Cullman Good Life Magazine - Spring 2015 by The Good Life Magazine

Cullman County

Old downtown buildings take on new lives – and looks – for owners Edie Mobley’s beautiful garden has sprung from depths of sorrow Teresa Dyer offers scrumptious ideas for (sorta) light eating SPRING 2015 complimentary

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Cullman folks with vision ride the train of renovation S

ome folks don’t throw away enough old stuff. (Hi, Mom!) Others are too quick to chuck things still of value … such as old buildings. One indicator of Cullman’s energy pulse is the number of businesses that renovate old buildings, such as Hill Real Estate, the medical offices next door to it, Brown and Co. Beverage and the warehouse district downtown. In this magazine you’ll find stories on other examples. For one, I spoke with Jock Leonard of Leonard Design, architect on the renovation for Cullman

County Economic Development. Renovation and preservation became popular in the 1960s, Jock says, partly because it’s generally cheaper than building new, partly because so many fine old buildings were being demolished and replaced by cookie cutter structures or worse. When I was in high school in Birmingham, “they” razed the grand old Birmingham Terminal Station. The two-block Byzantine-inspired Beaux-Arts train depot had twin towers and a massive dome that featured intricate tile work and a cut glass

skylight. It was to be replaced with a big development that failed. Ultimately the land became part of the spaghettiramped interchange for I-20/59 and the Red Mountain Expressway. I’d say “they” missed the train. But Cullman has folks with vision, folks who see the potential and character inherent to many old buildings ... folks who won’t miss the train.

David Moore Publisher/editor

Contributors It’s a leap of faith when you jump out of a perfectly good airplane. It might or might not surprise you that Deb Laslie has done that. No fear (at least after you reach the ground in one piece). She also has no fear of trying new authors, or new “old” authors as the case might be. It’s how she came up with her book reviews in this issue. Patrick Oden contributes his talents to Marshall County Good Life Magazine and now writes about Carlton’s Italian Restaurant in this publication. Enjoy what he serves up. He holds a degree from Utah State and a master’s from Ohio University, where he furthered his knowledge of photography and visual communications. Good Life art director and advertising manager Sheila McAnear sees things most others can’t. Give her a few photos and scribbled notes for an ad, and she sees incredible graphic art potential just waiting to burst out. While she’s designed most of the ads in this issue, the CPR ad on the facing page could be Exhibit A. 6

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Sometimes Steve Maze actually interviews people for historic or nostalgia-flavored stories then writes them. Sometimes he just digs into his rather extensive files and whips one out that he wrote once upon a time. Such is the case with his story about Saturday night baths ... in the kind of tub without running water. Some folks look normal, but peer beneath their skin and you find they aren’t. They really do have green thumbs. Most folks just have the usual thumb meat and bones. It’s to help the bumbling majority of us that Tony Glover and the Cullman County Extension exist. In this issue he shares his expertise on tomatoes.

Spring always seems to sneak up on publisher/editor David Moore and surprise him with its rebirth of beauty. But this spring might be different. He spent the dreariest weeks of January laying out photos of beautiful spring yards, Edie Mobley’s garden and red ’maters. He knows pretty weather is coming.

Ways to burnover Calories at

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1 hour of biking at the Duck River Reservoir Trails =

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508 calories burned

1 hour of Jogging at Heritage Park =

557 calories burned

1 hour of Youth Sports Practice and Games =

571 calories burned

The possibilities are endless. Get Out And Live. Join CP&R this year in building a stronger, healthier community. Stay active and healthier by using one of our parks or recreational facilities.

Inside 11 Good Fun

Take a trip to Greece, or even Mayberry

16 Good People

From vision to reality, Dawn Owens is linking resources to change lives

20 Good Reads

A bear of a sheriff; a bear of a writer

22 Good ’n’ Green

Be the first to harvest your own BLT

25 Good Cooking

For Teresa Dyer it’s all about the food

32 The Garden of Edie

Her English-style garden is beautiful as is, but her story makes it incredible

42 Good Eats

Carlton’s adds “family” to great food

44 Saturday night baths

Heating water on the stove, taking turns in a washtub was an adventure

49 Recycling old buildings

Three stories explore how, why and the results behind renovation efforts by Loft 212, Cullman County Economic Development and Nearen Construction

On the cover: Dogwoods blooming in the front yard of a house on 10th Street S.E. in Cullman say springtime. And it won’t be too long before they bloom again. Pictured here: It’s not the Garden of Eden, it’s the Garden of Edie. It will begin turning lush this spring and continue into the summer and early fall.

59 Antiques and furniture

Finders Keepers and Southern Accents

62 Out ’n’ About

Springtime does its annual makeover in Cullman Historic District

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

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Local photos that will be part of “The Way We Worked” include, from top: The Cullman Flying 50’s, leaders such as Big Jim Folsom who recruited King Edward Cigar, King Pharr and other companies that brought in jobs; youngsters picking cotton in Cullman; drivers for Brown Cab Co. Photos provided by Michael Kimbrough.

t’s something most of us do, used to do or will do for much of our lives … work. It’s something our parents, grandparents and other ancestors did. Menial or important, it was a big part of their lives and played, to some degree, a part in building this country. This is what “The Way We Worked” will celebrate when the Smithsonian Institution’s traveling exhibition stops Feb. 10 - March 20 at The Evelyn Burrow Museum on the campus of Wallace State Community College. The exhibit, which spans 150 years of changes in the workforce and workplace, is visiting only six locations in Alabama. Using historical photos, archival accounts of workers, film, audio and interactives, the exhibit’s display panels and kiosks tell the compelling story of how work impacts our individual lives and the historical and cultural fabric of our communities. Elaine Fuller, director of the Cullman Museum, helped set up the exhibit when it visited Pell City, Red Bay and Athens. She was struck by the span and diversity of information. Sections on farming were especially interesting to her. “It shows us all, especially our school kids, how far we’ve come in the way we work,” she says, adding that she hopes the exhibit attracts people from out of town. The exhibit also includes local components, one of which is a 15-minute video produced by The University of Alabama’s Photo Booth project. In it, 50 people, from farmers to mayors, explain what brought them to Cullman,

Good fun

• Feb. 3 – Alex DePue and Miguel De Hoyos The Cullman Community Concert Association season continues with a fiery violin and guitar duo of Alex DePue and Miguel De Hoyos blazing their way through a supercharged, genre-crossing repertoire at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Betty Leeth Haynes Theatre at Wallace State Community College. Studying violin since 5, DePue has won classical competitions and played as guest soloist with orchestras and at festivals worldwide. He’s won fiddling titles from Michigan and Texas to California and Alabama and appeared on TV and in films. In 2007 he toured with rock guitarist Steve Vai in Europe and North and South America. He’s now teamed with Mexican guitarist De Hoyos, taking their unique sound to venues as diverse as the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Mrs. World Pageant in Tijuana and the International Bluegrass Music Association in Nashville. Tickets are on sale the night of the concert at the door: $30 individuals; $10 students. • Feb. 12 – “Brothers Hypnotic” Part of Wallace State’s independent film series, the movie documents eight

their first job and what they are doing now. “It’s interesting to follow them,” Fuller says. The booth will be at the exhibit and visitors can be videoed as part of a WSCC art department project. There also will be displays by 10 local industries plus NASA. And 50 oil paintings of hands of North Alabamian workers by Morgan County artist Lee Nabors will be on display. Developed with the National Archives and Records Administration,

sons of jazz legend Phil Cohran who reluctantly performed with him as youngsters. Now they’re trying to make it as the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, producing transcendent music that pulls from jazz, funk, soul and hip-hop. Playing in Times Square, negotiating with managers, jamming with Mos Def and Prince … the unwavering ideals bred into them by their father are repeatedly tested. The free show is at 6 p.m. Thursday in the recital hall at the Burrow Center for the Fine and Performing Arts. • Feb. 19 – The Magic of Success The Cullman Area Chamber’s 72nd Annual Meeting and Gala will be Thursday at Stone Bridge Farms. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. The program starts at 6 with a post-party from 8-10:30. The theme is “The Magic of Success” with guest speaker Joe Turner. The professional mentalist and magician dazzles with complex trickery while inspiring with business expertise and insight. For more information, contact the chamber: 256-734-0454; or info@ cullmanchamber.org • Feb. 23 – Cape Cod and the Islands

