first got exercise equipment about 2009 from the old Sports First that used to manage the Aquatic Center. The seniors immediately liked the treadmills and what other little bit of equipment we had. Three years ago we got new equipment to add to it. It’s used a lot. We’ve had a travel program since 2000. We offer a minimum of six trips a year, including day trips, overnight and extended trips. We do the buddy system so everybody has a roommate. Setting up trips was in the job requirements. I like to travel, so I was excited. I came in with no training and learned by getting online and doing a lot of travel research. I wish I had kept up with all the miles

I put under my feet. We’ve been as far south as St. Thomas and St. Maarten; as far north as Niagara Falls and Toronto; as far west as Las Vegas; and as far northwest as Alaska. One of the most exciting places was Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and Yellowstone National Park where we did a raft trip down the Snake River. There were so many eagles we could not count them all. They were sitting on the sandbars, and you could almost reach out and touch them. We also went to the top of Pikes Peak on the cog railway. We were wearing shorts when we got on at the bottom, and there was snow when we reached the top. I averaged about 50 people on a trip. It’s about getting out and seeing the country. We went to Montgomery, and out of 50 people, maybe eight had ever been to the state capitol. Catherine Hasenbein, the administrative assistant at the center, is another reason for our success. She’s been with me for probably 15 years. She’s been my right hand. I could not have done what I did without her. It doesn’t matter how many programs you offer. It’s the seniors who make it work, who make the center what it is. I can offer programs all day long, but if they don’t come and participate, it’s null and void. It’s the seniors who get out and talk to other people that have made the programs grow.

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contribute to the health of everyone, from a child to a senior. Also, a lot of our park properties increase the value of local housing. And there’s a social importance. We bring the community together in a tangible reflection of the quality of life here. Parks are gathering places that bring families and social groups together regardless of economic status and their ability to pay for access.

what do we do right in terms of providing for and looking after our senior citizens? Where do we come up short? What else do we need to provide for senior citizens?

There are nutrition sites seniors can go to, and we have recreational activities and travel. But we don’t have anything for people who do not have the income to take care of their house when they need, like, a new roof or new plumbing. That is something that bears on my heart. What is something most I see money taken up and sent people don’t know about Angie overseas to help people over there, Jochum? but we have people right here in our community whose houses are falling I have had various jobs in my life. in around them. They need help, but I have been a waitress making 64 where do they go to get it? cents an hour … getting rich quick. As a community, we also don’t I’ve worked in the fast food business. Angie gets a standing ovation from the senior have a homeless shelter. It’s not I’ve worked in sewing factories. I’ve center choir the day before her retirement. For more necessarily just seniors who are worked in the fields to make a living, senior center photos and information, see the Fiveand Basic Concerns homeless. picking sweet potatoes loading ofatthe We need people who donate their “Out ‘n’ About” feature on pages 74-75. them on flatbeds the Individual end of the day. Investo services and skills to help. And we I also worked seven years as a need a foundation with someone on it plumber’s apprentice. My brother • Saving for Five Basic Concerns who will see after taking care of these There are a lot of reasons. owned his ownRetirement plumbing business Individual Investor people who need problems fixed on their Economic values … Parks and Rec of the and I worked with him. I’ve done homes. A lot of the seniors are on fixed brings in a lot of money to the county, everything from roughing in a new house • incomes and can’t afford it. filling up hotels with people who also Saving for to re-piping old houses and running sewer Outliving Retirement Five Basic Concerns The program would need to be use our restaurants – like when Heritage lines. I even ran a pipe-threading Retirement machine watched to make sure the help was Park is at peak We also helpInvestor with of season. the Individual and handed the pipes up to my brother so not being abused, but I see this as a Rock the South, which brings in people, he could run gas and air lines. • the shortcoming. along with the Strawberry Festival, maw-maw. That’s Saving for Outliving But I am a greatSaving Money Midnight Run and Oktoberfest. my most favorite “job.” But my job at the Retirement Retirement Five Basic Concerns on Taxes ThenInvestor there are the health and Why is it important to have a Individual senior center has been very rewarding, I of the environmental benefits of Park and Rec strong Cullman Parks and Recreation must say. We provide programs and services that program? Good Life Magazine • Saving for Outliving Saving Money Wealth Retirement Retirement on Taxes Protection Five Basic Concerns

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Good Reads

J.B. Collins thrillers close out with the hunt for ISIS leader

Don’t sweat the small stuff? Maybe that’s not a good idea

he story continues in this, the final book of the J.B. Collins thrillers by Joel Rosenberg, “Without Warning.” In book one, “The Third Target,” J.B., an investigative journalist travels to a war zone in the Middle East and somehow manages to get an exclusive interview “It’s not enough, Mr. with the leader of ISIS. President,” I insisted. J.B.’s career takes off at that point, allowing him “You’re hitting his men more access to clandestine and his money, but, sir, U.S. and Israeli operations you can’t kill the snake in the area. unless you cut off its In book two of the series, “The First head. So I must ask you Hostage,” the United again: have you signed a States President has been presidential directive to kidnapped by ISIS during take Abu Khalif out, a Middle Eastern summit, and J.B. Collins is the or not?” only intermediary with whom ISIS will negotiate. “Without Warning” opens with a devastating attack by ISIS on the United States Capitol during the State of the Union Address. Since he’s the only one who can recognize the ISIS leader by sight and voice (remember that exclusive interview?), J.B. becomes integral in the hunt for and capture of Abu Khalif. Mr. Rosenberg’s research is impeccable, his writing is clean and his characters are believable. You won’t want to miss this series. – Deb Laslie

f you’ve never read anything by Andy Andrews you’ve missed a real treat. But this book is special among all of his fine reads. “The Little Things: Why You Really Should Sweat the Small Stuff” will be the book by Mr. Andrews Have you ever wondered that you want to put into the hands of your why we spend so much friends, your neighbors, time and energy thinking your pastor and even about the big challenges people you don’t know in our lives when all particularly well. In his usual the evidence proves it’s lighthearted (but actually the little things heartfelt) way, Mr. that change everything? Andrews introduces us That’s right . . . to the little things that not only make us who absolutely everything we are, but make up everything around us. He reminds us that our Creator is, in fact, the Creator of those little things and cares very much for his creation. Through the real and historical events he uses in the book, we learn about the little things that changed history. (Did you know that Napoleon actually won the battle of Waterloo ... but for a little thing?) Andy Andrews has given us this little book to open our eyes to some simple but profound truths. I’m so glad he did. – Deb Laslie

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Good Cooking

If you know Curtis Mize ...

Then you know what happens when you turn a NASA engineer loose in the kitchen

Story and photos by David Moore

t doesn’t take an aerospace engineer to bake an incredible cake from scratch. But in Rondal “Curtis” Mize’s case, it certainly doesn’t hurt. And he even shares his “secret ingredient.” Bringing his baking expertise into perspective, one of his Pineapple Yum Yum Cakes sold at a Wallace State Community College scholarship auction for $750. Bringing his engineering credentials into perspective, he started working at Marshall Space Flight Center in 1960. There he worked with Wernher von Braun on the Mercury project, and continued through NASA’s Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, Space Shuttle and International Space Station programs. Curtis looked to the sky long before the kitchen. His parents were Good Hope tenant farmers with a brood of six barefooted kids. “I would stand in the cotton patch and look up and these jets would leave a contrail,” he recalls. “I was a dreamer, but little did I know I would someday work with Neil Armstrong and the team building the vehicle that would go to the moon.” At Cullman High School, he dated Melinda Dillon, who would go on to star in “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “Christmas Story” and other movies. But after earning his mechanical engineering degree from Auburn in 1960, it was Sally Vandiver – a fellow class officer at CHS – that he married in 1961. “I chose wisely,” Curtis laughs. Their two children, a daughter and a

Besides baking banana nut bread loaves for shut-ins at Cullman First Baptist Church,Curtis is president of the Cullman County Auburn Club and loves plants and arranging flowers as a relaxing hobby. son, both graduated in engineering from Auburn. Now grown and married, they have five children between them.

ally retired in July 2005 after 38 years, 15 of those as director of Cullman First Baptist Church’s preschool program. Curtis retired that September, and the next month Sally was diagnosed with supranuclear palsy. Instead of traveling as planned, they became caregiver and patient until she died in 2012. While keeping her active as long as he could, Curtis took a crash course in housecleaning, bill paying and cooking. He takes an engineering approach

to recipes, viewing them as blueprints. But he obviously adds a lot of love. At church potlucks, everyone wants whatever casserole he brings. He bakes banana nut bread for shut-ins on the list of people he visits as a deacon. And his cakes go for out-of-this-world prices at the Wallace State scholarship auctions. And that secret ingredient? Conspiratorially he almost whispers, when the mood strikes, he adds 1/8 of a teaspoon of Fiori Di Sicilia – a flowery, Italian blend of orange and vanilla extracts – to his cake recipes. Here are some of the many recipes Curtis has collected and concocted … MAY | JUNE | JULY 2017

BANANA NUT BREAD 1 cup sugar ½ cup butter or margarine (softened) 2 eggs 3 Tbsp. sour milk (2½ Tbsp. milk + ½ tsp. vinegar)

½ cup chopped nuts 1 tsp. baking soda 2 cups all-purpose flour 3 mashed bananas

Preheat oven to 350. Mix all ingredients. Place in greased and floured bread pan. Bake for about 1 hour. Makes 1 loaf.

syrup to absorb completely before adding the remainder. Let layers cool completely.

and whisk until mixture is spreading consistency. Arrange first layer on a cake plate and carefully peel off the wax paper. Spread 2/3 of the marmalade over the top, smoothing to an even layer. Invert the remaining layer onto the top of the first layer, peel off the wax paper and spoon remaining marmalade onto the center of it, leaving a 1¼-inch border around the edge. Frost the sides and the top border with frosting, leaving the marmalade on top of the cake exposed. If you prefer, frost the entire cake, adding the marmalade as a garnish on top. Chill for at least 2 hours before serving. Or you might frost and garnish it as Curtis Mize did in his photo above.

