Cullman Good Life Magazine - Summer 2016 by The Good Life Magazine

CULLMAN COUNTY

Michael Fuller fires up his Egg and offers some grilling ideas Amy and Keith Richards built a house in which to build memories Wallace State celebrates 50 years of impacting Cullman County

SUMMER 2016 COMPLIMENTARY

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Withher her son’s With the line, With her son’slife lifeononthe theline, line, this mother chose Cullman this mother this mother choseCullman Cullman Regional Regional Regional Medical Center Medical Center Medical Center

Julie Kennedy didn’t Julie Kennedy didn’t Julie didn’t know whatKennedy was wrong

know what was wrong

know wrong with herwhat son, was Penn. with her son, Penn. Shewith onlyherknew son, the Penn. She only knew the Cullman High knew School the She only

Cullman High School senior was terribly ill. Cullman High School senior was terribly ill. Julie and her husband, senior was terribly ill. JulieRegional and herMedical husband, Bo, took Penn to Cullman Julie and her husband, Bo, took Penn to Cullman Regional Medical Center where he was diagnosed with bacteriBo, took Penn to Cullman Regional Medical Center where Although he was diagnosed withand bacterial pneumonia. it was touch go Center where he was diagnosed with bacterial pneumonia. Although it was touch and for several days, Penn pulled through. Today, go al pneumonia. Although it was touch and go

forisseveral through. Today, he back indays, good Penn health,pulled attending college in for several days, Penn pulled through. Today, Mississippi and taking careattending of cattle college on the in he is back in good health, he is back in good health, attending college in family farm. The wanted great on carethe Mississippi and Kennedys taking care of cattle Mississippi and taking care of cattle on the

for theirfarm. son. The In fact, his life wanted depended on it. family Kennedys great care family farm. The Kennedys wanted great care They foundson. thatIncare at his CRMC. for their fact, life depended on it.

for their son. In fact, his life depended on it. They found that care at CRMC. They found that care at CRMC.

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We serve the best prime rib in North Alabama.

Anyone say wings? We’ve got a menu page full of choices.

Jason, Deb, Josh and the rest work hard to treat you right.

Here’s our secret to serving up great food and really good times Eat a burger that makes your mouth happy.

Enjoy a full bar and plenty of flat-screen TVs. Open for lunch, dinner and drinks Monday-Saturday

Great food and fun happen at Augusta’s Sports Grill. Most folks around here know that. But these things don’t just happen on their own. We use only the freshest and highest quality ingredients. Period. And not to brag – because it’s true – but we’re good cooks. We make your mouth happy. You can watch 20 big flat-screen TVs and chose from more than twice that many beers. Friends, families ... everyone loves to visit us for good times. Not to be corny – this is true, too – but there’s another “secret ingredient” that makes Augusta’s special: our family. Deb Veres named the place after her grandmother, who lived nearby. Helping Deb are husband Jeff, sports-loving sons Josh and Jason, and daughter and sonin-law Katie and Hutch Sutter. “My parents, grandparents, uncles

and great grandparents were the people I wanted to be like,” Deb says. They taught her things like: • Why do you want to do a botch job? Do it right the first time. • Idle hands are the devil’s workshop. • Hard work never hurt anyone. They also taught her love. “Working side by side with family allows me to share what my ancestors taught me,” Deb says. So a lot of hard work and love – a lot of family – go into ensuring you and your crowd have great food and a really good time when you visit us at Augusta’s. Another saying Deb grew up with is proving true: “You reap what you sow.” Folks love what we put into Augusta’s. And it’s making them come back again and again. Come join us!

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Welcome

Thanks to three favorite folks ... and all of you I have three new favorite people in Cullman County. One of them I know. Nona Moon and I met in early spring 2015 at the wildflower garden at Sportsman Park. She was my contact for photos I shot a year in advance for the cover and a wildflower story in the spring 2016 issue of Cullman County Good Life Magazine. I went to her house in February to take her copies of the new magazine. Nona was gushing about the magazine when a card fell out for the subscriptions we were just beginning to sell. She got her checkbook and signed up – not only

for Cullman County but for our Marshall County GLM, too. So she holds the distinction – a very high one in my eyes – of being the first subscriber to both Cullman and Marshall County Good Life Magazines. A few days later, standing at our post office box, I opened an envelope and found a subscription card and check from Carol Twitty of Hanceville – our first subscriber to Cullman County GLM by mail. Yea! That was followed the next day by our first subscriber to Marshall County GLM by mail – Sandra Benefield. She actually lives in the New Harmony/ Joppa area of Cullman County, but a lot of

folks around there have ties with Arab. I may owe Sandra an apology. Our paths might have crossed during my years as editor of The Arab Tribune. We ran her picture in the paper a few times as an officer with the Amanda King Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star. I bet she subscribed to the Trib. Now I am pleased to have her has one of our growing number of GLM subscribers. My thanks to all of you. Enjoy.

David Moore Publisher/editor

Contributors Deb Laslie devours books like some folks devour potato chips (bet you can’t eat just one). Her “menu” to choose from is vast – she owns Deb’s Bookstore. Sometimes she devours thrillers. Sometimes literature. Or something non-fiction. For her reviews in this issue she devoured something really heavy and deep – a child’s book. Patrick Oden is a man of many talents, ranging from patching up old boats and surviving with four females in his house, to taking excellent photos, writing stories and doing layout. We leaned heavily on three of his talents this issue to produce a special section tied to Wallace State’s big birthday. Good Life’s Sheila McAnear has a talent for designing and building ads. But it goes beyond that. You should see the patio she built in her yard. She used 12-by-12 landscape pavers. Before grouting them with concrete, she cut them at angles so they form a curved pattern. If she ever leaves GLM, she could get rich as a handywoman. 8

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Jane-Ann Heitmueller, who lives in a historic farm house at Lake Catoma, usually writes at her own leisurely pace. But when usual contributor Steve Maze got ill, she jumped in at the last minute with a marathon writing stint to pull out a wonderful history piece as part of our coverage for Wallace State’s 50th anniversary. Auburn horticulture grad Tim Crow is a new contributor to GLM. An Extension agent, he works out of the Cullman office and covers five other counties, too. Confessing to being a turf-liker guy, he once managed 500 acres of the green stuff. He settles now for mowing his own patch and sharing his expertise.

To know him is to love him ... assuming you like dogs, that is. Dog though he might be, that refers not to publisher/editor David Moore but to his pet, Porter. Besides supper, Porter’s biggest thrill is riding in the car with the editor. But alas, he has his travel limits. As much as he’d love it, Porter can’t ride to Smith Lake.

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Inside

12 Good Fun

Eat strawberries and Rock the South

20 Good People

Bo Waldrep’s done more than cut hair for 50 years

28 Good Reads

A whodunit for you; kids’ book for you, too

30 Good ’n’ Green

Here are the steps to having beautiful turf

33 Good Cooking

Michael Fuller is guilty of Green Egg love and shares some delicious recipes with you

40 Good Eats

At the Busy Bee, it’s all about good food (including Depression burgers) and family

42 House of new memories

The founders of Taziki’s built more than a lake house ... it’s a place to build memories

50 Done Racing?

For Bill St. John, that’s not a question as much as his latest foray onto race tracks

60 Marking 50 years

Five people explain the great impact Wallace State has had on their lives

66 From the stacks and beyond

Bill Simpson was involved in 35 years of growth – and stories – at Wallace State

72 Beauty under pressure

Dr. Vicki Karolewics escapes the pressure of her job shooting beautiful underwater photos

80 Out ’n’ About

Take a look at Wallace State today

On the cover: The colorful lion statue brightens the lawn of the Ottis and Evelyn Burrow Center for the Fine and Performing Arts at Wallace State Community College, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. It was photographed by David Moore. This page: Wallace State President Dr. Vicki Karolewics used her underwater macro talents to photograph the eye and green leg of a conch in its shell.

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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Good Fun

The annual Strawberry Festival always draws a crowd, and what’s not to like about the fresh, red fruit, lots of other locally grown produce, a hundred vendors with arts, crafts and more, and entertainment from Overtones, below right, and other musical entertainers. Photos from the last year’s festival by Michael Kimbrough.

All things

Strawberry

ome enjoy everything strawberries and more at the 2016 Strawberry Festival May 6-7 at the Festhalle Farmer’s Market. It’s a great time to buy lots of fresh, locally grown produce – including, of course, delicious, ripe strawberries. Friday will be Senior Day from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. with a free lunch provided to the first 300 seniors, open book gospel singing and bingo. The farmers market will be open. The festival, sponsored by Cullman Parks and Rec, kicks off at 4 p.m. Friday with live music, food trucks, kid activities, strawberry drinks and other beverages. The fun runs until 11 p.m. Saturday ramps up at 8 a.m. with the big arts and crafts show in Depot Park featuring nearly 100 vendors. There will be a classic car show and performances by the Cullman Community Band, Cullman High School Jazz Band. Other musical entertainment includes Winston Ramble, a folk/rock/jam group from Birmingham, Clara and the Creeps, a 5-year-old group from Florence, which says it’s creepy but in a good way, and the Overtones. Farmers will sell fresh produce 7 a.m.-4 p.m. Kids games and activities will be offered all day, as well as food trucks and strawberry themed foods and drinks. For more information contact the Cullman Civic Center: 256-7349157 or info@cullmanrecreation.org. 12

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Good Fun

• Now through summer – The photography of Anatole Zurrer visits the Evelyn Burrow Museum at Wallace State Community College for a magical trip Down Under through the images of Australian photographer Anatole Zurrer. Museum hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday; 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday. For more info: 256-3528457; or www.burrowmuseum.org. Admission is always free.

Summer rocks (the South) and more • Now – Camp Cullman registration Sign up for either or both of two exciting sessions June 6-July 1 and July 11-Aug 5 at the Cullman Wellness and Aquatic Center. Enjoy full days of activities including swimming, arts and crafts, organized games, movies and weekly field trips to places such as the Coca-Cola Museum in Atlanta, the Birmingham Zoo, and the Tennessee Aquarium. Camp hours are 7:45 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. daily. Cost to register is $100 per week plus a one-time enrollment fee. Space is limited to the first 75 campers that sign up each week. Register at the Cullman Civic Center. For more info: 256-734-9157 • May 6 – Relay for Life Last year’s annual Relay for Life raised more than $150,000 for the American Cancer Society … and Cullman County hopes to surpass that amount with this year’s event. 14

MAY | JUNE | JULY 2016

Beginning at 6 p.m. Friday there will be games, family activities and, of course, lots and lots of food. Come celebrate our cancer survivors with the opening victory lap, remember our lost ones and others during the touching luminary ceremony after sunset and stay for the closing ceremonies that will culminate the event near midnight. For more information or to sign up for next year contact: haley. marecle@cancer.org or 256.531.4010 • May 14 – Mud Day Even if you don’t want to play in the mud, head out to Stony Lonesome OHV Park to witness the spectacle. If a 5-kilometer mud run isn’t enough of a challenge, there will be intense obstacles throughout the course for those brave or crazy enough to rise to the occasion. Registration opens at 6 a.m. for runners and the race begins at 8 a.m. Registration is $30 and runners

must be over 13 years old. For more information: 256-739-2916 • May 21 – Paddle at the Rock Come out for the fourth annual stand up paddleboard race at Smith Lake Park. Take on the 7-mile-course, the 3-mile-race, or the 1-mile fun race and be entered to win a 2016 YOLO Costal Cruiser paddleboard. This will be the first race in the Southern Stroke Paddle Series, and first two legs of the Black Warrior SUP Championship. All proceeds will benefit the Bell Center for Early Childhood Interventions. For details or to register: Tommy 256-736-3002 or info@smithlakepaddleboards.com • May 28 – Smith Lake Memorial Day Festival As of publication, details of this event sponsored by Cullman County Parks and Rec were not finalized, but it’s always a blast. You can visit cullmancountyparks.com

or call 256-739-2916 for up to date information. • June-July – Just Play! Get the kids outside and active this summer by taking them to the free Just Play! program sponsored by Cullman Park and Recreation. The series of afternoon activities will involve camp-style games, relays, scavenger hunts, slip-n-slides, water balloon games and other organized activities for kids ages 5-12. Programs will be held 1-3 p.m. every Friday this summer during June and July and feature a different activity at a different park each week. For a schedule: www. cullmanrecreation.org • June 4 – CruzeFest Get your fill of old cars or browse the swap meet section of CruzeFest from 8 a.m. till 2 p.m. at Smith Lake Park. There will be fun, food and music, as well as a 50/50 drawing for a $1000 money tree.