As always, there is no charge to visit The Evelyn Burrow Museum at Wallace State Community College in Hanceville. It is open for “The Way We Worked” exhibit during regular hours: • 9 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays • 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturdays

“The Way We Worked” is part of the Smithsonian’s Museum on Main Street, in collaboration with state humanities councils across the nation

How’s a seven-day tour of Boston, Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket and Newport sound for June 7? The trip includes airfare to Boston and back, six nights at the Doubletree Hotel Hyannis in Massachusetts, ferry transportation, nine meals and more. Learn more at a 6 p.m. meeting Feb. 23 on the 12th floor of the Bailey Center at Wallace State. You can register there if you are interested. The tour is sponsored by the WSCC Alumni Association. You don’t have to be a member to go, but it saves you $100 off the already discounted nonmember price of $2,099. For more information: LaDonna Allen, alumni coordinator, 256-3528071; or ladonna.allen@wallacestate. edu. • Feb. 28 – Little Black Dress The annual soirée is set for 6-11:30 Saturday at Top of the Town. You look good in black but you can wear any color you want. Show it off dancing. The Bootyshakers band from Decatur promises “the most enjoyable sore feet you’ll ever have.” The silent auction returns along with fabulous food. Sponsored by Wallace State Alumni Association, tickets are $75 per person; proceeds support scholarships for

and local host institutions. The local exhibition is a joint project of the City of Cullman, Cullman Area Chamber of Commerce, Cullman County Museum, Cullman Economic Development Agency and Wallace State. “Allowing all of our state’s residents to have access to the cultural resources of our nation’s premiere museum is a priority of the Alabama Humanities Foundation,” said its head, Armand DeKeyser. For more information: www. alabamahumanities.org. FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL

women enrolled at WSCC For more information: LaDonna Allen, 256-352-8071.

The popular Mystery Trip sponsored by the Cullman Park and Recreation’s Donald E. Green Senior Center will be in April (please see bottom of this page), but it’s not the only trip the in the works. While the Alaska cruise has already filled up, you can sign up for “Mayberry Days” Sept. 24-29. A motorcoach full of Cullman folks will be going to Mt. Airy, N.C., site of Mayberry, The Biltmore in Asheville and the Smokey Mountain Opry and Hatfield and McCoy Shows at Pigeon Forge. The price has not yet been set but will include transportation, lodging, big meals and entertainment. Among recent trips the seniors have made was one to New York City, above, where Betty Ross and Ruth Edmonson enjoyed some street shopping. Another trip was to Jackson Hole, Wyo., where they rafted on the Snake River, above. For more information: Angie Jochum, 256-734-4803.

• March – deadline for Greece trip Space available, you can still sign up for the Greece tour sponsored by Wallace State and the Evelyn Burrow Museum. The group will fly out of Birmingham May 18 and use Athens as base of exploring far-flung sites including the Acropolis, Delphi, Olympia, Epidaurus and Mycenae. The estimated price of $3,200 ($3,000 for students) includes all transportation, seven nights in hotels with private baths and much more. For details visit: www.wallacestate. edu/abroad. • March 17 – New Shanghai Circus As a finale to its season, the Cullman Community Concert Association presents this acrobatic troupe that brings 2,000 years of tradition to life with gymnastic medalists in a colorful, athletic-theatrical presentation. CBS News called it “Fantastic!” The spectacle starts 7 p.m., Tuesday in the Betty Leeth Haynes Theatre at Wallace State. Tickets will be sold that night at the door: $30 individuals; $10 students. • March 19 - “The Starfish Throwers” Wallace State’s free independent film series continues with “The Starfish Throwers.” Filmmaker Jesse Roesler follows a chef in India, a young girl in South Carolina and a retired Minneapolis teacher as they grow, make and distribute food to the hungry in their communities. The movie’s many awards include Best Overall Film and Best Documentary at the 2014 Myrtle Beach Film Festival and the Audience Award in the Global Health Competition at the Cleveland International Film Festival. It starts at 6 p.m. Thursday in the recital hall at the Burrow Center for the Fine and Performing Arts. • April 9 – Mystery Trip Register fast if you want to take the Mystery Trip organized by the Cullman Park and Recreation’s Donald E. Green

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL

Senior Center. Cost is $100 and includes transportation, food and entertainment. The 55-seat tour bus fills fast. Last year’s surprise destination was to the military museum and U.G. White Store at Athens, along with a lunch and show – Willie Nelson, Patsy Cline and Conway Twitty tribute bands – at Yesterday’s and more. Previous Mystery Trips include a train ride from Nashville to Lebanon, Tenn., to see Civil War reenactments; lunch at an antebellum home in Montgomery, a tour of the capitol and a photo shoot with then-Gov. Bob Riley; and a trip to Tupelo to visit Elvis’s birthplace, a private car museum and to feed buffalo at a wildlife park. Among the other trips planned by the CPR senior center is a May 7 visit to the Bear Bryant Museum in Tuscaloosa. Feel free to stop by the center 8 a.m.-5 p.m., weekdays (except Thursdays) for recreation and fellowship. It’s located at 1625 Cleveland Ave. SW near Field of Miracles. For more information: Angie Jochum, 256-734-4803. • April 9-12 – “Into the Woods” Take the most popular of Grimm’s Fairy Tales and weave them into a Tony-Award-winning musical and you have “Into the Woods.” The Fine and Performing Arts program at Wallace State Community College presents its version of the Broadway hit (and recently Disney hit movie) that involves “Little Red Riding Hood,” “Jack and the Beanstalk,” “Rapunzel,” “Cinderella” and others – including, of course, a wicked witch. It all comes alive in the Betty Leeth Haynes Theatre in the Student Center with 7 p.m. shows Thursday-Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $10. • April 19 – “If You Build It” This documentary by Patrick Creadon follows designeractivists Emily Pilloton and Matthew Miller as they work with high school students in Bertie County, N.C., to help transform their communities through a building project. Living on credit and grants and fighting a stubborn school board, they lead their students through a year-

s n Va

long, full-scale project that does far more than teach basic construction skills. Part of Wallace State’s independent film series, the free movie starts at 6 p.m. Thursday in the recital hall at the Burrow Center.

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Good People

5questions Story and photo by David Moore

The Link of Cullman County is a growing, faith-based non-profit group in Cullman working to transform the lives of those in poverty while fostering community. That organization was non-existent in May 2010 when Dawn and Chris Owens felt called to move from Ohio to his southern hometown. They came with a multi-faceted quandary that boiled down to a two-part question and a follow-up: What was God’s plan, collectively or individually, for them in Cullman? For Chris, that may not yet be fully revealed. But after Dawn felt led to start what today is The Link, her follow-up question was: How could an outsider – “a chick from Philly,” as she puts it – possibly build the sort of network of people in Cullman that is needed to make the ambitious, farreaching program ever work? A seemingly chance meeting at Miami University in Ohio led to Dawn and Chris getting married. They later felt called to move to Cullman to start a non-denominational church. They tried, but it did not work out. “We knew the Lord brought us here for a reason, but we weren’t sure what it was,” Dawn says. Prayer and fasting led her to a vision, she thought, of Chris forming an organization “set like a hub in a wheel” to bring together churches and other groups to help Cullman’s poor. “Great vision,” Chris told her in early 2011, “but that’s not going to happen in Cullman unless something really big blows thorough here and shakes it up.” “My husband had a bit of prophecy 16

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Dawn Owens

Linking a community’s myriad resources with those struggling to escape poverty in him,” Dawn says from her desk at The Link. “Four months later the tornado blew through, and I am sitting here today.”