ORANGE MARMALADE LAYER CAKE (With thanks to Ester Bolick for sharing her recipe) CAKE 3 cups cake flour 1/2 tsp. salt 2 cup granulated sugar 3 large eggs, at room temperature, beaten lightly 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1 Tbsp. grated orange zest 1½ tsp. vanilla In a bowl, sift flour, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, beat butter with a mixer until smooth. Add the sugar, a little at a time, and beat mixture until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, orange zest, and vanilla. Beat in 1/3 of the dry ingredients alternately with ½ of the buttermilk until combined well. Add half the remaining dry ingredients and the remaining buttermilk and beat until combined well. Finally, beat in the remaining dry ingredients until mixture is smooth. Butter two 9-inch round cake pans, line with parchment or wax paper; butter and flour paper, shaking out the excess. Evenly divide batter between pans; smooth the surface, rap each pan on the counter to expel any air pockets or bubbles. In oven preheated to 350, bake 45 minutes or until a cake tester comes back clean. Transfer to racks and cool in pans for 20 minutes. ORANGE SYRUP 1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice ¼ cup granulated sugar Stir together the orange juice and sugar until sugar is dissolved. When cake is cool, use toothpick or wooden skewer to poke holes at ½-inch intervals in the cake layers. Spoon syrup over each layer, allowing the 26

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FILLING 1-12 oz. jar orange marmalade Heat marmalade in small saucepan, set at medium, until just melted. Let cool 5 minutes. FROSTING 3/4 cup heavy cream, well-chilled 3 Tbsp. sugar 3/4 cup sour cream, well-chilled In a bowl, whisk cream with the sugar until it forms firm peaks. Add the sour cream, a little at a time,

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AMISH BREAKFAST CASSEROLE 1 lb. sliced bacon, diced 1 medium, sweet onion, chopped 6 eggs, lightly beaten 1½ cups cottage cheese, 4% 4 cups, frozen, shredded hash brown potatoes, thawed

1¼ cups shredded Swiss cheese 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese In a large skillet, cook bacon and onion until bacon is crisp. Drain. In a large bowl, combine the remaining

ingredients and stir in the bacon mix. Transfer to a greased 9x13-inch baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting. MAPLE POUND CAKE WITH MAPLE-RUM GLAZE CAKE 2 cups King Arthur unbleached cake flour 1 tsp. baking powder ¼ tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. salt ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened 2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed 2 large eggs ½ cup grade A, dark maple syrup 1 cup sour cream 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract ¼ tsp. maple flavor GLAZE 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter ¼ cup grade “A” dark maple syrup ¼ cup dark rum (or water) ¼ tsp. maple flavor Lightly grease a 9-10-cup bundt-style pan. In medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In separate mixing bowl, beat together butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating for a minute or two and scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl between additions. Mix in maple syrup. Add half the flour mixture followed by sour cream, vanilla and maple flavor, and finally the remaining flour mixture. Scoop batter into the prepared pan and, in oven preheated to 350, bake 45-50 minutes, until a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow cake to cool l0 minutes in the pan; turn out onto a serving plate. While cake is cooling combine glaze ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to a rapid boil then reduce to simmer for 5-8 minutes until glaze thickens to a syrupy consistency. Remove pan from the heat. Brush hot glaze over the warm cake and allow the cake to cool completely before serving.

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COCONUT LAYER CAKE CAKE 2½ cups all-purpose flour ½ tsp. baking powder 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into pieces 1 cup coconut milk 2 cups sugar 1 tsp. baking soda ½ tsp. salt 4 large eggs 1 tsp. coconut extract FROSTING 4 sticks unsalted butter, at room temp. 1 tsp. vanilla extract 8 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted 1 Tbsp. coconut extract 2-2/3 cups sweetened, flaked coconut (7 oz. pkg.) In a bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Using electric mixer on medium-high, beat butter and sugar until light, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Reduce speed to low; beat in half of flour mixture. Beat in coconut milk and extract, then beat in remaining flour mixture until just combined. Divide batter into three greased and floured 9-inch round cake pans. Place on a rack centered in oven preheated to 350. Bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let cakes cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Turn out onto racks to cool completely. Using electric mixer on medium-

high, beat butter until light, 2-3 minutes. Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually beat in sugar until fully incorporated. Beat in extracts. Chill 15 minutes. Place first layer of cake on a serving platter. Spread with 1½ cups frosting. Sprinkle with ½ cup coconut. Top with second cake layer and repeat frosting and coconut. Top with third cake layer and spread remaining frosting on top

BREAKFAST CASSEROLE, SUNRISE 2 12-oz. packages of Johnsonville minutes, turning once or until sausage Breakfast Sausage Links is cooked through and lightly browned. 1 30-oz. package frozen, shredded , Drain and allow to cool slightly. hash browns, thawed Slice sausage into ¼-inch coins. 2 cups (8 oz.) shredded 4-cheese In a large bowl, whisk eggs, milk and Mexican blend cheese seasonings. Add sausage, hash browns, 6 eggs cheese, bell pepper and onions. Pour 2 cups milk into a greased 13x9x2-inch baking ½ cup diced red bell pepper dish. Cover and refrigerate overnight. 1½ tsp. ground mustard Remove from refrigerator 30 1/3 cup thinly sliced green onions minutes before baking uncovered at 1 tsp. salt 350 for 65-70 minutes or until a knife ½ tsp. pepper inserted in center comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes before serving with Arrange sausages on ungreased salsa (see recipe at right) or picante baking pan. Bake at 375 for 15-20 sauce. 30

MAY | JUNE | JULY 2017

and sides. Sprinkle remaining coconut over top and sides of cake, pressing to adhere. Chill for at least 2 hours and up to a day. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before serving. Optional: Instead of covering outside of frosted cake with coconut, you can use food coloring to dye it and use for decorating, such as Curtis Mize did in his photo of the cake above.

SALSA 10 large ripe tomatoes, chopped ½ cup vinegar 1 cup green pepper, chopped Hot pepper (jalapeño) to taste 1 large onion, chopped 1 Tbsp. canning salt 1½ tsp. garlic Combine all ingredients. Bring to a boil and cook on high heat until salsa thickens. Reduce heat and cook down to desired consistency. Pour salsa into pint or ½ pint jars and seal.

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CAKE 1 box yellow cake mix 1 box instant vanilla pudding mix 3 eggs 1/3 cup oil ICING 1 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened 4 tablespoons powdered sugar 1 box instant French vanilla pudding mix

4 cups finely chopped peaches or plums (about 3 lbs.) 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice 5½ cups sugar ½ cup water, if needed Prepare Peaches: Crush 1 cup of fruit at a time using a potato masher for best results. If using a food processor, pulse to chop. Do not puree; jam should have bits of fruit. Measure required amount of 1 gallon jar Roddenberry sour pickles 5 lb. sugar ¼ cup whole peppercorns ¼ cup mustard seed 1 clove fresh garlic 3 or 4 cinnamon sticks Drain the Roddenberry Sour Pickles 32

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PINEAPPLE YUM YUM CAKE 1 8 oz. container of sour cream 1 12 oz. container of whipped topping 1 20 oz. can crushed pineapple, drained, juice reserved Blend together cream cheese and sour cream. Blend in powdered sugar, whipped topping and pudding mix. Fold in pineapple, blending well. Preheat oven to 350. In a medium

bowl combine cake mix, eggs, water, oil and vanilla pudding mix. Divide mixture into three, greased 9-inch cake pans and bake 20-25 minutes. To assemble cake, drizzle each layer with 1/3 cup of the reserved pineapple juice. Add a layer of icing before stacking layers. Ice cake then refrigerate overnight before serving. Cake can be refrigerated up to two weeks.