If you wish to bring your classic car or cool motorcycle, registration is $15. It’s sponsored by Cullman County Parks and Rec and spectator admission is free. For more information: 256-7392916 • Beginning June 10 – Second Fridays From June through September, Downtown Cullman and Festhalle Market Platz will play host to live music, classic cars, food, shopping, and activities for all ages. Sponsored by the Cullman Area Chamber of Commerce and Cullman Park and Rec, things get started around 5 p.m. and continue into the night. • June 7-28 – Jammin’ in the Gym More music than you can shake a tail-feather at takes place every Thursday in June at the Donald E. Green Senior Center. Everyone is welcome to enjoy these free concerts from 6-8 p.m.

June 7 – The Fairlanes play all of your favorite oldies. June 14 – Enjoy country music with The Junction Band. June 21 – Lavey Snider and JD Pollard perform your favorite Patsy Cline and Conway Twitty tunes. June 28 – Round out the month with some big band music from Sentimental Journey. For more info call: 256-734-4803 • June 16 – Dive-in Movies Grab your swim trunks and head to the Cullman Wellness and Aquatic Center for movies in the pool. “Minions” will start at dark with open swim before. Movie and swim included in the $5 entry fee. For more information: 256-7757946 • June 18 – Smith Lake Triathlon As of publication, details of this event have not been finalized, but you can visit cullmancountyparks. com or call 256-739-2916 for up to date information.

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The Gettysburg cycl0rama is on the Civil War tour the Wallace State alumni group plans. • June 27 – Civil War Trail This is the deadline for Civil War and history buffs to sign up for the Wallace State Community College Alumni Association Sept. 10-18. First stop on the nine-day, eight-night tour is in Lexington, Va. From there, you will wind your way through West Virginia, Pennsylvania and back to Virginia before final stop in Tennessee. You’ll visit Civil War sites and battlegrounds, including two days in Gettysburg, plus have lots of free time. Cost is $1 ,600 per person double occupancy (alumni members save $100). The motor coach trip will depart from and return to the Wallace State campus. For complete information or to register, call La Donna Allen: 256-352-8071 • July 2 – Smith Lake Independence celebration

A full day of fun, food and music will culminate at 9 p.m. when fireworks fill the air above Smith Lake Park as we celebrate our independence and our great nation as a community. Come early and stay late; gates open at 9 a.m. Entertainment will include Chandler Brown, HotBed, Nikki Moore, Bama Country, and Winston Ramble; with headliner The Vagabonds taking the stage from 7-9 p.m. For more information: 256-739-2916 • July 21 – Dive-in Movies Grab your swim trunks (again) and head (back) to the Cullman Wellness and Aquatic Center for another movie in the pool. “The Good Dinosaur” will start at dark with open swim before. Movie and swim included in the $5 entry fee. For more information: 256-775-7946.

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Snapshot: Bo Waldrep

• Early years: Born in 1948 to Johnnie and Leona Waldrep of Nesmith on the Cullman-Winston line. Graduated from Addison High School in 1966 and barber school at Calhoun Community College in 1967. • Wife: Married to the former Jerusha “Judy” Hyde, who went to West Point High School. “She ran around with my cousin,” Bo says. “She happened to be everywhere I was, and we became high school sweethearts.” • Family: Daughter, son-in-law Jennifer and Troy Nicholson of Nashville; three grandchildren, Michael, 18, Michaela, 15, Macy, 8. Son Scott Waldrep has worked with Bo for 20 years. • Community involvement: Cullman Chamber of Commerce for 35 years; the Cullman Lions Club, 36 years; member of the Cullman Historical Society; charter member of the Cullman Downtown Merchants Association; former president of the Cullman High School Band Boosters.

Good People

5 accounts Story and photos By David Moore

his June, Bo Waldrep will celebrate near back-to-back 49th and 50th anniversaries – just not in that order. June 11 marks the 49th anniversary of his and Judy’s wedding. And June 1 will be his 50th anniversary as a barber in Cullman. For all but seven of those years, he and Judy have owned East Side Barber Shop in downtown Cullman. Over these years Bo has been active in community life in the city he loves – and the city in which he loves to cut hair. “How the hair has flown,” he says. “Barrels and barrels of it have been vacuumed up.” That’s because regulars at East Side come and go with, well, regularity. But that’s not to say newcomers aren’t welcome. “You may come in as a stranger, but you will leave as a friend. Our conversation and haircuts,” he adds with a grin, “are habit forming.” Speaking of habit forming … “You might say I was born to be a barber by trade,” Bo says. “I’m a second-generation barber.” His dad was a barber and a cook stationed in Japan at the end of World All about kids, in a half century of cutting hair, Bo says, he’s given out a million suckers as rewards to good young customers. At left he holds the lid to the sucker cabinet for Colt York, 3, and Britton, his 9-year-old brother. Not only do they get their share of suckers, but Bo also cut their mother, Heather’s hair when she was a kid, plus he cut her father’s hair.

Bo Waldrep

He’s cut hair and heard ‘news’ for 50 years; given back through Lions, band boosters War II. His prize possessions are pictures of his dad cutting hair in Japan. “My son is a third-generation barber and is continuing the family tradition,” Bo says. “He grew up in the barber shop after school.” April is another milestone month for Bo. April 25 marks the fourth anniversary of the re-opening of East Side Barber Shop. That will be two days before the fifth anniversary of the tornado on April 27, 2011, that cut a swath of destruction through the county and downtown, including the destruction of Bo’s old shop in the same location. “I never would have survived a 50year career as a hair clipper without my loyal and faithful customers,” Bo says. “And without their friendship and prayers, we’d never have survived the tornado.”

Is it true that barbers hear all of the “real news” in town? And do you think you could start a third newspaper in town? Yes, it’s true, barbers hear all of the real news in town. From our first customer of the day until the last one, every customer has a story to tell or news to share. For example, we heard it first at Eastside Barber Shop that Publix, Dick’s, Ulta Beauty and several other stores were building in Cullman. I was cutting one of the Dick’s manager’s hair, and he told us what was coming, and the construction people came in and let us know, too. We heard that Panera Bread and Panda Express are coming. They will be on either side of Hardee’s. That has not been in the paper (as of this writing). We also heard first that WalMart was building on Ala. 157. I cut the manager’s hair. He said it was going to happen, and it did.

We could start a third newspaper in Cullman and call it The East Side Barber Shop News and record all of the happenings here. We hear breaking news from sports to the stock markets to the weather. There’d be some of all of it, but the newspaper would need to be a weekly and not a daily. The news is kind of slow, really. Some of it’s true. Some of it’s kinda ... (Bo waves his hand up and down.) But we haven’t been to court. Yet.

As a long-time member, what does the Cullman Lions Club mean to you? And what did you do – or what did the members credit you with doing – to earn a Melvin Jones Fellowship and the Lions Club International Lifetime Award? I am proud to have been a member of the Lions Club since 1980. We serve the blind and have funded numerous projects for the citizens of Cullman County. The Cullman Fair is our biggest project. We have it in September. I’ve worked at 35 fairs. We have a big ham and fish supper in March. I’ve held several offices and been on several committees. I have attended four international conventions. We went to Hawaii a couple of times and to Denver and Indianapolis as a voting delegate from Alabama. There were 45,000 Lions at the one in Honolulu. Lions are in 206 countries. At the conventions we have an eightmile long parade. Every country and state has a float. It’s amazing. You see people from all over the world, and every one of them is in the Lions Club and as friendly as can be. Unfortunately everyone in the world can’t be like that. In 2008, I was recognized with MAY | JUNE | JULY 2016

Bo gives Scott a haircut. When your son’s a barber and you’re a barber too, you don’t have to spend much on haircuts. Bo and Judy say that’s a great thing about downtown ... there’s a sense of family in multiple-generation businesses. Their friends and business neighbors at Busy Bee next door say the same thing. Please see story on Page 40. the highest honor bestowed upon a Lion, the Melvin Jones Fellowship. The Cullman Lions nominated me for my community service, and the Lions Club International Foundation selected me for the honor. At our awards banquet last June, I received another distinguished award, the Lions International Lifetime Award. That’s for 35 years of service to my club and my community and my fellow man. I have truly been blessed and honored by the two awards. God has been good to me. I didn’t see it coming on either one of them. They were totally surprising to me.

You were heavily involved in the Cullman High School Band Boosters. What inspired that? Are you musical? What were some of the projects you undertook? I served as president of the Cullman Band Boosters from 1988 to 1992. I got heavily involved because of my children. They loved music and began in the band as fifth graders at West Elementary. I don’t have any musical talent. In fact, I am tone deaf. I cannot even carry a tune in a bucket. But I should have known music would be a major part of my married 22

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life when my father-in-law, Howard Hyde, showed up at our apartment in 1967, two weeks after I got a wife, with a piano in his truck. I asked him whose piano it was. He said it was Judy’s. I later learned I had married into a musical family – the Guthries and Speegles. Our children grew up with their mother, grandmother and other relatives playing musical instruments. As president of the Cullman Band Boosters I took on a project that involved all of the parents in paying off the debt on the old uniforms. We ran the concession stand, sent letters to businesses and sold chances. Every band parent worked hard. They bought in and enjoyed it, and we were successful. All of a sudden we were debt free, and Gary Taylor, the band director, came up with an idea that we needed new uniforms. So we raised enough money to make a down payment and bought new uniforms. We received them and 90 days later paid them off. They cost $30,981. They were marching in style out there in the new uniforms. Gary was a good band director and put the rest of the finishing touches on the music end.

Where were you the afternoon of April 27, 2011, when

the EF-4 tornado hit downtown? And beyond the personal need to reopen your destroyed shop, did you feel you were part of some bigger effort to rebuild Cullman? It was 2:43 p.m. when it hit here. I had been at East Side with Scott: business as usual. We were doing what we do best, cutting hair and talking to our customers. Little did we know all of our lives were going to change. We had the only TV on Fifth Street East. Scott is a weather buff and had been watching the weather for days. He knew we had a weather alert icon of a nine or ten when James Spann, the weatherman, started jumping up and down and yelling the city of Cullman had 20 minutes to seek shelter. Scott knew danger lay ahead. I did not. He told our customers to leave for safety’s sake. He went up and down Fifth Street asking people to leave. He told Kitty Spears at Busy Bee, and she let her employees go but didn’t leave herself. Several hundred people left Fifth Street businesses except for seven people. Scott could not convince them to leave. He came back here and said, “Dad, let’s go.”