1. How did The Link get started?

When we moved here, I still worked my old job, providing software training for colleges and universities. I didn’t know anyone in Cullman except Chris and my in-laws, Linda and James Owens. In 2011 I had a CT scan done on a lump I’d had on my neck for years. It turned out to be a rare but benign carotid body tumor. The surgery to remove it lasted six and a half hours. My recovery was long and hard. I could not swallow. I lost my job because I could not talk. But it led me to a place where I had to trust and obey God every day. I still thought my vision of helping people was for Chris. So I wrote for a while for CullmanSense, but I felt led to do women’s ministries and write a book. I even had an agent lined up, but when I set down to write, I had nothing to write. I said, “OK, God, what do I do?” He made it extremely clear to me one day during my morning devotional. I was reading about King David bringing his army to invade a city and capture a traitor. They stopped at the wall, and an unnamed woman up on the wall asked David what she could do for him. He said bring him the traitor’s head and he wouldn’t attack the city. She returned, threw the head out to David and he spared the city. No one knew her name, it was never mentioned. The woman on the wall wanted to make a difference in her city. I’m not

going to sling a head over the wall, but I realized I was that woman. God wanted me to make a difference in this city. My earlier vision had been for me, not Chris. You have to know people to create an organization such as this, but I was some chick from Philly nobody here knew. So I had to trust God. I started meeting with people, and one person led to the next. It was amazing how many doors were opened to people I had no reason to have access to. We started our first program in fall 2012. It was called Money Skills for Teens, a financial education program we started at Childhaven and Vinemont High. Dr. Brandon Payne, the Vinemont principal then, saw the vision for teaching basic financial responsibility. People’s Bank was the initial funder. It would take the entire magazine to tell that amazing God story, but the program is now in six county and city schools, 30 classrooms, one hour a week. Last semester 20 facilitators gave their time to teach Wise Up, we can always use more. I was running Wise Up without a building, but I knew the vision was for us to do more. We opened this building in January 2013. It used to be the preschool for St. John’s Evangelical Protestant Church. They give it to us free of rent. They believe in our programs and are very generous to us. With their help and the help of many others, we’ve grown a lot in two years.

What is your philosophy behind The Link? We are still trying to link resources together, but our main focus is life

Snapshot: Dawn Owens

Education: Grew up outside of Philadelphia in Havertown, Pa.; graduated high school 1992. Earned BA in professional writing, minor in PR and speech communications and master’s in student affairs and higher education, both from Kutztown University, Pa.; is “this close” to a seminary degree from Cincinnati Christian University. Previous experience: Kutztown, Miami University and University of Cincinnati in student affairs and alumni; was a vender out of Cincinnati and later Cullman for Hobsons higher education software products. Family: Married Chris Owens of Cullman in May 2004; met while she was at Miami University and he worked for a while for ATO fraternity. Chris now works at Fastenal. Their son, Sawyer, is 5.

transformation. Those in poverty need Jesus first, but they also need services and programs to teach them about life transformation. And we want them to experience this through relationships within our community. We believe “give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.” But we want to take it a step further and encourage that person to have pride in the “pond.” It’s the idea that if the pond dries up, then people who are invested in it need to decide what will happen to that pond; that we, as a community, choose to invest in the solution to refill the pond. Many people think that those in poverty don’t have much to bring to the community table; that we should just give them what they need. But we believe people in poverty have gifts and talents, passions and leadership potential. They have something they can give back to help refill that pond. Ultimately, we want to help transform people in poverty so they will want to give back. We’re teaching people who they are, who they were created to be, then equipping and empowering them with skills and character traits they need to be successful. We want to teach people to be authentic, to be people of integrity, to honor and respect other people and authority, to be honest and have a good work ethic. I can tell my 5-year old to be sweet, kind and nice, but if I am not any of those things, my words mean nothing to him. If he sees me model these things, though, hopefully they will become inherent in him. The Link strives to help the community become a model for the people we reach.

What programs and services does The Link offer through its volunteers, and what sort of people do you recruit? 18

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL

The board Members of the board that oversees The Link of Cullman County are: Lindsey Dossey, Nesha Donaldson, Clay Colvard, Stacie Carter, Bo Shirey, Dawn Owens and Stephen Skinner.

The programs and services we currently provide are goal setting, career coaching, job seeker classes, financial counseling, addiction recovery classes, adult literacy coaching and English as a second language. We mentor elementary age students, provide financial education classes in the high schools and teach job preparedness classes in the Cullman County Detention Center. We have more than 100 volunteers at any time but are always recruiting more. Most of the commitments are for about an hour a week, but some services extend a little longer. We look for individuals who are passionate about serving children, teens or adults and are willing to use their gifts and talents to serve these people. We prefer that they have a relationship with Jesus Christ, but they don’t have to. If you have a love for people and a willingness to walk with them and not look for a quick fix, then by all means, give us a call.

What does it cost to keep The Link in business? Last year we had about $15,000 in grants – which we want to increase – and existed on an income of $238,000. We were stretched thin because we doubled the number of people we had helped in 2013 to 2,200, which we served without adding any new staff. You can look at it this way: We spend about $108 per person with an average of 15 hours of support, which is about $7 per hour. So for $7 an hour, a donor can know they are making an investment of

one-on-one time in most cases. For the businesses and individuals who help us maintain what we do in this community, we are extremely grateful. We can do our best to exist with this amount of money and do what we do, but we have a dream of doing much more this year. While we open doors to allow life-changing experiences, at the same time we feel like pieces are missing, so this year we are launching a new Life Change Program to better streamline the process for people who really want transformation, who truly want to flourish. Our vision for 2015 is to help people flourish, which is taken from Mark 4:8 – “Some fell on good earth and came up with a flourish, producing a harvest exceeding his wildest dreams.” We recognize that not everyone is ready for lifetransformation, but we want to make a deeper investment this year in those who are. People who are interested in the Life Change Program will go through orientation, take an assessment and then create an individual life plan. They’ll receive incentives to participate in mentoring groups and to take classes. Incentives will include gift cards, work clothes or vouchers for childcare and transportation. I hope to get some banks on board that would consider offering low-interest rates to purchase a car or home. We are being intentional about engaging people for long-term relationships, so these will be oneto two-year plans. This is all with the idea of empowering people to have pride in the pond. Our win will come when the graduates decide to become mentors. We started a Flourish campaign to raise money to make the impact we would like to have in the community. It will take more than double what we brought in last year to see this happen for the community.

Maybe you’re no longer an unknown “chick from Philly,” but what’s something most people still don’t know about you?

The Link can use your help You can be a link in The Link’s efforts. The Cullman non-profit can always use volunteers passionate about helping people find their way out of poverty through life transformation. Donations are essential to keeping and expanding The Link’s life-transformational services. Last year, 2,200 people received about 15 hours of one-on-one help. Any amount is appreciated, but $90 can make an extreme difference in someone’s life, says Link founder and executive director Dawn Owens. If you want to see the results of The Link of Cullman County’s life-transformational services, you are invited to attend its annual event, called “Flourish” which will be from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Thursday, March 5 at Loft 212. Tickets are $25 and include lunch; RSVP by Feb. 18. For reservations, more information or to donate, call: 256-7750028. For more on The Link visit: www.linkingcullman.org.