PLUM or PEACH JAM prepared fruit into a 6- or 8-quart saucepan. Stir in lemon juice. (If necessary, add up to ½ cup water to get exact amount of prepared fruit needed.) Stir in one box fruit pectin (Sure Jell, etc.). Add ½ teaspoon butter or margarine to reduce foaming, if desired. Bring mixture to a full rolling boil (a boil that doesn’t stop bubbling when stirred) on high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in sugar quickly. Return to a full rolling boil exactly 1 minute, stirring

constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam. Ladle quickly into prepared jars, filling to within 1/8 inch of tops. Makes approximately 7 cups. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with two-piece lids. Screw bands tightly. Place jars on elevated rack in canner, lower rack into canner. Water should cover jars by 1 to 2 inches; add boiling water if needed. Cover, bring water to gently boil. Process jelly 10 minutes.

GARLIC PICKLES and slice about ¼ to ½ in. thick. Peel, divide and chop the garlic clove into large pieces. Mix all the ingredients together into a plastic or glass container (the glass jar the pickles were in works fine). DO NOT USE A METAL CONTAINER. Let stand until all the sugar dissolves. Invert the jar and let

liquid seep to the bottom. Invert the jar and repeat the process until all the pickle slices are thoroughly coated. Put red and green maraschino cherries into the mixture for color. Pickles can be divided into smaller jars for easier serving. For crisper pickles, leave in refrigerator until ready to serve.

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The four-generation family tree notches its 125th growth ring at ...

BUETTNER BROS. LUMBER CO. A look at Buettner Bros. over the years starts with the current co-owners John McFarland and Jimmy Barnes, center photo, flanking Richard Buettner, who still works there part time and is the last surviving third generation owners. Continuing clockwise from right are: fleet of delivery trucks parked in front of the warehouse and sales room in the 1950s; saw mill crew of 1956-57; Hugo Buettner with Cullman County’s first Ford pick up truck, 1925; Coke crates and beer keg coolers are former products of the company; Bill and Herman Buettner work in the shop in 1927.

Story by Steve A. Maze Photo collage by Sheila McAnear

ne can almost smell the sawdust and wood chips of the past when stepping inside the front door. Or perhaps it’s the steam coming from the large-scale locomotive engine and coal car, which was handmade in the 1950s by Herman Buettner. All are part of the amazing history of Cullman’s oldest continuing business at 125 years and counting – Buettner Bros. Lumber Company, Inc. Hugo Buettner originally founded the 34

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business in 1892 – and business was rolling – literally. City officials told Mr. Buettner that his house was actually sitting on a city street. He cut some timber, set the house atop a few logs, and rolled it back to its proper spot on his lot. The barn behind his home was where his business was born. The most popular goods he sold were chicken coops, turkey coops and beehives. Oh, and there was one other popular item – beer kegs. Some people may think Cullman only went wet in 2011, but alcohol sales were legal long before prohibition. Saloons on several street corners and wine cellars in homes and businesses were very popular.

After Hugo sold the business to his sons, Herman and Bill, they added more machinery and equipment to manufacture molding, custom dress lumber and other millwork. The brothers even made wooden bottling crates for the Coca-Cola distributorship in Birmingham during World War II.

ver time, the Buettners expanded their merchandise and market area to keep up with the times. They wanted a onestop service that maintained their unique hometown flavor. In 1960, they added trusses, described as “twice as strong” as conventional framing. They also built items such as porch swings,

which came about when Frances Ponder requested they design and build one for her living room. They now ship the “Buettner Plantation” swings throughout the Southeast. The business has continued to pass down from generation to generation and is now in the hands of fourth-generation owners Jimmy Barnes and John McPhillips. Their merchandise line has grown from predominantly lumber-related products to all sorts of building materials, hardware, tools, paints, plumbing, electrical supplies and more. Many national big-box stores offer the same line of products. So why does Buettner Bros. continue to excel 125 years after first selling chicken coops and beehives?

“We know 99 percent of the people who walk through our door,” John explains. “And we will know the other one percent by the time they leave. Customers are like family to us, and we call them by their first name. “We are a large company for the size of Cullman, but we are still small enough to make decisions locally. We don’t have a home office or regional supervisor to get in touch with to make a customer happy.”

he business averages around 35 employees, many of whom have 15-20 years of service. That means they are also very knowledgeable and helpful. “Our customers and contractors have

John’s and my cell phone numbers if they need us after hours,” Jimmy says. “In our mission statement we say: ‘Buettner Brothers Lumber Co. will be driven by a commitment to provide quality products and exceptional service within an environment of trust to ensure a lasting relationship with our customers, while striving to improve the economic wellbeing and quality of life of all involved.’ And we live by that statement.” That commitment to customers and contractors is all the more evident during natural disasters, such as an ice storm or the tornado of April 27, 2011. Buettner’s main building and millwork shop takes up half of a city block while their MAY | JUNE | JULY 2017

Lots of history has passed since 1892 • 1892 – Hugo Buettner founded business. • 1892 – Grover Cleveland elected U.S. President • 1914 – World War I begins. • 1924 – Hugo sold his business to sons Herman M. and William “Bill” Buettner. • 1942 – Troy McPherson, a friend of the Buettner family, began making the iconic green and white benches hand-lettered with company name and three-digit phone number. • 1945 – U.S. atomic bombings of Japan end World War II. • 1946 – Modern sawmill with de-barker and pulpwood chipper installed. • 1954 – Buettner Bros. incorporated. • 1957 – The Soviet Union launches world’s first man-made satellite – known as Sputnik – into orbit. • 1957 – Old Hugo Buettner’s house was torn down and a 32,000-square-foot salesroom and office were built. • 1967 – Bill and Herman Buettner retired; five new officers were elected (Bill Buettner Jr., Richard Buettner, T.J. Barnes Jr., Robert Buettner and W.J. Hamner). • 1969 – Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon. • 1977 – Buettner Bros. opened a branch in Gardendale. • 1990 – The family company passed into its fourth generation when Buettner descendants purchased it from the five previous owners. • 2001 – Terrorists attack Twin Towers. • 2017 – Buettner Bros. celebrates 125 years in business.

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other eight buildings take up another two blocks. They remained open even though the twister damaged approximately 40 percent of their structures. “People were desperate,” John says. “We had a vendor who was good enough to bring us 200 generators, and we stayed open after hours and into the night for our customers. Some paid cash for them and others said, ‘I’ll bring you a check tomorrow.’ We knew we could trust them, and they knew they could trust us.” That trust has made not only ownership a generational thing, but their customer base, too. They serve children and grandchildren of customers who have been frequenting their store since the beginning.

o be in business for 25 or even 50 years is quite an accomplishment, but to be continuously in business for one and a quarter century is virtually unheard of. You won’t find many business owners more dedicated to their customers, employees and community than Jimmy Barnes and John McPhillips. It just seems to run in the family. Good Life Magazine

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Heron’s Watch The vision of a client and his architect, the house remains a place of new beginnings

Arden, 4, shows her mother and father, Elizabeth and Nate Brock, a dandelion she found in the front yard of Heron’s Watch. Nate is a partner with Brock, O’Neal and Kilgo, Attorneys at Law in Cullman. Elizabeth teaches at Hanceville Elementary.

Early spring offers a lake view from the main floor living area beyond the wood-burning fireplace. The windows are built with clear aluminum storefront. Story and photos by David Moore

ate Brock figured he’d move back to Cullman sooner or later. It happened sooner, but the reason was far from anything he had imagined. After graduating from Samford University and Cumberland School of Law, the Vinemont native booked on with a corporate law firm in Birmingham and got married. The former grew tiresome. The latter ended in a divorce Nate says he never saw coming. When an opportunity to practice law in Cullman opened in 2007, he decided it was high time for a new beginning. He moved into a downtown, twobedroom loft with an open ceiling and 40

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exposed rafters, owned by Gene and Carol Green, friends from church. “I always loved modern architecture, and it’s even better with a little history mixed in,” says Nate. After work he’d pore over copies of his favorite magazine, Dwell, which focuses on modern architecture and decorating. Drawn to minimalism, inspired by his loft apartment and ideas from Dwell, Nate began to envision building a modern house near the shores of Lake George on a farm – called “Heron’s Landing” for the big, beautiful birds there – that had been in his family three generations. Nate knew of Cullman architect Jock Leonard and his brother, Joel, an interior designer from Atlanta. Nate’s parents, Del and Sheila Brock – who

also live at Heron’s Landing – had used Jock’s design services before; so had his sister Kelly Shadix. So he met with Jock, and the new beginning Nate sought began to take shape – the shape of a cube.

ock is the son of Troy and Elsie Leonard. Her side of the family did carpentry or sheet metal work. As a senior at Cullman High, Jock figured he’d follow the lead of his uncles and go into construction. But his Uncle Ott Patterson encouraged him in another direction. “You like to draw,” Ott observed. “I’ve seen some of your work. I tell you what I would do – I’d be an architect.” So after graduating from Cullman in 1976, Jock went into an architectural

Teak is used for most of the flooring in the dining area and the rest of the open main living space. Black granite accents the floor, running across the base of the windows and around the fireplace. Architect Jock Leonard had the pictures above and on the previous page shot shortly after the house was competed and before owner Nate Brock moved in. Atlanta interior designer Joel Leonard helped stage the shoot using, in part, furniture from his brother Jockâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s office and home. Nate wanted the kitchen open to the living area and kitchen to be welcoming to family and friends who stood by him following a rough patch in his life.