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I told him to go ahead and I would get in the bathroom. Scott calmly picked up a picture of my three grandchildren and said, “If you want to see them grow up, you’ll leave now.” And I did. We pulled by to get Kitty. She said to go on, that she would make us some tea and we could stop by after the storm and she’d give it to us. Little did we know it would be one year to the day before she could reopen Busy Bee and fulfill her promise. Scott and I reached the shelter under the parking deck behind the chamber of commerce and were the last two vehicles to get there before the tornado hit. It was awful. We were praying that nobody would lose their life. After it passed, we returned to Fifth Street. We had to jump over power lines to get here. We learned that all seven of the people who had stayed were injured. But there were no deaths. We were blessed on April 25,

2012 – two days before the first anniversary of the tornado – to reopen the barbershop. We were honored to be the first business to rebuild and reopen and for the governor to fly in to cut our ribbon. Many people were there to help us celebrate. It was a new beginning for the city of Cullman storm victims. Scott and I cut our first head of hair that day. We were proud to be back on Fifth Street. It was called ground zero around the barbershop. They called us a guinea pig for rebuilding in just one year after the area was razed from the map. We were in a documentary on the Weather Channel a year after the storm. It was very important to maintain the feeling of that bygone era barbershop. We wanted it to have an old look to it, and Jock Leonard designed it like the old train depot. But the inside is exactly like it used to be. Our 100-year-old barbershop pole was blown away, and we got a new one made just like it.

You are known for cutting hair for 50 years and being an integral part of the Cullman community, but what’s something most people don’t know about Bo Waldrep? A woman called one day and asked if we do first haircuts. I told her we give the kids certificates and things, and to come in after we got off work and I could take plenty of time with him. I was sitting here after five o’clock and this van pulled up. Then a car pulled up and another car pulled up, and everybody piled out of the cars … grandmothers, grandfathers and great grandparents. Then the door opened to the van and they got one little boy out and came inside. A minute later, a second little boy came in the shop, then a third boy came in. They were 1-year-old triplets, and I thought “Wow! What I have I got myself into?” I proceeded to cut the first little boy’s hair and got him fixed up. I got the second one up in the chair, and he

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was doing good, but the third little boy sat there and looked at me like, “This ain’t gonna’ happen. You think it is, but it ain’t.” He finally got in the chair, and I cut and he cried. I tried to talk with him. We pulled out the suckers when all else failed. He finally decided he wanted a hair cut then, and we fixed him up like the other two. I thought, “Man! If I can only get over this!” A grandmother was flashing pictures and all, but finally the kids went off happily ever after. About two weeks later this woman called and said, “Do y’all do little kids’ first haircuts?” I was a little wiser on the second go-round than the first, and I said, “How many do you have?” She said she only had two twins and they were 1 year old. I said to come in after five o’clock and we’d get acquainted first. I told Judy I was getting pretty good at these multiple deals … People might not know I was also a high school football referee for over 10 years. Our old high school football coach, A.G. Hicks, encouraged me to join the Cullman County Referee Association, which I did in 1968. Donald Green, the former mayor, reffed with me. It paid $25 a football game. I did it so we could buy groceries. Haircuts back then were 75 cents for a regular and a flattop was a dollar. Prices have gone up $10 in 50 years. Good Life Magazine

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Good Reads

To enjoy Hervé Tullet’s book with your child, ‘Let’s Play!’

Gilly MacMillan hooks you with an intriguing whodunit

f you’ve not seen (and touched and enjoyed) “Press Here” by Hervé Tullet, you’ll still enjoy the latest from Mr. Tullet, “Let’s Play!” Children (and adults, admit it, you love children’s books as much as the kids) follow the guidance of Hey there! I’m getting a the familiar yellow dot little bored in here. Wanna (star of “Press Here”) and, using their finger, play? Press the top corner to trace the thin line that get me started. OK. Now try takes them on a roller the bottom corner … Yup. coaster of finger travel. Down there on the right. We ride a carousel, sneak through a dark Great! Now let’s get back to cave, play hide and the middle of the page … Go seek and along the way on, try it. That’s it. Feels somehow manage to good to be getting a bit of learn to follow simple instructions: up, down, exercise! So, will you take me left, right, top, bottom, along? It’s easy: Just follow clap and, my favorite, the line with your finger. shhhhhhh! With your child or grandchild on your lap, when you near the end of this magical journey and yellow dot asks, “Do you want to play some more?” you’ll both say, yes! I’m always excited to recommend great children’s books, and this is one of the best. “Let’s Play!” is for all ages and stages. – Deb Laslie

ustomers frequently ask, “What’s a good book to read?” I’m happy to hand them a copy of “What She Knew” by Gilly MacMillan. This book hooked me from first page to last. It’s the story of a recently divorced Should we trust or young mother who rely on somebody just finds herself a person of interest when, Ben, her because they’re a figure son disappears from their of authority, or a family walk in the park. member? Are any of The investigating our friendships and officer, her son’s school, her friends, blogging relationships really based strangers and especially on secure foundations? her ex-husband all know that Rachel has done something unspeakable to her son. Only her sister rallies around Rachel – a sister, it is soon discovered, with a rather large skeleton in her own closet. Rachel is at first devastated, full of guilt and selfrecrimination. But as the investigation continues Rachel becomes convinced that she and only she cares enough about Ben to find out what really happened. But Rachel isn’t alone in her attempts to locate her son. Detective inspector James Clemo has also given over his life to find Ben, but what is Jim’s true motivation for locating Ben? A fabulous whodunit! – Deb Laslie

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Good ’n’ Green

Are you ‘turf’ enough? Here’s how to make your yard good ‘n’ green this summer Story by Tim Crow Photo by David Moore

As I sit on the back patio in early summer I can smell the all so familiar fragrance of fresh cut grass.

So many things begin with that smell. I know I’ll be spending numerous hours around the ball field watching my son. When school lets out my kids are heading for the backyard until the sun fades in the western sky. It’s time for me to dust the grill off for weekly backyard burgers and hot dogs. Also with that smell it’s time for me to find the lawn spreader and implement my plan for a lush lawn. While some of the hard work was completed in the fall and winter months to prepare the lawn for the rigors of spring and summer, it is now time to appreciate potentially your largest landscape investment. The months of March and April saw temperatures (slowly) start to rise and warm up our local soil. Being predominantly warm-season grass growers in the South, these turf types begin to wake from winter naps and by May and June are off to the races. As we see sprigs of Bermuda, Zoysia or

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Centipede turf begin to green, it’s time to provide a feeding program that will make your lawn the envy of the neighborhood.

n North Alabama and around Cullman, Bermuda and Zoysia grass is grown with relative ease. Both of these turf types thrive in our native soils and handle our hot dry summers. Bermuda and Zoysia have exceptional drought tolerance and, once established, perform well in our hot dry summers. Both are heavy feeding turf types. They want to be provided plenty of nitrogen and cut often. The first step for growing any turf type – or any plant in general – is to get a soil test completed to see where you’re beginning. Bermuda and Zoysia grass like a soil pH between 6.0 and 7.0. Your soil test may give recommendations for phosphorus and potassium, and those can be added with the use of complete fertilizers. In our area phosphorus is usually not needed. What won’t be provided in your soil

test is the amount of nitrogen in the soil. For general purposes we want to supply Bermuda and Zoysia three-four pounds of active nitrogen throughout the growing season. It’s best to provide these applications in one-pound installments. I usually like to get a pound of nitrogen in an ammonium sulfate blend on my turf grass around the middle of April. This will give a shot in the arm to warm season turf that’s coming out of dormancy. Ammonium sulfate is readily available, doesn’t stay in the soil long and is quickly taken up by the turf grass.

s the summer progresses and the turf hits high gear, I prefer to add nitrogen in a slower, time-release form to maintain a green turf, but not accelerate its growth. Sulfur coated urea is a good form of nitrogen to provide these turf types. It allows the nitrogen to break down slower and feed longer. It also provides the homeowner with a good fertilizer, which will not damage the turf without immediate water.

I typically like to space my fertilizer applications out on a 45-day cycle. Starting in middle to late April and extending through late July to early August will keep the turf green all season. By ending in late July to early August you also give the nitrogen a chance to be used up before the cool temperatures of fall arrive. We typically like to see our warm season grasses not push a lot of growth as we transition into dormancy. With some smart, well-timed applications of fertilizer, you can maintain a great looking lawn without working yourself to death. Most non-turf lovers dislike turf because of the work involved with maintaining it … if it grows more, you have to cut it more. But with strategic applications you can provide the food your turf desires without pushing the workload. Don’t just go buy a bag of fertilizer that has three numbers on it and cast it across the lawn. Be smart. Consider your schedule. And enjoy the things that take us into our lawn. Good Life Magazine

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Good Cooking After grilling pork tenderloin and bonein cowboy ribeyes for guests, Michael left some steak goodies on the grill a little longer for his dog, appropriately enough named Atticus.

Grillin’ Green with Michael

(But cranking up an Egg isn’t a recipe requirement)

Story and photos by David Moore

t was pretty much a done deal. Michael Fuller would be an attorney. It was not a done deal that he would practice with his father. And it was on no one’s radar that he’d become a master of Green Egg grilling and smoking. But that little surprise came out cooked to a turn. Growing up as Wayne Fuller’s son in Cullman, Michael heard law talk in the evenings. By age 14 he was clerking. His path was set, and after law school at The University of Alabama, he came home in 2002 and soon took up an offer impossible to pass – joining Fuller and Willingham. “It was an established practice and a golden opportunity to work with the guy who has been my mentor the whole time,” Michael says. His mom, Joan, had less influence on him from a cooking point. But after he and Tricia married he eventually bought a grill to do the guy thing. “I had a stainless steel Weber Genesis Gold with a side burner, four bedrooms and three baths,” he grins. “But I did not cook seriously.”

holiday trip to visit Tricia’s folks in Georgia about six

years ago turned Michael’s horizon Green. Phil Casto, his fatherin-law, cooked a prime rib roast on his Green Egg. “It was the best thing I ever put in my mouth,” Michael says. “It was perfect.” The following spring he went to Werner’s and bought his own Egg. (As a show of appreciation he donated his Weber to Phil to use at his lake house.) The Egg, he learned, had a learning curve. “I burned the hell out of the first hamburgers I cooked on the Egg,” Michael says. “Like most people, I watched the instruction video after the first time I used it.” “A couple of times I took my eyebrows down to the nub and took off a bit of my hair. If what I was cooking did smell good,” he laughs, “you could not tell because of the smell of my hair.”

ventually, Michael conquered his Egg, learning to “burp” it by lifting the lid occasionally to prevent flame-up. He also became attracted to cooking shows and a fan of Emeril Lagasse, Bobby Flay, Alton Brown and others. “I watched one episode with Emeril Lagasse and thought, ‘Heck, I can do that,’” Michael says. He was right and proudly served up his first Egg-ceptional dish: balsamic vinegar marinated filet with bleu cheese and caramelized onions. “Tricia,” whom he calls his food barometer, “was, like, MAY | JUNE | JULY 2016

‘Wow, that’s good!’” Daughter Morgan, 9, and son Mason, 7, say the same for most of what Dad grills and smokes. Besides lawyering, Michael is also the Hanceville city prosecutor. He has some late evenings, but he’s usually able to grill about four times a week. He can leave a brisket or Boston butt on to smoke in the morning and have it to feed company that night.

eyond the culinary aspects of grilling, it’s also a mental unwinder for Michael after a hard day’s work. Well, most of the time. “I come home, fire up the grill and hope I don’t screw it up so that everyone at home is mad at me, too,” he laughs. “But that doesn’t happen often. At least they don’t tell me to my face.”