Actually, I grew up in a broken home. I know what it feels like to be in poverty. My father left when I was 14. My stay-at-home mom got a job at a party goods store to help provide for us. I, too, had to start contributing to help us stay afloat. I didn’t think college was in my future, but by the grace of God I was able to go. My younger sister dropped out of school went she was 17 and had her first child at 19. She was on WIC and food stamps. She was working but she could barely provide. Five years later she got married. Two years later she had twins. They still struggled on WIC and food stamps, even though she and her husband both worked. So I understand the challenges of not having a GED. My sister did not

get her GED until she was 30, and that was because I kept encouraging her. Today she’s not only a cosmetologist, but also a certified cosmetology teacher. I am extremely proud of her.

She’s had a life transformation. My sister was the first one I ever worked with, but she’s not the last one I have seen transform her life, which, of course, is exactly what we do at The Link.

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FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL

Good Reads

Forget the show; Longmire will make you read the series

‘The Bear Went Over the Mountain,’ joined the literati

in this case, the TV series. In Craig Johnson’s “The Cold Dish,” Walt Longmire is thinking about retiring as sheriff of modern-day Absaroka County, Wyo. While considering that, he needs to I sometimes forgot about finish the house he how spiritual Henry started building four was. I had been raised as years ago (and halted at his wife’s death), a Methodist where the deal with a young highest sacrament was the Turk (named Turk) bake sale. vying for his job, a female deputy from Philadelphia (farther than just miles from Wyoming) and the ever-present locals from Cheyenne Indian Reservation. Walt is sustained by Dorothy, the owner of the Busy Bee café who serves him “the usual” along with local gossip that is more reliable than any news service, and his best friend from Vietnam, Henry Standing Bear who also happens to own the Red Pony Bar. A marvelous mix of believable characters, superb storytelling, mystery, a smidgen of romance (“It must be the uniform Walt, it’s not your looks”) … his series has it all. Start with “The Cold Dish” and you’ll want them all. – Deb Laslie

Mountain” is nothing like the children’s song. This book is a hilarious satire of the publishing industry, the literati, the elite who are oh-so-much-more enlightened than we mere mortals. There it was (the scent), Here’s the premise: A moist, cool. “Salmon.” struggling author writes “Yes, they do it a truly great novel and hides it in the woods. skewered with tomatoes, (Don’t ask.) A bear mushrooms, and green finds the manuscript, peppers.” “Raw,” said the reads it, dons a suit and bear with a resurgence of takes it to New York City to be published. primal authority. “Raw?” Seemingly overnight the “Raw female. Lots of eggs. bear becomes the latest In my teeth.” The bear literary wunderkind. tapped at his incisors. My Everyone fauns over god, thought Boykins, he him. He enjoys the attention, but mostly he IS another Hemingway. enjoys the sweets. Having lived and worked at “Hahvahd” for several years, reading this book was a reminder of how much I love my hometown. Despite the title, this is not a book for kids, but, oh my, what a wonderful way to rid yourself of the winter blahs. – Deb Laslie

The book is always better than the movie, or

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL

William Kotzwinkle’s “The Bear Went Over the

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL

Good ‘n’ Green Story by Tony Glover Photo by David Moore

After a long winter of eating

store-bought ’maters, every Southerner I know longs for the succulent mouthwatering taste of a vine-ripe tomato from his or her own garden. We not only long for the flavor and texture we have not experienced in months, but many of us want to be the first one to pick a truly vine-ripened fruit. Here are some tips you can use to increase your chances of getting that first ripe ’mater … • Determinate varieties bloom first Genetically, tomato plants may be either indeterminate or determinate in their growth. Simply speaking, indeterminate varieties continue to grow as long as the plant lives and will continue to set fruit as it gets taller and taller. In contrast, determinate varieties usually produce a concentrated group of tomatoes that ripen during a relatively short time then stop producing fruit. For home gardeners, indeterminate varieties are the most popular. But if you want to harvest the first ripe tomato in the neighborhood, plant two or three determinate varieties. Then you’ll have some ripe tomatoes while waiting for the longer season varieties to come in. Some early season determinate varieties to consider are Bush Early Girl, Better Bush, Bush Beefsteak and Early Wonder. (I like Early Girl for its longer and heavier production.) Besides producing early, these determinates are small enough to grow in containers and require minimal support. • Start early Another key to earliness is either starting your own seed and growing 22

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Here’s the dirt on growing

Early Tomatoes

Wlliam Burks at Burks Farm likes to grow Tasti-Lee tomatoes to sell at his stand in Simcoe and at the Festhalle. It’s a 65-day determinate variety he says he likes because it’s high in lycopene. They’re also beautiful. your own plants, or buying small plants as soon as they’re available and growing them in a container you can keep indoors at night and cold days. Move them outside as weather permits.

• Watch your soil temp If you grow your own, start seeds by early February using high-quality grow lights.

About heirloom tomatoes Story by Tony Glover

I am frequently asked about heirloom tomatoes and I

know there is some confusion about them. For starters, an “heirloom” tomato is not a single variety you can ask for by that name at a garden center. The term describes a number of varieties whose seeds have been passed down from generation to generation. Heirlooms are not hybrids like many modern tomatoes. They don’t cross-pollinate easily, allowing them to be passed down over the years relatively unchanged. Many heirloom varieties have come from eastern Europe since the fall of the Iron Curtain and are new to America. They have grown popular as people seek better and unique flavors. They come in many colors, shapes and sizes that are grown both for flavor and some particular novelty such as unusual shapes or color. Often their history or uniqueness is reflected in their name. For example, Jeff Davis originated in Alabama in the late 1800s. Brandywine is a popular heirloom variety named for a creek in Chester County, Penn., where it originated. Some varieties have interesting stories behind their name, such as Mortgage Lifter. The story goes that a West Virginian who fell on hard times during the Great Depression selected out this very large fruited variety and Be patient and wait to transplant until the soil outside has warmed to near 70 degrees. Soil temperature is not the same as air temperature. (Invest in a good soil thermometer to get accurate measurements.) You can speed up soil warming by bringing your containers indoors for several days prior to transplanting. If you plant in a garden, use raised beds or mound soil up a few inches above the natural soil grade. Also, add organic matter, which warms much faster than heavy clay soils. Lastly, you can cover the garden soil with plastic. If you use black plastic you can even leave the plastic in place and simply plant through a hole in the plastic. Make sure you have a way to get water to the plants. For a row of plants you may want to place a soaker hose underneath the

The popular Brandywine heirloom is known for its rich color and sweetly acidic taste sold enough plants over four years to pay off his home mortgage. In Cullman people are familiar with German Johnson or German Pink due to the heritage of the community. Arnold Caylor, director of the North Alabama Horticulture Research station in Cullman, says they have studied several heirloom varieties and found them more prone to disease, fruit rots and fruit cracking, and they have smaller yields than the newer hybrids. Still, some produce interesting and tasty fruit. Arnold grows the Mexico and Azoychka varieties in his personal garden.

plastic prior to pinning the plastic in place. Clear plastic heats the soil even faster but you must remove it before planting or weeds and excess heat could become an issue later. • Toughen plants first It is important to harden off, or toughen up tomato plants prior to setting them out. Expose them to some wind and cooler conditions for several days to get them used to the harsher environment of the outdoors. • Fight BER One last tip for getting the earliest fruit possible relates to a common tomato disorder called blossom end rot, or BER. It looks like a disease because the fruit develops a dark colored, hard rotted area on the end opposite the

stem. But actually BER is a disorder related to calcium deficiency in the fruit. It’s one reason we always encourage people to check their soil pH. If the pH is below 5.8 or so, it is a good idea to add lime (to add calcium) and increase the pH. However, in cool spring soils the plant often has a hard time developing a root system that moves enough calcium to the rapidly growing fruit. So, in addition to adding lime, ensure your plants have an adequate and even water supply. Also, spray calcium chloride, often called Rot-Stop at garden centers, on the tomatoes weekly once they reach 1-2 inches in diameter. I’ll leave the BLT recipes up to you once your first tomatoes ripen on the vine. FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL