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Jock and Nate enjoy the view from the house’s terrace, Del Brock jokes that with all of the surrounding family farm acreage to spread out on, his son built a vertical house. The farm is named Heron’s Landing for the big, dinosaur-like birds attracted to Lake George. A fan of J.R.R. Tolkien’s books, replete with tall towers, Nate named the house, with its view of the lake, Heron’s Watch. Nate and his wife Elizabeth lived in the house until their daughter came along. Then they moved into his grandparents house across the private drive. technology program at Jefferson State Community College for two years then transferred to Auburn and earned his degree in architecture in 1983. Two years later Joel earned his degree there in interior design. Jock’s first of many projects in Cullman was the Domino’s Pizza building on U.S. 278 just west of downtown. He designed it while doing an apprenticeship in Huntsville, where he then lived. His love of Cullman lured him to move his residence back in 1986. After his apprenticeship, he started his own practice in Huntsville in 1991, but home beckoned further. “Cullman at that time had no architect, and I wanted to come back and hang my shingle out in my hometown,” Jock says. “So I migrated here in 1996 and I opened Leonard Design.” In 1997 Jock drew up renovation 42

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plans that converted the derelict Ratliff Grocery Co. building into what would become the Warehouse District. He rented office space there from developer Eddie Hart.

t was in that office that Nate met Jock and explained he wanted to build a house on a hillside pasture on the family farm, facing east toward Lake George. “I wanted the house to glow on the hill,” he says. Other than a few rudimentary sketches, the only physical item Nate brought to show Jock was a cube-shaped Chinese lantern. But his mind was full of ideas. The house would: • Be a modern house, a minimalistic cube, like the lantern; • Have a two-car garage on the ground floor; • Have a main level with an open living area that included kitchen and dining space, along with a powder room;

• Have a bedroom and master bath on a second-level mezzanine overlooking the living area. That Nate had such a feel for what he wanted is not particularly surprising. He’d been interested in architecture since high school. “But I could not draw,” he laughs. “It’s hard for me to see a finished product. That is where Jock excels.” “I told him what I wanted to do and saw his eyes light up,” Nate continues. “We were on the same page throughout the entire thing. The coolest part was he could finish my sentences: ‘I think I know what you’re talking about.’ “Then he would draw something or pull something out and usually it was not just what I was thinking, it was better than I was thinking.”

sensitive architect couldn’t lift the entire weight of the gloomy baggage Nate brought back to Cullman, but the

Jock looks up the open stairwell from the mezzanine floor landing. The stairwell is directly lit by windows at its two landings and by diffused light from the elongated, white polycarbonate panels that run up the back of the house. A bird feeder outside mimics the angled stairwell wall behind it. In keeping with the roofs of nearby barns, Jock used corrugated steel on part of the side of the house. Elsewhere, cement board siding and split-faced concrete masonry units are used on the exterior. The siding is painted dark green in the back and a naturally complimenting light green in the front. Joel Leonard chose the two green colors based on the leaves of the “shade” tree from which the bird feeder hangs. new beginning he sought took a turn for the light – and lots of light at that. Jock immediately loved the site. The house would face the lake, catching morning sun. It begged for a full wall of east-oriented windows, but Jock went a step farther. He designed the center window unit to rise straight up with no more effort than opening a garage door, creating a 10x10-foot opening that literally brought the outdoors into the living area. Across the opening he designed an industrial-styled railing. Nate was thrilled with Jock’s idea

of creating a stairwell in the back of the house inside an appendage with an outward leaning wall. It’s like an upside down sail, with the wall angling farther away from the staircase as you climb. “It was fun,” Jock says, “working with someone who brings a fresh set of eyes on what you can build.” It was fun for Nate, too. Jock also suggested using the roof for a terrace. He then added a study for Nate atop the terrace, effectively making it a four-story dwelling. In fact, the terrace led Nate to name the house “Heron’s Watch.”

Jock and others, however, have referred to the house as the ultimate bachelor’s pad. “It would be everything a guy would want,” he laughs. “Easy to clean. Easy to hide stuff. He has a good size laundry room.”

ate agrees that the “ultimate bachelor’s pad” is an apt description, but that was never the ultimate goal for “Heron’s Watch.” “I was not in a wonderful place when I moved back to Cullman,” MAY | JUNE | JULY 2017

Heron’s Watch glows on a hill, as no coincidence, like Nate’s old Chinese lantern. Photo provided by the architect. he says. “The house was to be a new beginning. At the same time I always wanted a family. That was very important to me … something I always wanted to do.” In 2009, while the house was under construction, Nate started dating Elizabeth Calligaris. It ends up she’s the only female who ever visited the “pad” under any pretext of dating. The house, it turns out, worked out nicely as a new beginning, a new stage of Nate’s life. It became a steppingstone for Elizabeth and him. They married in June 2011 and lived in the house about two years, until their daughter Arden was born in 2013. The Cube was not a family house, so they

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moved across the private lane and into the home of his late grandparents, Barney and Lee Brock Interestingly, “Heron’s Watch” continues to be a place for new beginnings. Nate never advertises it, but it’s been leased on three occasions by Cullman Regional Medical Center, which uses it as a temporary dwelling for incoming administrative officers it hires, until they have time to build or buy a local house of their own. So “Heron’s Watch” remains, in a real sense, a place for people embarking upon new beginnings in their lives – just as it was designed to do. Good Life Magazine

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With colors from bluegray to deep purple, leaves in a multitude of interesting and unusual shapes, and blooms that will take your breath away, these tough plants will quickly become your favorites. This collection includes the hanging burro’s tail, to the immediate right, the hair-like rhipsalis growing in the terra cotta head and the stunning yellow blooms of hens and chicks. You can give these plants their own personality by planting them in head pots or vases or wire them to twisting driftwood.

Good ’n’ Green

Seduced by succulents Story and photos by Loretta Gillespie

ucculents, sedums, sempervivums and Cryptanthus are a family of plants that anyone can grow. These plants actually thrive on neglect, and they propagate very easily. Sempervivum literally means “live forever.” With over 3,000 named cultivars, they come in amazing colors, curious shapes and velvety textures. From the unusual to the more common varieties, they are fun to collect, and you can get really creative by choosing unusual containers for your displays. Just make sure your pots and baskets drain well. Death by over-watering is the most common cause of failure with these tough little plants. If you’ve never tried growing these plants before, you’re likely to find them very seductive. 46

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Known as Hens and Chicks, this plant is as common as it gets, probably because of its ability to multiply. The offspring, or “chicks,” stay close to the “mother” plant, growing in clumps around her. Eventually, she will die and another “mother” will take her place, so don’t be alarmed if you see leaves turning brown and one in the center dying. It’s the cycle of life for this plant. Hens and Chicks are hardy in our Zone 7 location. They come in multiple varieties, some blue, others green.

Earth Star Cryptanthus, native to the South American rainforest floor, tolerates a little more moisture, but be very careful about overwatering or giving it too much direct sun. The more light it gets, the pinker it turns. This plant is very prolific, and if left alone it will produce many pups, which are brittle and break away from the mother easily, so handle with care.

Kalanchoe tomentosa, or “panda ear” is native to Madagascar. This fuzzy species requires little care, but try not to get the leaves wet; much like an African violet, water can discolor them. This striking plant is a must for gardeners who collect the unusual. It has lovely blue, upright leaves with brown markings. Parts of the plant are poisonous, so take care with pets and children.