Most of his recipes, Michael says, can be adapted for a regular grill and even inside ovens, which don’t usually need burping. He experiments with his recipes and invites others to do so, too. “These are some of the base recipes I work with, all pretty generic,” Michael says. “The secret is to make them your own, with your own spin …” COFFEE-RUBBED PORK TENDERLOIN 2 one pound pork tenderloins 2 Tbsp. ground coffee 1 Tbsp. turbinado sugar 1 Tbsp. chili powder 1 ½ tsp. salt 1 tsp. ground pepper Rub tenderloins with olive oil and spread rub coating evenly. Let it rest for 10-20 minutes. Cook in 400 degree oven or grill until internal temperature is 140150 degrees, wrap in foil and remove from heat. Rest for 10-15 before slicing. PEACH BBQ DRIZZLE (For pork tenderloin above.) 1/12 cups peach preserves ½ cup ketchup 2 tsp. balsamic vinegar 2 Tbsp. brown sugar ¼ tsp. black pepper Combine in a sauce pan and heat throughly, transfer to a bowl and allow to cool. Drizzle sliced pork loin with the sauce. ATOMIC BUFFALO KILLERS 12 jalapeño peppers 12 mini cocktail sausages 8 oz. cream cheese Bacon Rinse and cut each jalapeño lengthwise. Remove seeds and white veins for a less spicy taste, or leave what you will for a spicy taste. Take one sausage and place on one half of jalapeño, take some cream cheese and fill the other half. Combine both halves and wrap with a slice of bacon securing it with a toothpick. Place on 400 degree grill, turning occasionally until bacon is done, or an oven at same temperature turning occasionally until bacon is done. Remove, allow to cool for 2-3 minutes, then serve.

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Morel Cognac Cream Sauce 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter ¼-½ baby bella mushrooms, quartered ¼ cup shallots 1 clove minced garlic ½ cup cognac 2 cups heavy cream Salt and pepper to taste 1 pinch of cayenne pepper

PEPPER CRUSTED BONE IN RIBEYE WITH MUSHROOM SAUCE Pepper Crusted Bone In Ribeye Two 20 ounce bone in ribeyes Olive oil Whole peppercorns Coat steaks with olive oil. Smash peppercorns into a course density

and coat the steaks. Grill at high heat (650 degrees or more) 3-4 minutes per side until medium rare or 135 degrees internal temperature. Pull from heat and rest 10-15 minutes before serving.

BOURBON-MASHED SWEET POTATOES 2 lbs. sweet potatoes ½ cup heavy cream ¼ Bourbon (Makers Mark works well) 3 Tbsp. light brown sugar 2 Tbsp. molasses 1/ tsp. salt 8

for at least 3 hours in the refrigerator. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Depending on thickness of the stalks, gather enough stalks together from the marinade, 3-4 for thick ones, 5-6 for thin, and wrap with a slice of thin sliced bacon beginning at the bottom of the bunch to the top. Place on a rimmed sheet pan. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Once all stalks are wrapped, place into a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes or until bacon is crispy. Serve as a side.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place potatoes on rimmed sheet pan lined with foil. Bake until potatoes begin to ooze or about 1 hour. Remove from oven. Once cool, scoop flesh from potatoes and add to a bowl, discard skins. Add cream, bourbon, brown sugar, molasses and salt. Beat on high speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Cover to keep warm. BACON WRAPPED ASPARAGUS 1-2 bunches of asparagus Italian dressing Sesame seeds Thin sliced bacon Wash and dry asparagus after trimming the base. Put in plastic bag with Italian dressing and let it marinate 36

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BABY BACK RIBS Two racks baby back ribs Favorite BBQ rub Yellow mustard Apple wood chunks Apple cider vinegar Water Bourbon Clean each rack of ribs, removing excess fat, and the membrane on the bone side of the rack. Cover each rack with mustard and coat with your favorite BBQ rub. Put in fridge for at least 12 hours to overnight. Remove

Place butter in sauce pan, and melt. Once brown, add mushrooms and sauté until tender. Add shallots and garlic, stirring, careful not to burn. Add cognac slowly and ignite it, once flame dies, cover until cognac has reduced by two thirds. Add cream and stir constantly until sauce is thick enough to cover a wooden spoon. Season with salt, pepper and cayenne. Do not season until sauce has thickened. Once seasoned, use as a sauce for the peppercorn ribeyes, over mash potatoes or a leather shoe. from fridge 30 minutes before placing on smoker. Soak apple wood at least 3 hours. Light smoker/grill and set temperature to 250 degrees. Add wood chunks and allow smoke to begin to billow from the grill. After 20-30 minutes add ribs. Cook for 3 hours. Combine equal parts water, apple cider vinegar, bourbon and spritz ribs every 30 minutes during the cook. Remove ribs once they begin to bend at the middle. (When tongs are inserted lengthwise under the rack of ribs, the rack should bend easily but not fall off the bone.) Once this is achieved wrap in foil. Remove from the heat and allow to rest for 20-30 minutes. Allow grill to heat to 400 degrees. Remove ribs from foil and baste with the liquid from the wrapped foil, then apply your favorite BBQ sauce, place back on the grill and cook for 2-3 minutes per side and avoid flare ups. Once grilled, baste again with sauce and serve.

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FILET MIGNON WITH CARAMELIZED ONIONS AND BLUE CHEESE 2 thick filet mignon steaks 1 large sweet onion 8 oz. blue cheese crumbles ¼ cup balsamic vinegar 2 Tbsp. Creole mustard 1 Tbsp. dried rosemary ¼ cup olive oil Combine vinegar, mustard and rosemary in a bowl. Whisk in the olive oil. Place steaks in plastic bag and pour the marinade over the steaks. Marinate at least 1 hour. Light grill and set to 450 degrees. In a sauté pan, add butter and olive oil, about a Tbsp. each. Heat until butter is melted. Half the onion and cut into medium size half moon slices and add to the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally until the onions become golden brown. Add some brown sugar to deepen the color. Remove steaks from marinade and place on grill. Cook until internal temperature is 135 degrees for medium rare. Once achieved, remove steaks and allow to rest. Take a good amount of the onion and place in the middle of a plate. Add steak on top of onions, sprinkle steak with blue cheese and a few hot onion pieces to melt the cheese. Once cheese is soft, slice away.

SQUASH CASSEROLE 1 lb. yellow squash, quartered lengthwise 1 lb. zucchini, quartered lengthwise 2 ½ inch slices of yellow onion or sweet onion, quartered ¼ cup olive oil Kosher salt and pepper 1 cup heavy cream 1 cup mayonnaise 3 large eggs, beaten 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded 1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded ½ cup Parmesan Regiano cheese, grated 1 cup plus 1 cup Ritz cracker crumbs 1 cup thinly sliced scallions 2 tsp. minced garlic 1 cup Panko 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted 38

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Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Divide squash and zucchini in half. With the onion, toss together next two ingredients and place onto a rimmed sheet pan, and cook for 8-10 minutes, turning frequently. Remove and allow to cool. Chop into medium pieces. Combine cream, mayo, cheeses, 1 cup of Ritz, scallions and garlic in a bowl. Add veggies and combine. Pour mixture evenly into a baking dish. Toss remaining Ritz crumbs with Panko and melted butter. Sprinkle on top of the squash mixture. Place back into oven at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes, then rest for 15 minutes before serving.

CEDAR PLANK SALMON 1 cedar plank 1 large salmon fillet Olive oil Seafood spice (Old Bay etc.) Lemon zest Lemon juice Lemon slices Light grill to 350 degrees. Soak cedar plank in water. Clean the fillet of salmon, which should be about 10-12 inches in length. Once plank has soaked for at least 1 hour, remove from water and place on grill. Brush flesh and skin side of fish with the oil. Sprinkle your favorite seafood rub on both sides of fish. Zest a lemon over top of the fish. Place fish on the cedar plank and allow to cook for 10-12 minutes, once 10-12 minutes have past, spritz lemon juice over fish and add thin lemon slices to the top of the flesh, continue cooking until fish begins to flake with a fork. Remove the plank with fish on top and cover with foil. After 5 minutes, place fish on cutting board and divide into 4 inch servings.

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Busy Bee Café Cullman’s oldest eatery offers unique mom-and-pop dinner atmosphere ... and great food

Story and photos by David Moore

Louise wanted to retire. They asked if Steve and Kitty wanted to buy the café. In order to make an informed decision, Andy showed them the financials. “All I’d heard about,” Kitty laughs, “were the headaches and hard work. We looked at the books and said, ‘Hell, yeah!’” Headaches and hard work are free side orders in the restaurant business, but Kitty loves their customers. “I can talk to a total stranger,” she says. “But we have some people who eat here two times a days, six days a week.” Many insist they can eat cheaper at The Bee than at home. “We cook it and clean up, too,” Kitty says. “All they have to do is eat it.”

usy Bee Café, Cullman’s oldest restaurant, has served its special burgers and more through a progression of seven or eight he third generation of Spears expanded the menu, but owners, not to mention three generations of the Spear family and kept the café basically unchanged – until April 27, 2011. The an EF-4 tornado. massive tornado that afternoon leveled much of downtown Mom-and-pop to the core, The Bee has maintained its classic diner atmosphere with a string of booths and a long counter that’s open to the kitchen. Patrons can watch various combinations of Spears and employees perform a seemingly chaotic food-prep dance that is actually cooking choreography. “It’s a system,” Kitty Spears explains. “You have to pay attention and keep up. You can’t daydream.” It was 1919 when Milford Ford started the café, a shotgun-housed sandwich shop at the corner of Third Avenue SE and U.S. 278. His intended name was Ford’s Café, but before he ever erected his sign folks dubbed it the Busy Bee because of a swarming beehive in an oak outside. Milford sold hot dogs and hamburgers. Period. The burgers were unlike those today … unless you eat them at Busy Bee. He mixed his beef with a thick, soupy flour-and-water dough then dipped out the Michael and Stevie Douglas, her brother, Kyle Spears, and momma mix in patties before frying them. They Kitty Spears stand behind the counter of their popular diner. became known as bread or Depression burgers. Cullman. Fifth Street SE was basically ground zero. Kitty was Patrons loved them … and the price. The Spears sell them wounded in the whirling explosion of glass, brick and cookware. today for a buck-seventy-five as Busy Bee Burgers. A counter explosion of energy and determination immediately followed the twister, and a year to the day later the rebuilt Busy Bee opened its new doors. y 1962, the old house had run its course, and the café Steve, fighting cancer, lived to see the triumph, but not much moved to the corner of First Avenue and Fifth Street SE. more. He died a month to the day afterwards. Ownership finally settled when Andy and Louise Spears His and Kitty’s son, Kyle, now worked at the café, along with bought The Bee in 1967. Louise had worked in restaurants, but their daughter, Stevie, and her husband, Michael Douglas. Kyle the business was new to Andy, who’d previously been in the oil expanded the menu, adding steak, shrimp scampi, brats, pork and business in Wyoming. chicken schnitzel and a dozen craft drafts to wash it down. He “He’d worked for a union, and nobody in town wanted to expanded the hours, serving the dinner dishes Thursday, Friday give him a job,” Kitty laughs. “So he bought him a job.” Their son, Andy “Steve” Spears, basically grew up working at and Saturday evenings. In 2014, corresponding with Emily Douglas’s birth, Kitty the café. He married Kitty, whom he’d met at Calhoun College, turned over operations to the “kids.” She cut back to three days where she studied cosmetology in an ironic effort to escape her a week, giving the kids a day off and giving her more time for former job waiting tables. Business was buzzing at the Busy Bee, but by 1989 Andy and Emily.