February 10-March 20, 2015 The Evelyn Burrow Museum at Wallace State Community College, Hanceville, AL

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL

Good Cooking

Cooking (sorta) light For Teresa Dyer, it’s all about the food ... just ask her family Story and photos by David Moore

eresa Dyer stays busy cooking with her company, Custom Catering. Really busy. But she appears to have so much fun it seems unfair to call it work. That’s because she loves cooking. In fact, she loves it so much it’s part of her prenuptial – well, actually, postnuptial – agreement with Scott. “When we got married I told him, ‘Do you want a skinny wife or a wife that cooks? Because you aren’t going to get both!’” Teresa laughs. “He chose a wife that cooks.” That, still laughing, was 28 years, two grown sons and 40 pounds ago. Youngest of five children, Teresa grew up in Good Hope, helping her late mom, Freda Mae Scott, a great cook, in the kitchen. Her dad, Hubert, was a good cook, too. “I probably did more cooking than I remember, but Mom turned out all of the meals,” Teresa says. “After I got married, then she started teaching me.” Her husband, Scott, is great at grilling and smoking, and in 1996 they built The Point at West Point, serving up BBQ, burgers and ice cream. The place seated 96 folks, and even Teresa, who loves cooking, says it was hard work. “We stayed so busy. For three years the boys grew up there,” she says.

They sold it in 1999 (it’s now the Branding Iron) so she could home school the boys. The next year, however, when they built a house at their farm in Jones Chapel, she requested a commercial kitchen in the basement. “I was serious about cooking,” Teresa says. “I said if you build a kitchen, I will make a living.” That same year they started Custom Catering, with Scott as her silent partner handling the smoking. Teresa meanwhile whips up everything from homemade soup and chicken and dumplings to prime rib and chicken cordon bleu; laying out buffets to seven-course meals.

Teresa Dyer holds a nice plate of her wonderful chicken salad.

Did someone say they’re busy?

In the span of one January week, they catered one breakfast, three lunches for 20-50 people each, fed 100 National Guardsmen on two days, another 160 people at Web Wheel then served 300 people at the swearing-in ceremony for Sheriff Matt Gentry. The Dyers cater two or three weddings a month, often mixing in a class reunion, corporate event or two and maybe an event for the Cullman Chamber of Commerce. They used to handle 1,500-person events for Walmart but now limit the masses to 500. “I’m getting old,” Teresa laughs. For Good Life Magazine, she offers some light recipes. Well, sorta light. Read on ... FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL

MOZZARELLA-TOMATO-CUCUMBER SALAD 3 fresh tomatoes 3 medium cucumbers 2 balls of mozzarella cheese Fresh basil leaves (optional) Salt and pepper to taste Dressing: 1/4 cup red wine vinegar 1/4 tsp. garlic powder or granulated 1 tsp. Dijon mustard 1/2 tsp. salt

2 tbsp. sugar 1 cup olive oil Juice of one lemon Slice tomatoes, cucumbers and mozzarella cheese the same thickness. Place veggies and cheese on a serving platter, overlapping slices, starting with tomato, then cucumber and cheese. When platter is covered with

slices, sprinkle salt and pepper. Make dressing, mixing well, and drizzle over layers and top with a few leaves of basil. I am not a fan of cucumbers, so I omit them altogether whenever I make this salad for myself. My advice is that whenever you find a recipe that sounds good, customize it to your taste. And enjoy! – Teresa

SPICY POTATO SALAD 5 pounds red potatoes, peeled and cubed 12 eggs, boiled, peeled and diced 1 medium onion, chopped 1 pint mayonnaise 1 pint sour cream 1 pound bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled 3-1/2 tbsp. Tony’s creole seasoning (divided) 2 tsp. salt, or to taste Boil potatoes until just tender. 26

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Drain. While potatoes are cooking, mix all other ingredients, using only 3 tbsp. of seasoning. In a large bowl, gently mix potatoes with wet ingredients until blended. Do not over stir – you don’t want mashed potatoes. Sprinkle top with 1/2 tbsp. Tony’s creole seasoning. Chill before serving. My family has named this dish

“Mary’s Potato Salad” for obvious reasons. The recipe came to me from a dear friend in 2003. Her name was Mary, and she was a pillar of the community. She went to live with Jesus in 2004 and is greatly missed. She is always thought about whenever I put this dish on our dinner table. Thanks, Mary J. – Teresa

ASIAN GINGER STEAK SALAD Marinade: 6 green onions, chopped 2 tbsp. soy sauce 3 Roma tomatoes, sliced 1 tbsp. rice wine vinegar 2 tbsp. olive oil Mix dressing well and chill 1224 hours. Ginger dressing: Mix marinade well and place 3 tbsp. olive oil in a sealed container with 16 oz. 1 tbsp. soy sauce of steak of your choice. Chill for 1 tbsp. minced garlic 2-4 hours; can leave up to 12 1 tbsp. ginger, grated hours. 1 tbsp. white sugar Grill steak. Let rest 20 minutes 1 lime, juiced before slicing. 1 tsp. jalapeno diced Mix salad and top with dressing; toss and place on Salad: serving platter; place sliced steak Romaine lettuce on top of salad mixture. Serve Spring mix or spinach immediately.

CHICKEN SALAD 5 cups cooked chicken breast, diced or pulled apart (about 8 breasts) 3 cups grapes, slice half and mince half 1/3 cup sweet relish 1 1/2 cups mayonnaise 1 tsp. celery seed 1 tbsp. parsley flakes, dried 1 tsp. salt (more if desired) 1 cup pecans 1/4 cup melted butter or margarine 1 tsp. garlic powder Toast pecans in butter and garlic powder for 10 minutes at 350 degree; cool and chop. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. This makes great sandwiches, croissants, stuffed tomatoes, or served alone on a bed of lettuce. – Teresa GRAPE SALAD 4 cups red seedless grapes 4 cups green seedless grapes 8 oz. sour cream 8 oz. cream cheese 1/2 cup sugar 1 tsp. vanilla Topping: 1 cup pecans 1/2 cup light brown sugar Wash and dry grapes. Mix first six ingredients and pour into a rectangular bowl, spread to level and then add topping. Toast pecans in dry 28

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pan in oven for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Let cool; chop and mix with brown sugar and layer on top of grape mixture. Cover, chill and serve. A cousin gave me this. She always brought the dish to our Scott family reunions. It was such a hit, I had to have the recipe. And, no, I did not add to it, it was perfect just the way it was. It can be made the day before, so it’s the perfect item to carry anywhere. – Teresa

GREEN BEAN SALAD 1-16 oz. can French green beans, drained 1-16 oz. can green peas -drained 1-2 oz. jar pimento-drained 4 stalks celery, diced 2 medium red onions, sliced 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup white vinegar 1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil Prepare first five ingredients in bowl, set aside. Mix last three ingredients in a saucepan; stir and boil 3 minutes or until sugar dissolves. Pour over first mixture. Stir, chill until cold. Serve. The recipe for this family favorite was lost when my mother moved to heaven in 2004. In 2010 I found the recipe in some old papers of hers. My family was thrilled. Now it is a hit at family reunions again. Thanks, Mom! – Teresa