Blue chalk sticks (Senecio vitalis “Serpents”) are showstoppers. Their long, slick, powdery blue color is a standout among peers. This plant is very easy to grow as long as it’s not overwatered. Water only when leaves start to wrinkle. In the middle of summer, it tolerates a little shade, although it can be grown in full sun. It is very prolific and can be rooted by pinching one of the sticks off and placing the cut end down into the soil. Then forget about it for a month or two. When you come back you’ll have another plant. MAY | JUNE | JULY 2017

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Jude Johnston (Nov Ontos) A glimpse inside the mind that drives the creativity of this sculptor/engineer/philosopher and lover of beauty “Talent hits a target no one else can hit; genius hits a target no one else can see.” – Arthur Schopenhauer, German philosopher

Story by Seth Terrell

f indeed brilliance knows no particular locale and is not confined only to the great halls of academia or ivory towers of Ivy League and old-world universities, then perhaps true genius can exist even among us. If indeed Schopenhauer was right and there are visionaries who imagine and create what most of us can

At left are views of a molded clay model for bronze casting Jude created. Above right is a sculpted portrait he did using slip-glass chinaware.

hardly comprehend, then local artist Jude Johnston of Cullman would most likely fit the description. Make no mistake, Jude’s pedigree is undeniable: he completed degrees in philosophy, civil engineering, architecture and has a master of fine arts from Yale University, was an instructor at Pratt Institute in New York, and was an assistant to renowned sculptor Ivan Mestrovic. Such worthy credentials have opened the world to Jude. His art owes much to the influences of Mestrovic and Auguste Rodin, but also to engineers such as Buckminster Fuller and to his early adolescent fascination with such fictional characters as Buck Rogers and Dr. Doolittle. Like many children, Jude dreamt of space travel.

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Yet unlike most of those starry dreamers, he spent his time sketching and planning and developing the inspirational creations that make space-travel so worthy of the human imagination. “The artist, as prophet, may at times project him or herself into the future,” says Jude. And, here in Cullman Jude is ever creating, ever envisioning the future.

he term “Renaissance Man” was first associated with Leon Battista Alberti in Italy in the 1400s. It was based on Alberti’s proclamation that “a man can do all things if he will.” People such as Leonardo DaVinci have been referred to by this “title” throughout the centuries, for it may well be appropriate in an effort to describe a person whose intensity also matches his many interests in art and science. While Renaissance Man is somewhat a reductionist term, perhaps there is no easier way to describe the worker and the vision that are Jude Johnston. Having worked personally with several of the most noteworthy sculptors of the 20th century, Jude’s first love remained within the medium of clay sculpting. “[Few] can touch him when it comes to modeling with clay,” says Donny Wilson, director of Wallace State’s Evelyn Burrow Museum. Sculpting may be considered Jude’s best-known talent, having mentored renowned Alabama sculptors such as Casey Downing Jr. and Everett Cox, but whatever innovations Jude owns in the world of Jude Johnston, who has lived most of his life sculpting, these have simultaneously in Cullman, also goes by Nov Ontos, shaped a passion for architecture and engineering. Latin and Greek for New Being. Jude’s abilities are those that cross between nature, physics, mathematics and art. His ideas rarely distinguish between the four; he is as comfortable designing conservatory architecture for botanical gardens as he is modeling with clay or applying the tenets of origami to advanced structural concepts. In the vein of Buckminster Fuller, Jude’s notebooks are full of sketches and designs that impress upon the world of architecture and space travel the beautiful complexity of the Japanese art of paper-folding. “The types – all involving folding, in one or more of its manifestations – are designed specifically with a view to structural enhancement,” Jude says. What that means in simpler terms is that his outlines and ideas – which he has submitted to building science institutions from Army Corps of Engineers here in America all the way to instructors at Tokyo University in Japan – is that origami offers precedent for structures such as earthquake resistant buildings, physically capable of withstanding sizable threats of destruction.

hile Jude’s vision is global with, for example, concepts for a very large, spherical space station in geocentric orbit (an idea that he envisioned as many as 40 years ago), his vision is also local. Jude is a highly community-based thinker. “He has a keen insight into things that inspire so many people,” says Downing from his sculpture studio in Mobile. “His life is about having a positive effect on the community. Making the world a little bit better place.” Kristen Holmes, administrator of the Evelyn Burrow Museum at Wallace State and 50

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“I design as both artist and engineer simultaneously – not

always an easy superposition,”says Jude. His “Martyrs Rose,”

above, designed in 2003, is one of his myriad concepts for public sculptures, this one ideally for the Birmingham Botanical

Gardens. “Spring Petal – Fall,” far left, is a similar concept. Designed mathematically as ink-jet prints, such sculptures

would ideally be built of polychrome plastic or sheet metal. Not all petals reflect beauty. In “Children of Auschwitz, left, Jude’s

children’s colored “flower petals” represent the joys and innocence of childhood transposed to the charred bone fragments, residual

to death in the gas chambers and cremation. It won first place in works on paper in the 2006 “Southern Roots” juried show by the Academy of Fine Arts in Birmingham. Jude finds commonality between music and abstract art. “Only the ‘free association’ of one’s own experience and perception can inform the personal reification and categorization of music,” he writes. “That is likewise true when attempting to define visual abstraction.”

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Jude’s contribution to the first Sculptors Invitational at the Evelyn Burrow Museum was titled “Engineering as Sculpture.” Part of his exhibit is shown above. Jude uses paper folding as a way to study folded-plate and space-frame geometry. Beyond the artistic intricacy of his sculptures, Jude contends, and others agree, that structures built with such systems might permit a paradigmshift in construction technology: Unit structure for unparalleled strength and reductions in structural mass. At right, using foldedplate and space-frame geometry together, Jude evolved a concept for a “hex-wall,” lattice domed, clear-span, multi-purpose enclosure. head of marketing for Wallace State, agrees. “His vision and work,” she says, “make the world a more beautiful place.” Burrow Museum at Wallace State is a rare oasis for art and the human imagination. Jude was an important collaborator with the museum a few years ago, helping Kristen and Donny conceptualize space and offering ideas about expanding the art collection. The museum hosts a regional sculptor show every year, The Burrow Sculptors Invitational, that brings to Cullman artists 52

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who offer some of the finest art in the nation. Through the hard work of Kristen, Donny and others, the show has brought an enormous impact to the community. Yet the idea itself could not have become what it has without Jude. He was instrumental in forming the sculptors committee that organizes and curates some of the best art in the state, according to Wilson. And Jude remains a part of the committee today, offering his time and effort to making the show the best around. HexWall_SqLatticeDome_R In an indirect way, one could say Jude

has helped bring a tremendous artistic and even economic impact on Wallace State and Cullman County. He takes pride in being a citizen of Cullman and is always ready to share his ideas with respect to beauty and community planning.

“T

he imaginary world can be grotesque or highly aesthetic and motivating,” says Jude. It is precisely this intersection of the imaginary and natural world that he offers as a service in the form of proposals and

Jude titled this concept piece “Pearl of Great Price.” He writes … “In a phrase from one of the parables of Jesus he compares the journey to heaven to a search for fine pearls conducted by a merchant, ‘who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.’ The expression has come to mean anything that is of great value. Not found among the distant galaxies; nor in the greatest depths of the sea. Only in Absence – in Nothingness. That which all else is Not. Never defined, though sought to define. Without the bounds of space and time. Essence with Existence One. Determined, though Undetermined. With only Cause … To Be. Before all. During all. Subsequent to all. Non-sequential, though sequentially known. Whole, without part, though known only in part. No here, no there; only Everywhere. Wisdom is to know that one does not know. Wisdom is to seek what one will never find.” discussions with Cullman County Extension agents and civic planners. His ideas for common space and a city-owned Japanese garden, though they’ve yet to gain traction, could profoundly enhance the character of the city. For Jude, as Downing puts it, the source of ideas comes from “nature and history of art and architecture, all combined.” His art works within patterns of nature, supplementing already existent beauty and purpose. As reported in The Cullman Times,

Cullman ranked second nationally in Site Selection Magazine’s list of micropolitan areas in 2015, attesting to the area’s booming economy. While, by many definitions, this is a grand achievement, Jude hopes to expand the community vision further. “Cullman has space and resources to become an epicenter for fine arts,” he suggests. As the city progresses, he hopes, its artistic drive will follow. C Jude championing H. Johnston 2010 progress in the Whether O

arts, formulating plans for cardboard mockups of sculptures ready to be translated to sheet metal, or creating computer-designed graphic symbolism that conceptualizes the Holy Trinity, Jude is continually projecting himself into the future. “He remains a student of art in all of its forms,” Holmes says. In an age where scientists and artists are wrestling anew with truth and the nature of truth, Jude continues to lean into the grand mystery of the world, spirituality and existence. MAY | JUNE | JULY 2017

Jude’s conceptual drawings of an African-American Church, above, reflects an archetypical village cluster. Christian symbolism includes 12 columns in the sanctuary representing both the 12 tribes of Israel and the apostles of Christ. The two large table elements at the front represent the law Moses received on Mount Sinai, while the three-space, tessellated mirror surface of the window represents Christ as the Morning Star, confirming the old covenant and establishing the new. “Can this be? Should this be? How will this be?” he asks, in perhaps a Shakespearian mode.

ere, in the rippled waters of both mystery and practicality, Jude continues to grow. His artwork is often inscribed with the artist’s pseudonym, Nov Ontos – Latin and Greek for “New Being.” “My work will, I hope, demonstrate in some way what I desire to become, a new being” he says.