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Burgers are good anytime, but for diners on Thursday through Saturday nights, Kyle buys whole ribeye strips, seasons them with garlic, salt and pepper then cuts his own steaks. Before cooking, he seasons them again. They’re mouthwatering. For his schnitzel, he doesn’t merely pat the cubed pork or chicken with flour and breadcrumbs, but massages the mix into the meat before pan-frying it for a delightful crust.

efore the third generation came to The Bee, Kyle trained as a precision machinist; Stevie was a nurse; Michael a construction superintendent. They appear committed to The Bee for the long haul, but will a fourth generation carry on the diner? Michael’s kids from a previous marriage, CarrieAnn and Judd, are brilliant, says Kitty, who sees them entering other fields. That leaves the long-term future up to Addy, Kyle’s 8-year-old daughter, and Emily.

Come what may, Kitty’s proud of Busy Bee’s mom-and-pop tradition. She’s also proud of Cullman’s wave of prosperity, though not keen that it’s swimming in a sea of chains and franchises. “That’s what I like about downtown,” Kitty says. “It’s still mom-and-pop businesses. Here, people talk to each other across the restaurant. It just doesn’t happen much when you go to a chain.” The Busy Bee block is anchored in mom-and-pop tradition, she says,

noting Eastside Barbershop, KnightFree Insurance, Mary Carter Paint and Doyle Real Estate – which is returning to Fifth Street – are all multi-generational businesses. Second generations are now working at law offices downtown, Kitty adds. Family, Kitty says, is one of the most important aspects of life. Well, that and a good breakfast, lunch or dinner at Cullman’s oldest restaurant. Good Life Magazine MAY | JUNE | JULY 2016

A house of memories (and 106 steps) The family that started Taziki’s Café couldn’t wait to move in ... so they didn’t

Story and photos by David Moore

beg. Seth agreed, and the family lived out of the one bedroom that was roofed. They banked more memories with their Fourth of July party last year. No roof. No running water. Boards were stored in the main living area.

othing says you can’t make memories elsewhere, such as a second home in the mountains or at the beach. eith and Amy Richards But the Richardses wanted to make theirs announced in March that finally they on Smith Lake. had moved into their weekend house on Amy grew up in Smith Lake. Well, sort Arkansas and spent of. summers on Norfork The master Lake there with her bedroom was more family, either on a like the mattress houseboat or in a cabin. bedroom – all mattress, “I didn’t want a no bed. Fencing beach house,” she says. was incomplete. “I was raised on a lake. Landscaping remained I wanted my kids to to be done. have that, too.” That didn’t faze the They never Birmingham couple considered another and their two sets of lake. twins. They were so “This is the cleanest excited about their lake in the country, new lake house that and the lake I grew they were spending up on tied for second weekends there – cleanest,” Amy says. and making family Keith grew up memories – long before in the Midfield and their accommodating Central Park areas of contractor, Seth Birmingham. Hammer, drove the last “The only water we nail. had there was Village “We moved in when Creek,” he laughs. there was still sawdust “That’s totally different on the floor,” Amy ...” laughs. Before Smith Lake Actually, they beat entered Keith and the sawdust. Amy’s lives, Peavine Cindy Myrex sold Falls at Oak Mountain them the 1.5-acre site State Park south of in October 2014. It Birmingham provided came with a dock, and water memories. That’s the Richards family where they got married camped out on it. in 1992 – the first “I’d fish and Amy time. Six months later, would figure out how they got married in a the house would fit the Keith and Amy Richards’ 2,010-square-foot lake house sits on a cliff church. lot,” Keith says. “One 106 steps up from their dock. The steps, in places, hug and turn around “The same preacher night, after the slab was did it that time, only poured, we slept on it the rock facing. There’s a modern fire pit on the patio, but Keith built it was legal,” Keith in a tent.” a second, more rustic pit perfect for marshmallows. says. “But the first Between the hard time means more to surface and the raccoon me because Amy got invasion, they got But the decks were built, so they used baptized at the falls.” little sleep. Didn’t matter. They were boards lying about to set up a buffet. “You’d never know it,” she grins. memories to bank. They used the builders’ Porta Potty for Amy had previously worked with US As the house began rising on the a bathroom. A wasp in the toilet paper Airways in New York and was desperate cliff overlooking the lake, Amy began holder stung their son. to transfer south of the Mason-Dixon pleading with Seth. Ah … the memories. line. She had chosen Birmingham “Can I just bring in one bed?” she’d

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Keith and Amy stand in the living area doorway, which closes with a full-windowed garage door. Their two sets of twins â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Charley, Maggie, Margaux and Oliver, along with dogs Bo and Sally â&#x20AC;&#x201C; sit on the sofa inside. Furniture is IKEA. Floors are either white oak or concrete. Wooden walls are shiplap spruce, all of which add up to a casual, camp-like atmosphere.

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Builder Seth Hammer, his wife, Jenna, in the corner chair, and their infant son, Banks, being held by Keith, visit with the Richards family. The garage door not only opens the lower level to the outdoors, but it makes sweeping the floors easy, Amy laughs. A spare bed – popular with the kids – is tucked in a nook beneath the steps to the upper level. because of its proximity to numerous lakes. Keith, who’d had restaurant jobs since he was a teen, worked about 10 years for star chef and Cullman native Frank Stitt, moving up from valet parking to managing Bottega Café. So Keith was already passionate about cooking in 1997 when he and Amy made a shoestring-budget, three-week trip to Greece, puttering around on a Moped with no agenda. They fell in love with the food at small, local cafés. One owner even gave them some recipes. “Keith kept telling me,” says Amy, “that the trip was going to be life changing.”

nd it was. Keith came home adamant to transform their culinary experience into something substantive, and in 2008 they opened their first Taziki’s Café on U.S. 280 near Birmingham. The Mediterranean eatery took off. MAY | JUNE | JULY 2016

The guest bedroom is on the upper level and faces the lake. Though cozy, two walls of windows lend it a feeling of openness. The attached bathroom features double sinks, tiling and an interesting array of three narrow horizontal windows. 46

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People loved the food – always fresh and something different, many of the dishes based on the recipes they brought home from Greece. And they loved the casual, market-place atmosphere accented with photos he’d shot on their trip. Keith brought in partners later in 2008, and they opened another Taziki’s and another. They started a franchise. In 17 years of growth, Taziki’s now has 53 restaurants, 35 of them franchises. All of them held to high standards of fresh quality, all of them giving something back to their communities. While building the Taziki’s empire, Keith and Amy were also mindful of building memories for their two sets of twins. Oliver and Maggie were born in 2002. Two years later, Charley and Margaux joined the crew. Ever an eye for the water, about eight years ago Keith and Amy heard about SilverRock Cove, a development on Smith Lake. They visited, immediately fell in love with it and bought a unit. Inside, the three girls share a double set of built-in bunks. Outside, they and their brother share hammocks ... fun places to wrap up a few memories. A raised wooden walkway connects the drive to the upper level of the house.

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The house is built for outdoor living. The garage door opens the living area to the patio and decks that are built on several levels. The long screened porch on the side can also be accessed from the kitchen, making it convenient to the grill at the far end of the porch.

Woods blooming in the later part of the spring, summer and fall offer plenty of privacy for the Richards family. In the winter, bare trees open up the view to the lake and spectacular sunsets warmed by outside fireplace, photographed here by Keith. The homes were lovely. The setting great. Keith could fly fish from the walkway. They could call the concierge service and have their boat readied for a family cruise.

fter five years, however, it got too crowded, too busy for them. “There are a lot of good people there,” Keith says. “But we’re not really that social.” So they sold their unit and, though busy with the growth of twins and Taziki’s, began looking for a new place. They looked at a number of houses. They had horses at their home in North Shelby County, so they also looked for a farm. They never considered anywhere other than Smith Lake, but after a while they got burned out on looking. One day Amy stopped at Heatherly Farms nursery southwest of Dodge City and mentioned their search to owner

Robin. She suggested calling Cindy Myrex with Arc Realty. Cindy showed them two adjacent lots on a high bluff a mile or so from Trident Marine and the bridge at Ryan Creek. Combined, they offered 200 feet of waterfront. “We didn’t want to be up this high, but when we saw it, we thought, ‘Oh my goodness!’” Amy says. They hired Seth Hammer of HammerBilt, a boutique house designer and builder on Smith Lake. “I knew from the beginning I wanted him to help me,” Amy says. “He’s so easy going and an honest guy.” “He has vision, too,” Keith says. And patience, they both add.

he Richardses wanted a fun, functional lake house. They did not want another huge house, a lot of furniture, a lot to clean.

“I wanted a house where I could open all the doors and blow out the dirt,” Amy laughs. She drew idea sketches, cut them out, rearranged them, then photographed them with her phone and sent them to Seth. “He’d say, ‘We can do that.’ He also said he didn’t know what I was getting him into,” Amy laughs. “Me either,” Keith says. Despite having to work around clients who didn’t mind sleeping on his fresh sawdust, early this spring Seth got Amy’s plans hammered into reality. “It has exceeded our expectations,” Keith says. It’s a fine lake house for fun times for a couple with special bonds and two sets of twins. ‘We are,” Keith says, “making more memories to put into the memory bank.” Good Life Magazine MAY | JUNE | JULY 2016

Done racing? Again? It’s 2.38 miles with 17 twists and turns around the track at Barber Motorsports Park. Bill St. John knows this track intimately. His company, St. John and Associates, has done the civil engineering there since the inception of George Barber’s lush race track/museum, and the Birmingham facility continues growing nearly as fast as a Porsche hauling down its straightaway. Bill’s intimacy with the track extends to two and four-wheel racing. Astride a blistering Ducati 916 motorcycle he won his class at Barber’s inaugural race 13 years ago. Most recently, driving a “lemon” of a BMW X3 in February, he and racing partner Landers Sevier finished third in the Shine Country Classic 24 Hours of LeMons. More on that later … While Bill attacks the Barber course with skilled speed, reaching this point in his racing career has been a ride much longer than 2.38 miles. Now 57, he began racing motorcycles while at Cullman High School, later pushing his machines to national championships, competing in Europe – and leaving behind a trail of wrecked bikes, broken bones and high-speed road rash. Racing has screamed through big chunks of Bill’s life. Twice he said he’d had enough. He was done racing. And twice he returned. Now in his third incarnation on fast tracks, he and Landers named their LeMons racing team – tongue in cheek, foot to the floorboard – Done Racing Racing. It makes one wonder: How many more laps before Done Racing is truly done racing?

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Dirt bikes, big motorcycles, now ‘LeMons” ... It’s been a long road for Bill St. John (though ‘track’ may be a better word) Bill St. John races his lemon BMW at the 24-hours of LeMons – a pun on the LeMans – held in February at Barber Motorsports Park. The photo was shot by Albert Hicks of Birmingham. On the introduction page opposite, photographer Brian J. Nelson catches Bill flying through a curve during the AMA Pro Thunder National at Road Atlanta in 2000.