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STRAWBERRY PRETZEL SALAD First layer: 2 cups crushed pretzels 3/4 cup margarine 3 tbsp. sugar

9 oz. container whipped cream 3/4 cup sugar

Melt margarine, add sugar and pretzels, spread in 13x9-in. pan and bake at 400 degrees for 8 minutes; cool. Second layer: 8 oz. cream cheese (room temperature)

Mix well and spread over first layer of cooled pretzel crust. Third layer: 6 oz. strawberry gelatin 2 cups boiling water 2-10 oz. containers frozen strawberries with juice Dissolve gelatin in boiling

ITALIAN PASTA SALAD 4 cups pasta, garden rotini (tri-color pasta) 1 cup cherry tomatoes 1/2 cup black olives, sliced 1 medium red onion-sliced 2 cups Italian salad dressing 1/4 cup olive oil Salt and pepper to taste

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL

Prepare pasta according to package directions. Drain and add remaining ingredients. Mix well and chill before serving. If salad is a little dry after chilling, add a little salad dressing until desired consistency.

water, add strawberries, chill slightly. Pour over second layer, chill until served. This recipe was given to me at my bridal shower more than 28 years ago. My husband’s aunt – now one of my favorite aunts – gave it to me. I use the recipe often in our catering business. I have not changed a thing in all these years. It is a great summer dish. Thanks, Aunt K. – Teresa BROCCOLI SALAD

2 large crowns broccoli 1 medium red onion, sliced 1 1/2 cup cheddar cheese 1 cup raisins 3/4 cup salted party peanuts 1 cup mayonnaise 1/3 cup sugar Cut broccoli into small florets. Mix all ingredients well. Chill and serve. Goes well with chicken or pork tenderloin.

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The Garden of Edie Rooted in suffering and sorrow, a paradise blooms in Cullman

The Garden of Eden ... The Garden of Edie. Edie Mobley has heard the play on words before. But, she insists, there’s a difference between her garden and Adam and Eve’s first home. “They didn’t have to work,” Edie laughs. “Not until they ate that apple.” But a more profound difference exists. Adam and Eve, the Bible says, were driven from paradise to toil in anguish and sorrow. Edie, on the other hand, toils in her garden paradise, which, quite literally, sprouted from all of the anguish and sorrow in her life. Indeed, the seeds from which her garden sprouted are perhaps dark enough to have made the biblical Job think he had it easy …

He worked to support the families in Wisconsin and Ohio, and she put on her running shoes, or circuit driving shoes, as the case might be. “I would go to Milwaukee when I was needed. Then I would drive to Columbus,” Edie says in her slow, softly deliberate voice. “I would come home when there was a lull.”

Story and photos by David Moore

Edie Mobley’s life is rooted

in the dirt. She grew up on a big, Georgia farm helping her family raise peanuts, tobacco, cotton and cattle. Jerry, her husband, who grew up in Vinemont, holds a degree from what’s now the University of North Alabama. They met there at college and married in 1963 before she completed her degree in elementary education. Jerry’s career is rooted in the petroleum business, working 25 years in management and marketing across the South for Exxon. He left the corporation in 1983 and bought into the former Holmes Oil, a chain of Exxon convenience stores in the Cullman-Oneonta-Huntsville area. The job change led the Mobleys in 1986 to purchase a white, threestory, Italianate house at the corner of Second Avenue NE and 11th Street in Cullman. In 2000 Edie’s mother, who lived for a while in the house behind the Mobleys, and her brother both died of cancer, a double whammy that occurred in a 10-day span. Then, in 2001, Van, the Mobleys’ 33-year old son living with his family near Milwaukee, was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Small statues gaze toward the porch from each side of the front steps. Jerry was there at the time. With the bad news, Edie dropped what she was doing in Cullman and went to help. Unable to abide with a two-tofive-year life expectancy, Van entered trial studies at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. Just after that Christmas, Mason, 3, a grandson living in Columbus, Ohio, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Jerry and Edie were devastated, but team Mobley laid a plan of action.

Jerry and Edie Mobley pose in the foyer of their historic home on Second Avenue. Their family includes Andrea, who works in banking and finance in Columbus, Ohio, where she lives with her husband, Eddie Woods, and their son Trey. Van and Susan Mobley live with their sons, Pierce and Quinn, near Milwaukee. A PhD who teaches history and economics at Concordia University, Van also is president of the village council in Thiensville. The youngest of the Mobleys’ grown children is Dr. Joe. A cardiologist, he and his wife, Karen, live in Spartanburg, S.C., with their children Davis, 12, and Ava, 10. 34

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he Cullman-Wisconsin leg was a 13-hour drive. It was nearly nine hours to Ohio, another nine back home. Edie drove the circuit about 10 times a year, a dizzying and most un-merry-go-round. She stayed frantically busy at her stops, frantically helpless during the lonely drives. She prayed a lot: Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I shall fear no evil, for thou are with me … “It was a way to just keep going,” she says. “We pushed when we were tired and weary.” She’d arrive home packing a heartload of sadness, stress and worry. “I was torn,” she says. “I wanted to be there as the mama, as the grandmother. But I knew I needed to be home, too, that they needed to live as normally as they could.” Despite the emotional and physical exhaustion she was filled with a

Jerry and Edie Mobley live in the house the late Judge Fred Bachmann had built in 1912 as a wedding present for his new bride, the former Carrie Griffin, while they honeymooned in Europe. Coincidentally, Carrie Bachmann once owned the Mobleys’ farm in Hanceville. Also coincidentally, as a kid Jerry would pass the house twice a day going to and from Cullman High School. “I used to wonder what it would be like living in a big house like that,” he laughs. “I never imagined I would one day live here.”

Purple phlox grows outside the dining room windows of the Mobleys’ house. A sitting area on the back patio provides a nice place to relax ... or for a breather after Edie has been mowing or gardening. Below are limelight hydrangeas. frustrating, almost manic energy, a drive to do … something. “So when I’d come home,” Edie says, “I’d started digging in the dirt.” She vented her pent-up frustrations by starting a garden. And in the dirt, to which she’d been rooted as a child, she found a cleansing of her worried mind. As her circuit drives continued over four long years of sorrow, beauty began to spread across their spacious yard – flowerbeds here, hydrangeas there, gravel or grass walkways meandering between. Gardening helped Edie mentally and emotionally – but medically it could do nothing for her family, or for her.

t least Van and Mason were in remission, in June 2005, when Edie was diagnosed with breast cancer. She 36

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Knock Out roses and various hydrangeas â&#x20AC;&#x201C; limelight, lacecap, French and mophead grow in garden islands to the side of the house. Years ago the land was a pasture. Whether that has any bearing on things, Edie says, everything grows big there. During the growing season, she averages four or five hours a day in the yard. Jerry helps when sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s behind, but he has plenty to do on their farm in Hanceville and ranch west of Cullman. FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL

The Garden of Edie is English in style, with a profusion of flowering plants, dwarf boxwoods and pathways throughout. underwent two surgeries and five radiation treatments a week for eight weeks at Cullman Oncology Center. Meanwhile, a sister of Edie’s died of a brain tumor. Next, the family learned young Mason had come out of remission. The news, says Edie, was harder to take than her own cancer treatment. Mason’s only hope was a bone marrow transplant. Fortunately, his brother was a match, but more bad news quickly clouded the glimmer of hope: Jerry was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Edie was fraught. But Jerry was strong and assured her he would be fine, so soon after his surgery she hurried to Ohio. Mason had his transplant in January 2006. Edie came home in March. “There was a lot of pain. And it was a release working in the yard. Maybe it’s something God gave me 38

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…” Edie pauses to ponder, “ … to be meaningful.” In 2010, at age 10, Mason died, losing his long-running battle with leukemia. But through all the sadness, Edie insists, the youngster had taught them great lessons in courage and faith. It’s a good thing, too. They faced yet even more trials and struggles. In 2011 Edie underwent treatment for bladder cancer. She’ll be cancer free four years in July. Though he fell out of a deer stand and broke his back in October, Jerry has been free of cancer for 10 years, while Van is 12 years free of leukemia.

ven so, all is not rosy. In the past few years Van’s sons, Pierce, 18, and Quinn, 14, have gone blind. They inherited recessive genes and developed Stargardt disease, a form of macular degeneration that left them only limited peripheral vision.