As Donny Wilson puts it, Jude is “always discovering art.” And, in that sense, he is always discovering humanity within the mysterious, yet practical realms of nature and spirituality. It is his quest for “New Being” that drives Jude’s vision for his community and his state and the world itself. “He works to bring people together for the purpose of appreciating beauty,” Kristen Holmes says.

For all the reasons the title Renaissance Man falls short, perhaps it is Jude’s ability to grapple with the complex, to make known the unknown and to humbly embrace that which remains mystery, which makes his modern vision so refreshing and so valuable, one would hope, to the community. “The work itself,” Jude says, “is indeed the artist.” Good Life Magazine

Jude created the ceramic “Christ of the Famine,” left, to commemorate the suffering of the people of Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia, Angola, Zaire and other nations. As a reference, he quotes, “As you have done to the least of My brothers, so have you done it to Me.” The ceramic piece won first place in sculpture at the 2005 Southern Roots exhibit. Another of his ceramic pieces, “Madonna of the Quasar Moon,” right, is a little difficult for some to grasp, Jude says, but artists seem to like it. 54

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Good Cooking

Johnny’s Bar-B-Q ‘We will serve no swine before its time’ Story and photos by Patrick Oden

ohnny’s Bar-B-Q is a Cullman landmark, known far and wide for its delicious menu and family atmosphere. In fact, it’s a testimonial from one of their customers that led to the slogan found on T-shirts visitors purchase as souvenirs. “We had a customer one time tell us our stuffed potato was so good he could go home and slap his bulldog,” Josh Wiggins says. “We asked him if he minded us using that, so that’s how we came up with our Bulldog Slappin’ Good slogan.” Josh is the grandson of Troy and Aleata Wiggins, who purchased Johnny’s Bar-B-Q from Johnny Graves way back 56

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in 1963. The restaurant has been a family affair ever since. In fact, you might say Josh owes his life to Johnny’s Bar-B-Q. His father, Gary Wiggins, was working in the family restaurant when he met Josh’s mother Carolyn, then a waitress at Johnny’s. It may very well be that Josh Wiggins has Johnny’s Bar-B-Q sauce flowing in his veins. At the least, it seems destiny had a plan for the newest partner. “Johnny’s is basically all I have ever known my whole life,” Josh says. Now in its third location, Johnny’s has been in the Wiggins family for more than 50 years … thanks to the tenacity of Grandpa Troy. “After my grandparents bought it

from Johnny Graves, he wanted to buy it back the next week, but my grandfather wouldn’t let him,” Josh says.

roy and Aleata ran the restaurant until retirement, building its current location on U.S. 278 just west of downtown and holding true to the dishes and recipes that made them so popular. But the torch had to be passed, and when Troy and Aleata were ready to hang up their aprons, Josh’s dad and Ronald Dunn, a close second cousin, were there to step in and make sure nothing changed. That was 1983. Time has continued to pass, and Ronald retired in April after 34 years. But with Josh firmly entrenched, Johnny’s

Josh Wiggins is happy at top left because his father, Gary, is not only giving him a BBQ hot dog sandwich, but he made Josh a partner in the restaurant. Johnny’s Bar-B-Q was inducted into the first class of the Alabama Department of Tourism’s Barbecue Hall of Fame in 2015. . Johnny’s family sauce, upper right, is available to order online and enjoyed far and wide. You can’t order the loaded baked potato online, but they have plenty at the restaurant. They also have a catering/food truck service and can be found slinging swine at events such as the Strawberry Festival and Oktoberfest. customers can continue to count on getting the mouthwatering barbecue they love. No newcomer to the business, Josh has managed Johnny’s since graduating from Samford University in 2006. But his connection runs much longer than that. “I was over there a lot as a child, visiting with my dad, and I saw how he interacted with customers and really just grew a love for it,” Josh says. Though Gary encouraged him to follow his own path, Johnny’s is where Josh always wanted to be. It’s also where Grandmother Aleata predicted he’d be. “I really enjoy seeing our customers every day and hearing stories about the old days when my grandparents had it,” Josh says. “They meant the world to me.”

When you have customers as loyal as Johnny’s, it’s hard not seeing them as extended family. Many were customers at its first location and brought children who now bring their own kids.

o what makes Johnny’s stand out in a southern landscape dotted with barbecue joints? Josh says it’s great recipes that have been passed from generation to generation. “Our sauce is a family recipe. Our potato salad is a German style my grandmother came up with, but it’s served cold instead of the normal warm German potato salad,” Josh says. “We strive for quality and want our food to be the same every time our customers come back.”

And though barbecue is their claim to fame, their fried catfish lures lake dwelling Guntersville residents to Cullman on a regular basis. And they make darn fine burgers, too. “Even though I’m partial,” Josh grins, “I really think we have one of the best cheeseburgers in town.” Whether your nose leads you down a crowded street at a local event to Johnny’s catering trailer, or you glimpse the bright yellow sign as you’re driving through Cullman, trust your instinct and get yourself a gut full of historic deliciousness. There’s a good chance your grandchildren will be grateful you discovered Johnny’s Bar-B-Q. Good Life Magazine MAY | JUNE | JULY 2017

That ain’t workin’, that’s the way you do it, catching fish on ESPN ... Not so fast. Lee brothers say differently – pro fishing is very serious, pressurized work

Bass fishing. Professionally. Big bucks for having a blast. You call that work? What’s not to love about it? Millions would call it the proverbial good life. A dream job. Not so fast. Matt and Jordan Lee – the celebrated Auburngraduate fishing brothers on the Bassmaster Elite Series – agree that pro fishing is their dream job. Some might even their say it’s their destiny. But despite its dreamy aspects, it is still a job. And assuming you can even land one of the Elite job openings, you best know it comes with its share – and more – of pressure. To deal with it, warn Matt, 28, and Jordan, 25, you better be dedicated and driven. Ready to sweat it. And you better truly love fishing. Then ... Maybe ... Who knows? You just might reach stardom. You might win the big-time, the Bassmaster Classic. Just like Jordan did in March.

After fishing the first two days at the Bassmaster Classic on Houston’s Lake Conroe, Cullman native Jordan Lee had fished his way back from a dismal first day and into 15th place, qualifying for the March 26 finals. But he trailed 14 anglers. The leader was nearly 14 pounds ahead of Jordan. Might as well be a ton. Then his engine conked out on him, leaving him stuck in one place for the final day. Fortunately, it was the point where the day before he’d gotten into what he calls “the juice.” Lo, and behold. The juice was sweet again. After culling the “little” ones, he was left with 27 pounds 4 ounces of bass. Might as well be a ton. On top of that streak, he was able to hitch a legal ride to the weighins with Cullman native Joe McElory who’d been watching the action from his own boat. Jordon’s 56-10 total bested second place by 1-9. And the $300,000 check he won was only part of the thrill of it all. Photo by B.A.S.S.

Story and photos by David Moore

t’s their dream job, for sure. But here’s a taste of the workload and pressure Matt and Jordan Lee face as pro anglers. The nine tournaments of the 2017 Elite Series started Feb. 9-12 at Cherokee Lake in Tennessee and won’t end until Aug. 24-27 at Lake St. Clair in Michigan. It marks the third year for the brothers Lee to fish the BASS circuit with the nation’s top anglers. They have to fish all nine tournaments, plus Jordan qualified for the Bassmaster Classic March 24-26 on Houston’s Lake Conroe – hauling in an astounding win that could literally change his life. On top of the grinding Elite series, in January in Florida they fished the first of three Bass Pro Shops Southern Opens this year. They intend to fish the other Southern opens, including the one hosted on Smith Lake Sept. 28-30, a homecoming they look forward to. The season will require no-telling how many miles of trailer-hauling travel for the two Cullman County natives who now live in Marshall County to be close to Lake Guntersville. The Lees and other pros also make reconnaissance trips to tournament lakes at least a month before the event, thus doubling the season’s mileage. So they basically face 25 weeks of little but fishing and travel. As a perspective on traveling, they’ve

Matt catches a nice one on Lake Guntersville last fall. 60

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hauled their boats on 35-hour drives to California. They’ve driven 18 hours straight to get home from Minnesota. While on the Auburn fishing team, Matt once drove 21 hours straight to a tournament, en route weathering a snowstorm through Mobile, of all places. Pressure to win is relentless. Pros must remain in the top 70 in points to guarantee a spot in the Elite Series. Making it into the Classic is tougher still. And they have to place high enough in the money to pay the bills – which are considerable. Not to overstate the obvious, the other 108 anglers they face on the Elite are hardly cupcakes. “These guys are the best,” Jordan says. “It’s not by accident. They want to win worse than you can ever imagine.” So do the Lees.