Story by David Moore

any kids beg their parents to buy them a motorcycle. Bill St. John was one of those guys. It took a few years, but he finally won. While his high school peers played sports, by 15 Bill was pushing his Husqvarna 250 – and himself – through the paces at weekend motocross races. The hilly, bumpy, dirt tracks were a hoot, but … “I always wanted to race cars,” he

says. “I just couldn’t afford it. That’s why I raced dirt bikes in high school.” Maybe it was the revved up brraaap! of a two-stroke. Or catching air on a dirt hill. Or just his competitive nature. Whatever the mystique, Bill never felt the lure of practicing law that so gripped his dad and mom, Finis and Juliet, and his brother, Finis IV “Fess.” After graduating from Cullman in 1977, Bill went to The University of Alabama a year before transferring to Western Carolina for a geology degree. The ’74 Fiat 124 coupe he got in

college, coupled with North Carolina’s curvy roads, further fueled his desire to race cars, and for a while he challenged clocks at autocross events. “Driving was always fun, and I was always trying to get better at it,” he says. “The challenge was not speed on the straightaways. It was definitely road racing.” Still, cars were too expensive. While living in Cashiers, N.C., and working an engineering job, a friend introduced Bill to motorcycle road racing. He could buy a Kawasaki or Yamaha MAY | JUNE | JULY 2016

Bill leads the field on his Ducati, above, at the 2000 AMA Pro Thunder National at Laguna Seca in Monterey, Calif. Nelson shot the photo. At the right, racing the Squalo in the fog, he leads the Austrian round of the 1998 Formula Twins World Series at the A1-Ring in Zeltweg. Bill said he’s long since forgotten the name of the nice Austrian photographer who gave him the photo. for $3,500, toss it in a borrowed pickup – no trailer required – and he was off to the races. On curving asphalt tracks he tested his machines and honed his skills, ever challenging himself to go faster until there was no one in front of him.

ill loved racing … but he was entering an era of realizations. In ’84 he earned an engineering degree from UA in Birmingham. He also married Liz, whom he’d met in Asheville. “I realized what I wanted to do, as opposed to what I wanted to learn about,” he says of engineering. “I wanted to build things.” With responsibilities growing, Bill eventually realized something else, too. “I raced a couple more years and realized it was not cheap enough,” he grins. “I could not afford it.” Bill St. John was done racing. Hanging up his helmet, he and Elizabeth moved to Cullman in 1987. Their daughter, Emily, now deceased, 52

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was born that year. In 1991 Bill gave up racing back and forth to Birmingham for work and started St. John and Associates in Cullman. He stayed “done racing” about eight years before succumbing to the thrill of leaning into curves at high speed on blistering motorcycles. As he’d loved his Italian Fiat in college, Italian-made Ducati motorcycles became Bill’s racing wheels of choice. He and ace mechanic Michael Long of Athens, Ga., dubbed their racing team Project Monza after the famous, fast Grand Prix track in Italy. After a year of warm-ups, they entered Bill’s twin-valve Ducati 900 Superlight in the 1996 national circuits of the American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association (AHRMA) and Western Eastern Roadracing Association (WERA).

hey raced several classes, including the highly competitive Battle

of Twins, or BOT class, where the 900 was outperformed. So Bill anted up for a Ducati 916, a V-twin with four valves per cylinder capable of 160 mph. He made the most of it, finishing the season as national champ in the AHRMA BOT open class and WERA heavyweight twins class, with a second place standing in the AHRMA BOT F-1 class. From there, they were off, racing up to 14 weekend events March through September, 1996 through 2004. Daytona, Road Atlanta, Indy Raceway Park ... they raced in a dozen states from Florida to California. For a time, James Lickwar of San Francisco was a racing partner. Bill and Michael also teamed up with motorcycle wizard Bruce Meyers of BCM Motorsports in New Hampshire, who, over the years, sent them a series of always faster engines for the 916. For 1998, Bill parked the 916 in his living room and raced an Australianmodified superbike Ducati – the VeeTwo

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The national 24 Hours of LeMons circuit consists of 19, two-day endurance races designed to be fun and wacky. Some of the vehicles have outlandish themes. One van at Barber Motorsports Park sported Star Wars X-wings . Fun aside, safety is paramount. Bill and Landers bought their 2001 Z3 BMW at an insurance salvage auction in Florida for $2,600. LeMons rules require racers to sell enough parts off their vehicles to bring their investment down to a $500 value. They are not, however, restricted on safety-related expenditures. Above, Bill and Landers’ team takes precautions refueling during a one-hour quiettime break in the racing Sunday at Barber. After the break, Bill, 56, and Landers, 48, in the center photo, wait to resume. They raced 2.5-hour stints before changing drivers. Landers, as the team leader, scheduled Bill to drive 10 hours over the two days, while he drove five. Of 85 teams, Bill, at right, turned in one of the fastest laps around the curving course – 01:50.131– and averaged 77.798 mph. Photo at right by Albert Hicks. Photos above by David Moore. 54

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Squalo – on the American Motorcycle Association pro tour. A dream coming true, the Squalo ride got the team to Europe, where Bill raced in France, Germany, Holland and Austria. During this nine-year second incarnation of racing, Bill started 126 events, winning 31 of them, along with four national championships. Three times he won coveted podium finishes in AMA and World Formula Twins pro races, earning the honor to stand on the box and spray champagne.

picked a few good races to wind up his career in 2004. His last one came that September. With the 916 screaming at its best, he

In 1984, during his first racing incarnation, Bill had met another good Birmingham connection, Landers Sevier. Landers and his Suzuki racing team, sponsored by Corona Beer, went on to worldwide success. He and Bill quit racing about the same time. In the ensuing decade they found themselves from time to time discussing – surprise, surprise – getting back into racing. From a friend in California, Bill learned about the 24 Hours of LeMons endurance racing series, in which the main components were cars that cost $500 or less and having fun. It seemed safer, cheaper and much less stressful, so when some friends invited them to race their Dodge Daytona “lemon” when LeMons came to Barber in February 2015, Bill and Landers excitedly accepted. It was their first car race. “It didn’t go very well,” Bill laughs. “We only did 40 laps. The car over-heated, blew the head gasket and the brakes failed.”

uch thrills, however, came at a big cost of time, money and red-line pressure. “The faster you go, the better equipment you get, and the faster you’re expected to go,” Bill says. “My last bike did maybe 180 at Daytona.” Disaster always lurked a split second away, and eight times was unavoidable. A competitor once hit him in a close-quarters battle at 100 mph. As Bill fell over, his hand got stuck between the other guy’s back tire and exhaust. “He drug me up the aving learned Bill and Landers’ team name – its irony fully implied – adorns the track about 500 feet,” Bill what not to do and how says. “It seemed like a much fun LeMons was, back of their LeMons Beamer. Photo by David Moore. mile.” Bill and Landers created He taped his fractured the Done Racing Racing wrist, burned hand and team and salvaged a 2001 raced again that weekend. BMW Z3. They entered the LeMons in won the heavyweight superbike class at Two crashes led to breaking separate Barber Motorsports Park – a fitting place South Carolina last September, learned shoulders. He was leading both times. even more, and returned to Barber this to retire for both him and the Ducati. In the 2003 nationals, while passing February. Out of 85 contestants in the archrival Tray Batey in a curve, Bill lost n the late ’90s, Bill had met racing two-day race, they finished third. control and crashed. Recuperation was team owner George Barber, also the Already, they’ve decided to race aggravatingly slow. He missed the rest chairman of Barber Dairies. It was a again this fall in South Carolina. Done huge win. When Barber set out to build racing? Yeah, right. of the season. his racetrack and motorcycle museum in “We’re having fun and not doing “I wasn’t quite done yet,” he says. “I 1999, he gave St. John and Associates racing very much, so it might last a didn’t want it all to end seeing double the opportunity to do the engineering on while,” Bill grins. “We’d like to win a on the side of a track somewhere in the massive project to which additions race before we call it quits.” Michigan.” continue today. With the eye of his tiger fading, Bill Good Life Magazine

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A special section of Good Life Magazine

Wallace State Community College 50 years of excellence 50 years of solid impact Wallace State stats paint a picture of progress… • Highest student success rate in the Alabama Community College System • First in choice among high school seniors taking ACT and attending an Alabama community college • Second in workforce development across the South • Known as the “flagship” of the Alabama College System and is the third largest in the state • $23.35 million annually in salaries and benefits • $80.94 million in direct economic impact to local vendors, wages spent in the area and student expenditures • $178.14 million total annual economic impact based on return on investment • Incalculable – the number of lives improved through a Wallace State education * Financial figures according to a study by Auburn University on the economic impact of Alabama Community College System, and based on averages for 2008-2010 Photo by David Moore

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Arnice and Lisa Weeks stand in front of Weeks Plaza at 909 Graham St. in Cullman.

Arnice & Lisa Weeks

Wallace is a mom-and-daughter thing Story and photos By Patrick Oden

or Arnice and Lisa Weeks, two generations of Wallace State grads, it was the college’s flexibility that allowed them each to make the most of their unique circumstances. While one might assume it was Lisa 60

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who followed in her mother’s footsteps at Wallace State, the opposite is true. Lisa began taking classes at Wallace State the summer after her 10th grade year, finishing with her associate’s degree in 1983, and Arnice, who was well into her banking career, began night classes shortly after Lisa’s graduation. “Fortunately I could attend classes at

night,” Arnice says, “and that’s what I did.” It was much the same for Lisa during her 11th and 12th grade years of high school. “I started taking some classes at night,” Lisa says. “Then I went full force a week after graduating high school.” Wallace State acted as a springboard for both Arnice and Lisa. Arnice would go on to receive her graduate degree in banking while Lisa went on to receive her doctor of chiropractic degree. Arnice was the president of Compass Bank when she retired after 41 years and Lisa has been in a successful chiropractic practice for 29 years now. And for all of their accomplishments, Cullman and Wallace State will always be home. In fact, Arnice was instrumental in revitalizing the school’s fledgling alumni program and has served as president of the organization. After her retirement from banking, Arnice found herself again at Wallace State, this time working for three years, part-time, in the campus co-op office where she assisted students with job placement and transition. “In my situation there is no way I could have gone out of town to a college,” Arnice says, attributing the opportunities she’s had to the opportunity first afforded her by Wallace State. Lisa seconds her mother’s feelings about Wallace State being instrumental. In this case allowing Lisa to get ahead start on her collegiate education. “This was before Fast Track or anything even started,” Lisa says. “Wallace was here and I was so motivated. They helped me. They were just wonderful.” “And the quality of education is just superior,” Arnice adds. Two generations of Wallace State students who represent the role Wallace State plays, at its core, in the education of so many. Arnice and Lisa are shining examples of opportunities provided and seized, and their continued support of and connection to Wallace State are the truest testament of their appreciation for those opportunities. Good Life Magazine

Lance Self stands in front of a Detroit ambulance, temporarily in Cullman to be fitted with ZeroRPM technology.

Lance Self

Innovator remains revved-up over Wallace State connection Story and photos By Patrick Oden

o how do you top an esteemed career as a manager and engineer? If you’re Lance Self, you take all of your knowledge and experience, and you partner with Wallace State and the Governor of Alabama to launch the school’s first incubator program. And if you’re Lance Self, you make the most of the opportunity and develop a unique, eco-friendly technology that fills a true need. ZeroRPM is the company Lance gave birth to in the inaugural incubator program at Wallace State, and through that innovative program, he’s developed a unique technology. One that allows emergency and service vehicles to maintain their climate control systems and on-board electronic needs without running the vehicle’s engine. Reducing emissions

to zero, ceasing fuel consumption and carbon emissions, prolonging the life of the vehicles, and reducing operating costs. With both state and federal agencies beginning to utilize the technology, the manufacturers of the vehicles themselves are now calling on ZeroRPM to fit the lithium ion systems into their production vehicles. An alumni of Wallace State who went on to further his education, Lance says, “The knowledge I got at Wallace State is much more applicable to what I do now.” Lance is referring to the hands-on training he received at Wallace State when he studied drafting and electronics engineering technology. “It was ‘88-’91,” Lance says, “and they were really ahead of the curve.” Lance says this is what helped propel him in his career ahead of most of the other recent graduates in his field. “I had all the hard skills,” Lance says.