“The older one struggled with the knowledge that he was changing before he shared it. Once he knew his brother had it, too, it was almost like it was a bond. Amazingly,” Edie adds with pride, “they appear to have adjusted.” Van and Susan have opened their house to the boys’ friends to help on the social front. At school, Pierce continues to wrestle and play varsity football, taking blocking cues from his fellow linemen. Quinn plays junior high basketball and, in one incredible game, hit three three-pointers. Summers now see the Mobleys’ three grown children, their spouses and five grandkids come to Cullman. Pierce and Quinn bring friends, too. Some of the crowd stay at the house in town, some at Jerry and Edie’s “ranch” on U.S. 278 West and others at their farm in Hanceville. The biblical Job was tested, but

“I tried to plant the garden so there was something blooming from spring to fall,” Edie says.“Most of the time that happens unless we have a late freeze.” Heavy winds this winter damaged the steel gazebo in the garden’s far corner. The tangle of Carolina jasmine growing on it might have kept it from falling until Jerry shored it up again.

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he was not cursed. Despite her and her family’s uncommon trail of trials, Edie does not feel cursed either. Nor, she says, did she ever blame God or wish for a different life. “I have been blessed in a lot of ways,” Edie insists. “I am happy I am who I am. I am happy I have the children I have. I am happy I am married to Jerry. And Mason was such a blessing. He taught us a lot. “Sure, it all had an effect on me. I have seen things that are just heart-wrenching. Sickening. I guess it’s taken away some of my lightness. But I don’t want to be anybody else. My life is not cursed.”

hrough all of the tragedy and sorrow – even because of it – Edie has created a paradise: The Garden of Edie. “Some people think they can’t face pain and struggle,” she says. “They are content to live and say, ‘I can’t do anything about it.’ “This is something that I can do,” she nods to her yard. “It’s physical. It helps clear my mind of things that concern me. I will say that, to start with, it was therapy. Now it’s work!” But it’s a labor of love for the woman rooted to the dirt. “We didn’t necessarily hear it in words, but when we were growing up we were taught to be committed to something, to people and things that extended beyond ourselves,” Edie says. “I’m not saying I always do, but I try to think about what’s good for my whole family. I am committed to them. I am committed to this old house. I am committed to the land.” It helps keep her grounded in reality. “People don’t like dirt,” Edie says. “I think we’ve gotten so far away from it, from being rooted in it, that people think the dirt is not good for them. They would be aghast to get their fingernails dirty. “I do get a manicure every two weeks,” she grins. That’s a small luxury Job never got to enjoy. During the nightmare years of her life, Edie also began studying art with Cullman artist John Sachs. “I don’t kid myself about my art,” she says, “but I do think the best paintings I have done were done under a lot of stress.” Many of her works are bright still lifes, such as the one at left center, but “Carnage,” top left, was inspired by a photo of a dead soldier. Daughter Andrea Woods about 10 years ago cross-stitched the framed piece at lower left for Jerry. It sits on the study mantel. 40

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL

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Good Eats

Carlton’s

Pairing good Italian food and family Story and photos by Armory; the ceiling crafted from the old Cullman skating Patrick Oden rink floor; and the unique buttress is from the old train depot. talian cuisine is family cuisine, and Carlton’s Italian The Blaylock family has complemented the architectural Restaurant is a family restaurant in every sense. Carlton’s, character of the restaurant with charming décor touches and in its current iteration, was born of a love of food and made tasteful art. Paintings flank the dining room walls, but the possible by a remarkable family. most engaging are found in the front of the restaurant: two For more than a decade, the Blaylock family dined large paintings by local mural artist Jack Tupper. almost every Wednesday night at Carlton’s Italian When weather permits, Carlton’s patio is a guest favorite. Restaurant. Dr. Harry Blaylock had made a career in Partially open yet protected from the elements, there is Cullman as a veterinarian, but something old-worldly about a love of food and dining out open air dining. wouldn’t be ignored, and he Guests who choose to thought often of owning his dine on the patio may even own restaurant. receive a visit from Carl the “I fell in love with the cat. Once a feral alley feline, building and, for some Harry took to Carl, neutering reason, have wanted to own and vaccinating the domestic a restaurant since I was about shorthair. Now healthy, fat 12 years old,” Harry says. and sassy, Carl has his own When the former owner house behind the restaurant Craig Hughey moved into and dines daily on chicken Carlton’s current location, the and pepperoni. new ambiance spoke to Harry. Tuscan pasta, wedge salad and cannoli, an And when Craig mentioned Managed by Harry’s Italian dessert pastry ... you will be stuffed. that after 19 years he was daughters, Lucy and Katie considering selling Carlton’s, Lee, Carlton’s may have been Harry jumped on the opportunity. around Cullman for 40 years, but never like this. Evolution On April 1, 2009, he placed an order not on the Italian has successfully trumped revolution, but Carlton’s menu menu … he bought the business. retains the dishes that have made Carlton’s a local favorite. Harry had his restaurant, but animals still depended on The old Italian recipes that have been at the heart of him as well. That’s when the Blaylock family really showed Carlton’s since 1972 have been modified only to improve what makes a great family restaurant … a great family. quality. The Blaylock family stresses the commitment they It would be a couple of years before Harry would retire have brought to Carlton’s to use only quality ingredients, from veterinary medicine, but wife Leslie and daughter buying fresh and local whenever possible. Lucy Gable jumped in and began to shape the well-known Harry says Carlton’s lasagna remains a guest favorite, establishment into the charming and eclectic place it is though he has always been partial to the baked spaghetti today. and the 10-topping supreme pizza. In fact, Harry loved the latter so much that it now bears his name: the Dr. Blaylock hen you step into Carlton’s you can’t deny its Special. character. It’s cozy, and the stone floors and rich old woods It may take a few visits to settle in on a personal favorite give it a very homey feel. What diners may not realize is just dish at Carlton’s, but it’s an adventure of culinary discovery how engulfed by Cullman’s history they are. worth embarking on. With very reasonable prices and, more Carlton’s interior, largely repurposed antique building recently, a wine list on each table, Carlton’s is a friendly, materials, is stunning. The floors formerly served as hotel inviting, and relaxing place to dine … as a family place pool decking; the wood on the walls is from the old Cullman should be.