K, you might think, so, it’s a pressurized job. Big deal. But these pros only work part time, January through September. Not so fast. Again. “September to January matters as much as January to September,” Matt says. Instead of catching fish, that’s when all but the biggest pros are trying to net sponsors. Without sponsors – even with sponsors – pro-level fishing is expensive. Just to enter the B.A.S.S. opens costs $1,500 per tournament. Entry fees for each of the nine Elite Series tournaments is $5,500 – $49,500 a year. A top-of-theline fishing boat, assuming you don’t win it, might set you back $70 large. Plus you need a truck and trailer to pull it. Even if the Lees share motel rooms and grill burgers, living on the road costs a small fortune, especially when you tally in gas to haul a boat from Texas to Florida to Oklahoma to the St. Lawrence River. “Fishing is like a bad gambling addiction,”Matt says. “It’s like playing craps in Las Vegas with all your money.” It’s much better to play with someone else’s money – which makes sponsorships so important. So from October to January the Lees, like most pros, spend hours on the phone and email with sponsors and potential sponsors. “You just deal with it,” Jordan says. “It comes with the territory.” A great winnings record helps catch and keep sponsors like fishing spinner bait cast on the edge of the grass. So do consistency and longevity.

Matt and Jordan Lee compete against “If you can stick around, you get more backing, work your way up with companies that offer sponsorships, get more locked in,” Matt explains. “My primary focus is getting stable enough in fishing not to worry what next year brings.”

ons of Cullman veterinarian Dr. Bruce and Leigh Lee, the brothers grew up in Vinemont. Hunting interested neither. Baseball was of some interest. But catching fish emerged as the top lure. As a youngster Jordan played baseball, but his bat soon gave way to the “bug” he caught wetting hooks with his grandfather at his catfish pond at Jones Chapel. Matt, the elder of the two, also loved fishing, and when they were about 12 and 10, their father bought – mostly for the boys – a small, used Blazer fishing boat. The Lee family also had a boat they kept at Lake Guntersville Yacht Club, where the boys often fished from the docks.

each other in tournaments, but they also help each other and love to fish together when possible. This story, with some updates, appeared in the spring issue of Marshall County Good Life Magazine. For his 14th birthday, Matt graduated to a 1992 Ranger 361V, which he kept for years. While Matt played high school ball for the Cullman Bearcats, Jordan had other fish to fry, so to speak. He fished as much as possible on Lake Catoma with their friend, Gavin Ellis, who had a flat bottom boat. He entered and won local tournaments. “He went fishing, and it wasn’t cool back then,” Matt laughs. “I don’t know if there was another person beside Jordan who brought BASS magazines to middle school.” After graduating from Cullman in 2007, Matt enrolled at Birmingham-Southern College, studying engineering when not hurrying home to fish with Jordan or in a local tournament. Jordan graduated in 2009 and enrolled at Auburn University mainly because he grew up loving the school, but it certainly didn’t hurt that the Tigers had a fledging bass fishing team. “It was just getting big my first year in college,” Jordan says. “It was a club sport,

like hockey. They were not doing any serious recruiting.” But they did recruit Jordan. Jordan would go on to earn a degree in marketing. Well, he had to pick something, but nothing held much interest except fishing. “I knew I could use the marketing,” he says of his backup plan, “but I wasn’t about to change what I really wanted to do.” Catch fish.

n the course of that pursuit, he and Matt wrote the most exciting chapters in the annals of Auburn and perhaps all of collegiate fishing. They also got more than a nibble of what pressured fishing tastes like. As a sophomore, Jordan and his team partner, Shane Powell, finished seventh in the 2010 version of what would later become Bassmaster’s Carhartt College Series National Championship. Next year the good friends again made

the championship, this time resulting in a next-to-the-last day fight for the title with Stephen F. Austin State University in Texas. In the waning minutes, Jordan lost a four-pound bass that would have won it for them. But the fish swam away, as did Auburn’s best shot at its first national fishing title. That was also the first year the college championship featured a Classic flight, a chance to qualify for fishing World Series. So on the final day Stephen Austin’s two team members – instead of Jordan and Shane – got to fish one-against-one for the inaugural collegiate berth in the coming year’s Bassmaster Classic. It was neither Auburn’s nor Jordan’s year. Meanwhile, Matt had learned he could transfer to Auburn and earn a dual degree in engineering. “I wanted to join my brother,” he says. “The fishing team looked like a pretty cool gig.” So the Brothers Lee fished as teammates MAY | JUNE | JULY 2017

It might be hot enough to bake a fish on the sidewalk, or cold enough to penetrate your gear like a scaling knife, but the pros get out and fish. Lake Guntersville is known for its bigmouth bass, which lured Matt and Jordan to move to the area. Last fall they fished this point off the main channel. in 2012, making it all the way to the nationals. Again. Only to finish second for Auburn. Again. This time, however, the rules had changed. The two members of the top four teams competed individually for two days in single-elimination brackets to determine who won the only college ticket to the Classic. When the waves settled, the week-long tournament that started with 110 anglers from 57 colleges and universities, had boiled down to two brothers at Auburn facing off in the Classic flight. With their parents watching in torn elation, Matt and Jordan pitted rods and wits against each other and the fish for four and a half hours in triple-digit heat. On his last cast, Jordan saw a fivepound bass swallow his jig. He set the hook and – snap. The lunker broke his line.

hen the drama ended, Matt scaled two bass at 5 pounds, 6 ounces. Jordan caught two weighing 2-4. The podium scene was described in a Bassmaster story as being more like a funeral than a coronation. “If we fished 20 times, he’d win 18,” Matt said at the time. “I hate it for him, but 62

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I’m happy for me. I know right now he’s hurting, and I’m hurting for him.” Another angler might have called it quits. Not Jordan. In jubilation and agony he cheered for Matt at the 2013 Classic in Oklahoma where, fishing against the best of the best, his older brother finished 46th and snagged a $10,000 check. During the 2013 college season, his last year on the Auburn team, Matt and a new teammate finished fifth in the final tournament on Pickwick Lake, missing the Bassmaster Classic bracket by a spot. A determined Jordan fished again with Shane Powell, and they won a wild card on Pickwick to qualify for the Carhartt College Series National Championship. They finished a frustrating third in the championship. But, in a twist of fate – or declaration of destiny – they qualified for the Classic bracket. Jordan and Shane were lined up on different sides of the Classic bracket. After two days of eliminations, the others were gone. The two Tiger teammates and friends were left in a face-off to determine who would represent Auburn for the second straight year at the Bassmaster Classic in January 2014 at, of all sweet places, what

Jordan had come to consider his home waters – Lake Guntersville. Destiny? Fate? Either way. Jordan was hot. Jordan fished smart. And he weighed in five bass at 12 pounds. Shane caught four for 9 pounds, 3 ounces. Jordan was headed for the Classic. He was elated. He also now knew exactly how his close friend felt … and how Matt felt a year earlier. At the Classic, Jordan fought back the last day to finish an astounding sixth place in his first pro show and earn a $22,000 paycheck.

ut of school, the brothers Lee were dead set on making their dream job a reality. That necessitated qualifying for the Elite Series. One way to do that is to finish among the top five anglers in one of the three geographical regions that hold Open tournaments. Each region hosts three Opens and totals points from them to determine its top five finishers. The Lees went all out, fishing all nine Opens in 2014. Matt qualified through the south region, Jordan nailed it in the central. And so they hit the trail trod by bass fishing’s elite.

They were fortunate in the Opens and their rookie Elite year to have sponsors such as Carhartt – which they’d picked up at the college level – that helped with entry fees and equipment. It reinforced a lesson introduced at college level: there are two sides to being a pro in this business. “There’s the side of fishing, of actually catching fish,” Matt surmises. “But a lot of professional fishing has nothing to do with catching fish.” Success helps snag sponsors. “So we try to stay on our game by going fishing,” Jordan says. “I would go everyday. It’s different every day you go out – the wind, the water color, the grass. You get good.” “It’s like golf,” Matt adds. “Someone who plays 20 days a month is better than someone who plays every once in a while.” Success catching fish, they also insist, is highly instinctual. “It’s not your mechanics, and very little is luck,” Matt explains. “Fish move and go to areas for a reason. He who figures it out wins. “A lot of fishing is drawing from past knowledge – the look of the water or the lake,” he continues. “Also, if a new lake in Minnesota looks like Lake Guntersville, it helps you draw on that experience.”

inally, say the Lees, making the dream job of professional fishing a reality requires dedication and work. Translate: fish, fish, fish, come muggy heat you can cut with a bait knife or freezing rain that cuts through whatever you wear. “If you don’t love it and are not dedicated, you end up not doing it anymore,” Jordan says of the grind. “You still get pumped up at blast off,” Matt says. “But it does get to be a job.” And that’s when the pros go to work. Good Life Magazine For the past two Fathers Days, Matt and Jordan have taken their dad, Dr. Bruce Lee, fishing for smallmouth bass on the St. Lawrence River. A Cullman veterinary doctor since 1988, Bruce says he lives his dream everyday working with animals. “But to see your children reach their dreams eclipses all of that.” Center, Matt and his girlfriend, Abby Myrex, pose with their dog, Miles. Left, Jordan and his girlfriend, Kristen Agnew, are all smiles over the new “anchor” he won. Photos provided.