“In the field it’s all about what you can do, not what you know. Wallace gets you prepared.” When the Wallace State alum and booster isn’t working, he says he enjoys spending time with his family and being able to play an active role alongside his pastor, Jerry Lawson at Daystar Church, where Lance is a trustee and elder. A proud father of three, Lance says he has one graduate of and two presently attending Wallace State. And in the spirit of community and legacy, that’s echoed in Wallace State, all three either have or are currently working alongside their dad at ZeroRPM. Only three years old, and just more than a year since completing the incubator program, ZeroRPM may be keeping the revs down, but they’re building speed fast in Cullman. Good Life Magazine MAY | JUNE | JULY 2016

Alecia White

Former Miss Wallace State still actively involved at college and beyond Story and photos By Patrick Oden

here’s no slowing down for this Cullman native, former Miss Wallace State, wife, and mother of two. Possessed with an insatiable drive, Alecia White took her degree from Wallace State and parlayed it into a masters of science in strategic communications from Troy. But Alecia loves Cullman and Wallace State, and has since found her way back as an adjunct professor teaching public speaking on the campus she adores. She has also lent her experience as Miss Wallace State, to assist the pageant with organization and judging. “That really was my heart of Wallace,” Alecia says speaking of the 62

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Find Alecia’s Plunder on Facebook by searching “Southern Chic Jewelry with Alecia” Miss Wallace State win that allowed her to compete for Miss Alabama. “The opportunity they gave me through Miss Alabama ... the scholarships I received is what allowed me to continue my education.” And Alecia truly appreciates education and helping college students. For the past 10 years she has worked as center director for the Athens State extensions at both Snead State in Boaz and North East Alabama Community College in Rainsville. In her role on those campuses she’s able to help students transition from the two-year-programs into their bachelor studies. But is working on three campuses and raising 4 and 8-year-old daughters enough? No, says Alecia, who fills her spare time with another passion, helping others look and feel good.

Alecia stumbled along a jewelry line called Plunder Designs back in November and has since begun selling the stylish, and often spiritually uplifting pieces through social media. “It really caught my attention because you could personalize it and it’s affordable,” Alecia says. Speaking both of the owners of the company and of the pieces themselves, Alecia says, “My faith is very important to me and they are uplifting ... they are good people and it carries in the designs they offer” Surprisingly, or perhaps not, Alecia’s ambitions and adoration for Wallace State doesn’t stop there. While she has no plans of giving up any of her current roles, she does hope to be able to do more teaching at Wallace State in the near future ... you know, in her free time. Good Life Magazine

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Ricky Burks

Music opened his door to Wallace, Wallace opened a door to his music

Story and photo By David Moore

icky Burks is not an alumnus of Wallace State Community College, but as a teen he got the opportunity to play in a symphonic band there. It not only jacked up his musical confidence, but it helped open doors to his career. Besides playing saxophone in several bands, today Ricky chairs Wallace State’s department of fine and performing arts and directs the college’s jazz band and saxophone ensemble. In turn, these academic positions allow him to share his love of music with students seeking to improve and capitalize on their own talents. Son of Leroy and Polly Burks, Ricky played in the Holly Pond High School band. His junior and senior years he was picked by his director to play sax in the Wallace State symphonic band – pretty heavy stuff for a musician wanting to bloom. “It was a big confidence builder,” Ricky admits. The Wallace State director at the time was Paul Anderson. Ricky took advantage of the experience, and when he graduated from Holly Pond was offered scholarships to Wallace State, Old Miss and the University of North Alabama. The latter was his best offer. He earned a bachelor’s degree in music education in 1990 from UNA then started teaching at Susan Moore High School. Later that year, however, Robert Bean, the new chair of the music department at Wallace State, hired him to teach woodwinds part time. After two years Ricky earned his master’s from UNA and soon was working full time at Wallace State, teaching music and electronics in the automotive mechanics department. 64

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Ricky Burks directs a rehearsal class with the Wallace State Jazz Band. “I guess you could say it’s an interesting combination,” he says. But it developed into his hobby of motorcycles and cars, and today he restores electrical systems on classic vehicles. Closer to his true love, over the years Ricky added his saxophone talents to the Edd Jones Orchestra, Muscle Shoals Area Big Band, Sammy Kaye Orchestra, Russ Morgan Orchestra and Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

“We travel all over the Southeast,” he says. “I have been lucky to play with some mighty fine groups.” He and Beth, his wife of five years, have two grown sons: Eli, majoring in music ed at UNA, and Tim in Los Angeles. Ricky’s devotion to his quasi-alma mater has also grown. “Wallace,” he says, “has allowed me to share my love of music with a lot of students and, hopefully, make a positive impact on their lives – not just in music but in life in general.” Good Life Magazine

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A view from the stacks Head librarian was involved in Wallace’s growth for 35 years

Story by Jane-Ann Heitmueller Photos shot or provided by Bill Simpson

As more grownups enrolled at Wallace State to get a degree and improve their lives, it was not unusual to see children with their mothers studying in the library, Bill says. seemingly, ample space for expansion. But that filled over the next decade, and in 1986 the library settled into the present day, six-story, state-of-the art building.

Bill says. “They sent us Coach McCracken and his old pick-up truck.” It took a solid week of hard labor on the part of an additional eight work-study students to move the 10 tons of books, he chuckles. Because his previous library experience was in very different settings, Bill sought advice from other junior colleges to help him develop a successful library program at Wallace. “The best advice I received came from a librarian in Alexander City who basically encouraged me to be innovative, think out of the box and be part of the whole campus,” he says. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve drawn on that advice and put it into practice.”

ver the past 50 years, transformation of Wallace State Community College from a small technical school to a successful junior college has been a sight to behold. Since opening in 1966, it has grown to offer more than 50 programs of study in academics, health and technical fields. Today it serves more than 6,000 students. As head librarian for 35 of those years, Bill Simpson had a front row seat to much of that progress. “The first library, if you can call it that, was not much more than a bunch hough technology transformed of books crammed in one corner of the machine shop when I was hired the campus in the past decade, in July 1975,” says Bill, who lives in numerous technological advancements Holly Pond. “We shared space with were implemented throughout campus nursing, drafting, music and some between 1976 and 1996 during the wild general academic departments, but west days of the internet. Bill, front, stands with Dr. Paul Bailey, you have to remember that we only At the library, an automated catalog served a couple of hundred students and book circulation system was set up director of athletics at Wallace State since 2011. at that time.” and early steps taken toward obtaining With rapid growth, it was evident internet access. The Alabama Virtual the school needed an actual library. Three “We asked for two large trucks and a Library changed the whole concept of months after Bill came on-board they half dozen strong men to transport that magazine and periodical access. moved the library into a new building with, mountain of books to the new building,” Since taking the reigns as president

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Bill did much of the college’s photography and darkroom work in the past. Here, a string of head shots are drying for press releases going out on Dr. James “Jake” Bailey, who Bill held in high regard in 2003, Dr. Vicki Hawsey Karolewics has been receptive to and instrumental in incorporating additional tools for advancement, Bill says. She has focused on providing the nation’s best learning environments for students, infusing the entire campus with cutting edge technology, including but not limited to the new School of Nursing and Center for Science, and focusing initiatives that have made Wallace State a widely-recognized national pacesetter in teaching and learning and workforce development by the Aspen Institute, Community College Week, the American Association of Colleges and Universities, Steinway, Southern Business and Development and more.

uch of Wallace State’s earlier success is attributed to late President Dr. James C. Bailey’s well-known foresight and determination. Bill says he was a staunch representative for the college and had a reputation for standing against all odds to accomplish the task at hand. “One of the many things I admired about him was his willingness to fairly evaluate your research on a subject 68

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before making his final decision,” Bill says. “Since Dr. Bailey was known for being very frugal with every penny, it sometimes took a bit of cajoling.” Today, Bill says, the nursing program Bailey fought so hard for is considered one of the best in the state, and the new facilities built by Dr. Karolewics are comparable to any large city hospital around. Bailey, Bill continues, was a firm believer in involving Wallace State programs with the community, and the nursing program was an example of that. Another, he says, was the music program Jim Walker started in 1976. He directed the first group of singers and choral groups and in later years was joined by instructors Robert Bean and Mike Sparks.

he Wallace Singers still act as a public relations group when they entertain at churches and schools, spreading the college’s cultural outreach in the community. And today, Bill says, under Tiffany Richter’s able leadership, the music department has become a true diamond in the crown of Wallace State. “Our outstanding genealogical

department is known and respected nationwide,” Bill continues. “Wallace is fortunate to have had such outstanding individuals as Carolina Nigg, Bob Davis, and Ann Gregath to lead this program.” The department now hosts the quarterly meetings of The North Alabama Genealogical Society. And, Bill notes, the college library is the only one in the country allowed to borrow microfilm from the largest genealogical library in the world, The Family History Library in Salt Lake City. Wallace State’s athletic teams and facilities are renowned throughout the Southeast and the nation. Though Bill’s official title was head librarian, he was involved in numerous aspects of the athletics program during his tenure. He and wife, Nelda, volunteered countless hours to the basketball, baseball and softball programs.

ill was involved in the growth and success of the Northwest Regional Basketball Tournament, along with The Tom Drake Coliseum, one of the largest such facilities among two-year colleges in the U.S. “That basketball coliseum is something

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else,” he remarks. “There’s not a bad seat in the house.” When the plans were first made, some people wondered why in the world the coliseum needed to hold more than 5,000 people. But because of that, Bill says, Wallace State was selected in 1997 as one of the four regional sites in Alabama’s new high school basketball play-off system. Each February nearly 25,000 tickets are sold and thousands of fans and perspective students come on campus for six days of basketball. “To a person, the Wallace State Family believes that this is one of our best recruiting tools,” Bill says. “Dr. Bailey always told us the best way to recruit is to physically get students on

campus. He saw more clearly than most people.”

ill thoroughly enjoyed his time at Wallace State. “I had great co-workers and a host of wonderful memories, many of them quite humorous,” he says. One afternoon he stopped by to see his good friend, Marion Slatsky, head of the nursing lab. He no sooner walked through the door than she recruited him as a demonstration model for her class and asked if he’d ever had his blood typed. “I told her I hadn’t but forgot to mention that I fainted at the sight of blood,” Bill laughs. “Next thing I knew, I was flat on my back with Marion hovering above me and the wide-eyed

faces of her entire class peering over her shoulders.” He recalls vaguely hearing something about blood, ashen and recovering. “Ever the consummate professional, my dear friend was seizing this embarrassing incident as an ideal teaching opportunity,” he says. Beyond friends and memories, Bill also enjoyed being part of Wallace State’s tremendous growth from 1975 until he retired in 2010. “An economist could tell us the dollar impact on the community,” he says. “But you only have to look at the quantity and quality of programs, the physical plant and the number of great graduates to truly understand.” Good Life Magazine

Cullman Savings Bank Foundation 2015-2016 Scholarship Recipients Congratulations Wallace State

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Anniversary Pictured left to right: Kim Chaney, Board of Directors; Cheyenne Patterson, Holly Pond High School; Zack Jackson, Cullman High School; Corey Barbee, Hanceville High School; Nancy McClellan, Board of Directors; Zeb Lindsey, Cullman High School; John Riley, President/CEO; Taylor Deese, West Point High School; Bill Peinhardt, Board of Directors Scholarship recipients not pictured: Chelsey Wright, Good Hope High School and Lauren James, Cullman Area Career Center

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Dr. Vicki Hawsey Karolewics does clean her desk off when necessary, but even then her work is not done. Her relentless pursuit of excellence and innovation sees to that.

Drive relief? Dive deep When she became president of Wallace State Community College in August 2003, Dr. Vicki Hawsey Karolewics brought with her a certain, strong drive. It remains with her nearly every waking hour in this, the college’s 50th anniversary. It will remain an intrinsic part of her in all likelihood for years to come. It’s a drive for excellence. “Wallace,” Vicki insists, “will be a pacesetter in everything we do, in that tradition of excellence for which this college has always been known. We will impact our students in a meaningful way.” Excellence requires leadership for a faculty of 321 full- and part-time instructors, a support staff of 191 more employees and more than 7,000 students. Excellence requires leadership for instruction. Excellence requires juggling academics, administration and politics. Excellence requires a constant, inspired drive. “I am up before 6 and try to go to bed by 10,” Vicki says. “There is not an hour in that span

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Vicki finds a reprieve from pressure under the pressure of ocean depths. of time that my mind is not engaged in Wallace State and its future. It’s not a job – it’s a lifestyle.” Understand, she’s not complaining. But, on a scale of 1 to 10, Vicki laughs, the pressure factor of her job runs 14 or 15. The president of Wallace State seemingly thrives at this pressure factor, doing what she loves, what she’s driven to achieve for the college. But a pressure of 41.4 pounds per square inch provides another love, one that overwhelms her. It’s not a drive. It’s a dive.

Wallace president captures the sea’s great beauty in her underwater photos of the tiniest things Story by David Moore

t sea level the pressure on a person is 14.7 pounds per square inch. Scuba diving 60 feet beneath the sea, the pressure increases to 41.4 psi. It’s an alien world requiring life-support equipment to survive. Simultaneously, it’s a world of uncommon beauty. It’s under the pressure of this watery world that all of the pressures of college presidency disappear for Vicki Karolewics, floating off like bubbles escaping her regulator. “That’s why I like diving,” she says. “You absolutely cannot think about anything else other than what you are doing. You have to be totally engaged or you could die.” Besides the pressure relief, scuba diving satisfies an adventurous streak in Vicki’s soul. “And,” she adds, “it’s beautiful.” Capturing that beauty through underwater photography exponentially increases the scuba experience for her. Long interested in photography, Vicki’s attraction to shooting pictures underwater came naturally. She was further inspired by the work of David Moss, a Cullman diver whose underwater pictures were Vicki photographed this sea anemone and most of the other photos in this story on a trip to the Caymans over Christmas break at Wallace State. Her macro shots require getting within inches of her subjects. Anemones often provide camouflage for fish, such as the clown fish that likes to nestle in the tentacles. MAY | JUNE | JULY 2016

A flamingo tongue snail, with a brightly colored mantle over its shell, feeds on the living tissue of a soft coral. featured in the spring issue of Good Life Magazine. “He’s more of an underwater landscape photographer, where I am more macro orientated,” Vicki says of the extreme close-ups she enjoys shooting. Taking an underwater photography class once in the Caribbean, Vicki’s instructor pointed her to a small section of reef, motioning her to get close for a photograph. She thought the instructor was crazy, but that’s because she didn’t see the ¼ -inch fish called a blenny poking its tiny head out of the reef. “Only when I got home and started developing the image on my computer did I see the little blenny,” Vicki says. “It’s the things I see after I take a macro shot that fascinate me.”

n opportunity to feed her adventurous spirit lured Vicki into deep waters. Her first year at Wallace, Phil 74

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Hutchens of Barracuda Divers taught a scuba course, and she signed up. “I have always been fascinated with the idea of learning to scuba dive. I had one of those adventurous moments where I decided it was something I was going to do.” With a laugh she adds that she almost didn’t pass. Her new position was far from an 8-to-5 job, and she missed a number of classes. “I told Phil, ‘You just absolutely cannot fail the president of the college for lack of attendance,’” Vicki says. “He said he would work with me.” She got certified but didn’t make her first true dive until 2006, when doing her checkoffs for certification. It was to a sunken sailboat 100 feet deep in a quarry in Pelham. Vicki was nervous. “I am a chicken diver,” she confesses. “I was then. I am now.” Vicki was paired with a big, strapping

dive buddy, and together they descended into the quarry, following a line into the very cold, very dark, very scary water. They were instructed to always stick together as dive buddies are expected to watch out for each other. Deeper and deeper Vicki nervously descended, not wanting to appear chicken to her big buddy. Finally on the bottom, she looked around in the murky water for her dive buddy. With a fright, she realized her buddy was not there. At a complete loss, she waited and looked as she’d been instructed before finally resurfacing … and there was her buddy, safe but shame-faced. “He just had a moment of panic and hoisted himself up,” she laughs. “He left me, which you are not supposed to do.”

ater that year, Vicki washed away the creepy feelings of the deep, dark quarry. She went diving in Hawaii.

Elliptical star coral polyps, above, look as if they might be some sort of pasta. About an inch long, they are found in shallow Caribbean waters. At left is a Christmas tree worm. The two spiral structures, you see are for feeding and respiration. Vicki says using a strobe flash is critical to good underwater photography. That’s because as you get deeper and deeper, you lose more and more sunlight. Red is the first color to disappear, followed by orange, yellow, green, blue and indigo. “The strobe,” she says, “brings out the color.” MAY | JUNE | JULY 2016

“It was beautiful,” Vicki says. The group dove on a wreck which she was not certified to enter, and she disdains closed in places anyway. Still, it was fascinating. “I was so enthralled by a big eel on the deck,” she says. “All sorts of fish were swimming through a window. A turtle swam by. I was amazed at how blue and how warm and clear the water was.” Her husband, Dr. Vincent Karolewics, a radiation oncologist in Cullman and owner of Life First Imaging and Oncology, has been Vicki’s only diving partner since they met in 2009 and married in 2011. On one dive during their Bora Bora honeymoon they swam with nurse sharks and a lemon shark. Neither is generally aggressive toward humans, but still … “I take a deep breath underwater when I see a shark,” Vicki says. “I consider myself its next meal.” You learn to be respectful of a shark’s environment and habitat, to not bring attention to yourself, she says. Usually they just ignore you, but she’s not sure what she’d do if she encountered a hammerhead or bull shark.

ith the luxury of time, the Karolewics would dive more often, but they’re usually limited to the week after Christmas when they often fly to clear, warm Caribbean waters. In 2009, on Bonaire Island off the northern coast of South America, they discovered the beauty of shore diving. Vince gave Vicki a Sealife camera for that trip, and she also discovered a budding love for underwater photography. Most dives are from a boat and involve a guide leading a group of people. Shore diving is simply wading into the ocean with your equipment. It offers the freedom of not being tied to a guide and group, though it does require planning and the ability to navigate by compass. The Karolewics fell in love with the reefs at Karpata beach on the north end of Bonaire. “The reefs are so pristine,” Vicki says. “You go out 2030 feet and you’re immediately diving on top of the reefs.” Though she had fun with her first underwater camera, she was disappointed in the quality of the pictures. The strobe gave her lighting problems. And swimming makes it hard to get the position you want with your subject. “Underwater photography to me is a very hard hobby,”

A red tube sponge grows around feather duster

worms. She shot the photo at 1/250 of a second using an encased Olympus E-PL7 with a 14-42mm zoom lens closed down to f/16. Sea sponges, one of the world’s simplest multi-cellular living organisms, are classified as animals though they have neither brains nor digestive, circulatory and central nervous systems. MAY | JUNE | JULY 2016

Vicki swims with an angelfish, above left. Among the sea critters she has photographed are, continuing clockwise, a tiny blue shrimp; an inch-long jawfish poking its head from a hole, which she shot lying on her stomach in the sand; and blue-eyed hermit crab. It was not until she “developed” her photos on the computer that she discovered the hermit crab had blue eyes. Vicki says. “It’s not using a point-andshoot camera.”

fter that trip, Vicki got some tips from David Moss. She took an underwater photography class at Southern Skin Divers in Birmingham. She also got a new camera – a NIKON d700, with an underwater housing, macro lens and a strobe system she found much easier to use. “It makes a difference to have a good camera,” Vicki says. Her underwater photos got better and better. Over the holidays last Christmas, while 78

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she and Vince dove at Grand Cayman, Vicki rented An Olympus Pen with two strobes, a smaller and more manageable housing, and a fisheye lens for wide views. “I loved it,” Vicki says. “But it’s so expensive to buy, I think I will just rent one from now on.” She credits underwater photo classes she’s taken from Cathy Church in the Caymans with advancing her macro techniques and eye for the minute. As a result, she is bringing to the surface art in her images of the tiny details of the submerged world of the vast seas. “That’s my motivation,” says Vicki.

“If you think this world is magnificent with all that we see, there is even more underwater.” “It’s a magnificence not exposed to the elements of everyday life on the land. There are no cars, no buildings, no bricks. It is quiet, beautiful and different.” “I am in such awe of God’s creation underwater,” she says, “that you just can’t begin to explain it in words.” But the images she captures while relieving herself of the pressure of achieving excellence at Wallace State do a fine job of speaking for her. Good Life Magazine

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Out ’n’ About Fifty years ago, learning and skill development started at what is now Wallace State Community College in Hanceville. A stroll out and about on campus on a recent spring morning shows that it is still occurring –– but at a level of excellence and a scope never imagined as people young and not so young look to improve their lot in life. Steven Moore of Cullman, at right, is one of those people. Tired of electrical maintenance work, he’s enrolling in the lobby of the towering Bailey Center. “I’m looking for a new career,” he says. Steven plans to study health information technology starting next semester. At top right, Stacy Brunner teaches psychology 200. Megan Zerillo teaches the fundamentals of nursing to about 125 of the 172 first semester nursing students. Bottom right, taking a break between classes to enjoy the gorgeous spring day, a group of students kick a soccer ball, throw a football and toss a baseball ... just to cover most of the bases. The group includes Jacob Grisso of Oneonta, Amy Hill of Cullman, Chaz Schram of Oneonta, Chance Sampson of Blountsville, Autumn Stephens of Asbury and Jaylend Handley of Fairview. 80

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The same morning, clockwise from upper left, Ethan Burgess of Cullman practices tig welding on a pipe. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s one of 55 dayand 12 night-students in the program, says welding instructor Jim Thompson. The Wallace State Singers, under the direction of Tiffany Richter, practice one of their pieces in the Burrow Center for the Fine and Performing Arts. In the Tom Bevill Health Education Building, Blakey Fendley of Kimberly, Stephanie Horton of Holly Pond, Michael Moon of Huntsville and Ryan Ratliff of Hayden work on a manikin in their EMT class. In the automotive mechanics shop, Jonathan Holt of Pinson and John Day of Hartselle practice wheel alignment skills. In the machine tool technology division, Michael Addison of Cullman develops his milling techniques. At bottom left, Kana Coker of Cleveland gives some color to Kylie McGraw of Cullman in the cosmetology department. Photos by David Moore. MAY | JUNE | JULY 2016

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