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‘I never saw the beauty until I came out of the darkness’ – Photographer David Warren Big Bridge is one the many places on Smith Lake David enjoys photographing with his drone-mounted camera. Story by David Moore

avid Warren’s friends and fans on Facebook drool over his beautiful photographs. Real estate people love how his stunning aerial and interior shots show off their houses and property. And how can one of his gorgeous sunset images not move you? Truth is, David, now 36, crawled back from a dark, ugly place to capture all of that beauty. And, he says, there’s only one reason so many things came together to allow or make that happen. David grew up and graduated from high school in McCalla, southwest of Birmingham and Bessemer. Instead of moving on, he stayed with his parents, Eugene and Susan Warren. The short version of the story is he wasted a 12-year stretch of his life. “I wasn’t living,” he says. “I didn’t offer anything to anybody.” It finally hit a tipping point in 2010. “I was left without a choice,” David says. “My family – who was supporting me, helping me out – finally drew a line in the sand. Something had to change.” Slow in coming, a big part of that change was moving to Cullman County in January 2011, looking to start anew. For a while, however, he continued to create bumps in his own road.

The Cullman Area Chamber of Commerce presented David Warren the 2016 Hospitality Volunteer of the Year Award. He says he appreciates the chamber, city and county for promoting his work. Photo by Pete Dobbs. His father a minister of music, his mom a church organist, David had been no stranger to church growing up. That year, though, he began attending Daystar Church in Good Hope.

avid got a job working in a thrift

store, where a customer named Karen walked in one day. That was in the fall of 2011. He saw her often but had much to overcome. “It took her three months before she would even talk to me,” he says with understanding. “I finally asked her to church Sunday morning.” Karen said OK, and over time David felt a redemptive conversion coming over him. “It was the church, my praying parents and the support of Karen,” he says. “Without all three, I could not have done it. I slowly started to understand that God had more planned for my life than what I had thought. His plan for my life was not a plan for self-destruction.” Neither was Karen’s plan. David surfed the internet looking for work. She made him get off his duff and pound the pavement. It paid off. In July 2012 David visited AK Rental on U.S. 31 North in Cullman and inquired about a job. He got to talk to owner Alex Kontogeorge “Alex is never there, and he happened to be there that day,” David says. “I was up front with him. He had every excuse to say no to hiring me, but he has a good heart. It’s the best job I ever had because of the boss.” More good. He and Karen married Please see page 68 MAY | JUNE | JULY 2017

David Warren, it’s fair to say, doesn’t just shoot pretty images, he creates them. In his real estate work he uses a very realistic approach, but what he shoots for beauty’s sake or individual sales, he has no qualms about editing the pictures for maximum “wow” factor. For those who have seen them, his drone photos of Cullman have gotten “Wows!” from people who grew up here and never saw their hometown from the perspective of David’s drone. Beyond a livelihood, he has other reasons to shoot and create beautiful photographs. “I have an attention problem. I’m being honest. I just love getting a reaction. And,” he grins, “it’s fun shooting the pictures.” MAY | JUNE | JULY 2017

October 2013. With her son Pace – AKA “The Kid, now 15 – David had a family.

nd the good kept coming. He soon bought a GoPro. He never had a camera, and isn’t into selfie videos of extreme sports. “I don’t know what it was, but I really liked the style of the GoPro pictures, the wide angle,” he says. “And it wasn’t incredibly expensive.” At the 2014 Rock the South, David saw someone shooting photos with a GoPro mounted on a drone and found the aerial shots on Instagram. He dreamed of getting one. Soon after, a man came in AK Rentals who took drone photos of people’s houses and farms, then tried to sell them pictures. Alex paid $400 for a 16x20 aerial of his farm, and the justification for buying a quad-copter took off in David’s head. But the machines are not free. Re-enter Alex, his boss. He lent David the money to buy a DJI Phantom 2 Vision Plus. It comes with a free learning curve. Well, actually, not so free. David crashed it the first day. Fixed it. Crashed it again. Fixed it again. Then, before he’d even repaid Alex, he flew the quad-copter into Big Bridge at Smith Lake. It’s out there somewhere in 200 feet of water. What to do? He could take the little money he’d made from drone photos and pay off Alex with nothing to show for it. Or buy another drone. He bought another Phantom 2, paid off Alex several months later, and kept on shooting.

avid thought his main customers would be individuals buying aerials of their home, but he soon learned real estate was his primary market. Under his LLC David Warren – Cullman Aerial Photography, David had emailed some 50 Realtors in several counties offering his services, showing what he could do. He heard back from two of them – one being Justin Dyar, for whom today he shoots Smith Lake real estate exclusively. In 2015 David bought his first professional handheld camera. “I figured if I added the ability to shoot interior and exterior ground-based photos, I could grow my business,” he explains. Besides shooting for Dyar, David does work for three Realtors in Guntersville, three more in Huntsville and four or five individual agents in Cullman. “I am very busy,” he says. In fact, he’s busy enough that in mid-April he plans to leave AK Rentals and go out on his own with David Please see page 72 Perhaps what’s most amazing about David’s photography is that he’s only been at it for three years as of this summer. 68

MAY | JUNE | JULY 2017

Taking long exposures at night opens up another world for photographers. David got this night shot of Big Bridge using a still camera on tripod and a lengthy 38-second exposure â&#x20AC;&#x201C; long enough to blur not only vehicle lights on the bridge but stars in the sky. He captured the full moon picture here with a still camera and a 5-second exposure. Shooting a long exposure with a firm tripod is one thing. Shooting one from a hovering drone quite another. Still, his extremely sharp downtown shot here was taken from a drone with a 4-second exposure at 100 ISO with what would equate to a 20 mm lens on a full sensor SLR camera. MAY | JUNE | JULY 2017

Warren – Cullman Aerial and Real Estate Photographer. Sound scary? He’s not too worried.

avid figures his track record is pretty good, but the glory’s not his. “If you look back at my story it doesn’t make sense,” he says. “How am I able to make a living taking photos today with all the bad stuff I have done in my past, the road I chose? How could that lead me to where I am now? “I never saw the beauty until I came out of the darkness. That’s why I feel like, in everything I do, I have to give the glory to Him because there is no other explanation.” And good things keep coming. “It seems like every time I turn around God blesses me,” he says. “I just can’t express enough how lucky I am to have traveled the broken road and come out on the other side.” No real purpose would be served detailing his past. Still, David wants to tell his story. On his phone he calls up a line of scripture: Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story – those He redeemed from the hand of the foe – Psalm 107: 2.

David doesn’t require a drone to capture a great shot. He loves shooting with a still camera, his feet planted on the ground. Correctly figuring he could do more real estate work if he also shot interiors and exteriors, he bought his first still camera, a Fuji X-T10, in fall 2015. He’s since upgraded to the Fuji X-T2. “The transformation and the redemption from where I was to the position God put me in today … I realize I don’t deserve it, but the things falling into

place right now don’t make sense. God is the only answer.” Picture that from on high. Good Life Magazine

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Out ’n’ About If you’re 50 or older and you’re out ‘n’ about – or need a good reason to be – join the slew of folks who visit the Donald E. Green Senior Center across the road from Ingram Park. It’s free, there’s plenty to do and lots of nice people, probably some you know. Helen Orr, upper left, directs the choir there. They’re good enough to be invited to sing at revivals, fifth Sunday singings, funerals and such. Anita Stephenson – working out on the NuStep – drives to Cullman from Addison with two friends to visit the senior center and shop. She says it’s easy to meet folks at the center, and it’s easier to exercise with friends. “It makes you accountable to other people,” she laughs. “It keeps you honest.” Stephanie Neal, left, a fiveyear veteran of Cullman Parks and Rec, transferred from the Aquatic Center to be the new director of the senior center. Behind her, Sherry Boatright in pink leads the popular line dancing session, joined by Angie Jochum, center, who retired in March as the center’s director. (Read more about Angie starting on page 18.) Carol Thomas rides the exercise bike at far left, while her husband, John, and Rita Johnson work out on the treadmills. For more info call: 256-734-4803. Photos by David Moore. MAY | JUNE | JULY 2017

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