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Folks enjoy the atmosphere and dinner at Carlton’s, top; a Tuscan pizza, above right; Dr. Harry Blaylock, above, watches over the dining room in anticipation of guests’ needs; at left, a cool blue evening sky falls over Carlton’s and its open-air dining area, located on 3rd Avenue SE in downtown Cullman. FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL

Saturday nights Once upon a time they meant adventures in bathing

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Story by Steve A. Maze Photos from his historical collection

hile I do not particularly look forward to the electricity going out during a winter storm, I can deal with it. The same cannot be said about hot water, however. Most people have a little ritual that we go through when first arising from bed each morning. Some head to the bathroom, some head for the coffee pot, and others head to the shower or bathtub. I prefer a shower. The hot water pulsating from the shower head helps wake me up. It wasn’t that long ago, however, when hot water, showers and bathtubs were not a part of daily life. My dad grew up in eastern Cullman County during the Great

Depression days of the 1930s and early ’40s. Like most families of that era, they only took baths once a week. The reason for that was there was no running water in most homes, let alone a bathtub. Dad said he took a “bird bath” during the week, which consisted of washing his hands, face and maybe an armpit with a soapy rag dipped in a pan of water. During the summer, he and his brothers would “bathe” by taking a dip in the creek that ran through the middle of grandpa Jay Hugh Maze’s farm. That helped to wash away a little dust they had picked up working in the fields that day. They dried off on guano, or fertilizer, sacks that had been hung on low hanging tree limbs near the creek. Regular baths, however, were

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Maybe the surprised look on this youngster’s face is from someone shooting his photo. Then again, maybe he was sat down in some not-so-warm water ... usually taken on Saturday nights since everyone wanted to be clean for church the following day.

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Shining new life on old buildings

Loft 212: before

Nearen Construction: before

Cullman County Economic Development: before

One started as an old warehouse turned government agency office. Another as a mid-â&#x20AC;&#x2122;60s era banking institution, the third as a former market and later a photography studio. Each came with its own inherent character, though it might be concealed behind dated paneling, above a drop ceiling or under old floor covering. The commonalities all of the buildings shared were good â&#x20AC;&#x153;bonesâ&#x20AC;? and buyers with the vision to see (or an architect to see for them) a vision for a new life, a new purpose. Here are their stories, a look at the work that transformed these once empty buildings into vibrant contributions to the city of Cullman ... Photos provided to Good Life Magazine

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL

Loft 212 A warehouse for storage is now a venue where memories are created

icture this ... Jodi Hopper and Loni Floyd, lights strapped to their heads, looking like miners on knee pads, crawling around for more than three weeks on the rough, freezing floor of the expansive old Ponder cotton warehouse with only 14 single bulbs dangling from the exposed rafters, pulling up nails and screws protruding from the pine boards. Their nail-pulling phase lasted more than three weeks, including a particularly cold stretch of March 2013. They now own a five-gallon bucket of rusty nails and screws. “They were hard-earned,” Loni laughs. While humorous, the image of them crawling around also illustrates some of the extensive restoration work they put into creating Loft 212 in downtown Cullman. Today, chandeliers and festive strings of lights dangle from the exposed rafters and reflect in the shiny floors, transforming, especially at night, the former warehouse into a character-rich, almost magical venue the business partners rent for weddings, parties, banquets and meetings. Jodi, who grew up at West Point, and Loni, who hails from Holly Pond, met in the late 1990s as cheerleaders for opposing teams and were good friends by 2008. In 2012 they decided to start a business, something they would enjoy doing. They went to look at Green Tiffin Furniture, which was for sale. It was located on the ground floor at the back of the old Ponder warehouse. “The building caught our eye, and we found out the whole thing was for sale,” Loni says. “Venue,” they thought, picturing in their minds what they could make of the warehouse.

fter its cotton days, Marshall Durbin and a grocery store had used the warehouse; then, under a drop ceiling, it became a maze of cubicles the Department of Human Resources used until 2008. Empty after that, the building sustained some tornado damage in 2011. While making repairs, the owner went ahead and gutted the interior, exposing the original floor, 50

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL

walls and rafters. “Hardwood floors, exposed brick, open rafters, high ceiling and columns,” Jodi ticks off the wish list they had before ever seeing the interior. “When we walked in it was exactly what we had in mind. Loni and I have similar taste and agreed on what we wanted our image to be. We have great style!” Working with the Small Business Administration, the bank and estate owner George Ponder – along with their husbands as partners – it took a year to finally close on the purchase. While their new building possessed “the bones” Jodi and Loni wanted, shining them was a major project. Undaunted, they plowed in. Outside of recruiting

In converting the old, 12,000-square-foot Ponder cotton warehouse, Jodi Hopper, above left, and Loni Floyd worked with architect Brandon Smith of Hendon & Huckstein in Birmingham. “We tried to keep it original to its time but modern enough so it’s not outdated for brides,” Jodi says. At right is the bride’s dressing room. Besides weddings and events that seat up to 600 people, they also rent out the venue for services by a group that, coincidentially, is called Church 212.

husbands for heavy lifting and contracting out framing, electrical, plumbing and HVAC work, for eight months the girls did the bulk of the restoration. They built nice restrooms and bride and groom’s dressing rooms. To create the covered entryway courtyard, they knocked out a wall over what once was a drive-thru loading dock between the warehouse and adjoining Ponder Building that faces U.S. 31. In addition to pulling nails, another major project was removing multiple layers of stripper-resistant paint from brick walls. They bought a sandblaster and did the dirty work themselves. They recycled all they could, including sliding doors and old planks from the loading docks, which they used to make carts and frame windows. Jodi and Loni pulled up subflooring in places. They sanded the heart pine floors, replaced some bad boards and applied polyurethane at the very end.

Loft 212 opened in October 2013 and the young

women used Loni’s 2003 marketing degree from The University of Alabama to start getting the word out. But actually, the building’s history had already started stirring interest. During the transformation, people who remembered the building “back when” visited to see the changes. Among them were Steve Glasscock, president of Merchant’s Bank, who played there back when his dad worked for Marshall Durbin. Dr. Hugh Brindley, the oral surgeon, recalled coming there as a kid because his dad owned the grocery that used the Ponder warehouse. 52

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL

Preserving the 1930’s flavor of the building, Loni and Jodi used black and white tile and wooden stalls in main bathrooms. The groom’s bathroom, left, puts a whiskey barrel to clever use as a sink. “We did lots of research on the look we wanted, on how to market it,” Jodi says. A new building would never have the same charm. “With an old building like this, you don’t have to force the character,” Loni says. “It’s already here. “A lot of tears and sweat and prayers went into this … lots of prayers,” she continues. “But when we were finally finished we were in awe. We still are.” If they had it to do over, Jodi says, the only thing they might do differently is add a shower. “Because we almost live here.” Any suggestions for someone thinking of restoring an old building for a business? Please, Jodi and Loni laugh, don’t start a wedding venue.

Transparency in government Glass walls are interior theme of CCED office

For all the horror and

hardship the tornado of 2011 caused, in retrospect a number of positives came out of it. One is the 1964 First Federal Savings and Loan building, which was renovated as the new home of Cullman County Economic Development. “The difference is like night and day,” says Cherrie Haney, CCED director. “Who would have thought this building could become what it is from what it was? When you walk in the door you don’t think of an old bank building … and that was our goal.” Though the CCED assists the city, it doesn’t actively recruit industrial and retail. An arm of the Cullman County Commission, it primarily writes grants for the county, municipalities, volunteer fire departments, sheriff’s office and nonprofits, securing an average of $1 million annually. Formerly quartered in the old Bledsoe Building on the

Cherrie Haney loves how the green accent walls in the offices “pop.” She’s also keen on the reception area, the first real one the agency has had. “Everyone who comes in is wowed about the building,” she says. “You just don’t see this in Cullman, Ala.” The 7,400-square-foot CCED office officially opened last April, almost two years to the day from the tornado that sent the agency packing. Alabama State Reps. Randall Shedd and Cory Harbison have opened legislative offices upstairs in the building. One remaining project is the construction of an outside bench from the agency’s marble sign at its former location.

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL

county-owned block south of the courthouse, the CCED office was totaled by a tornado-toppled tree and powerful winds. Homeless, the agency moved into the upstairs of the old bank building at the corner of Second Street NE and Fourth Avenue SE. “We were just thankful to have a place to go,” Cherrie says. “Billy Faulk (president of First Community Bank, the former First Federal) allowed us to rent the upstairs. It didn’t leak and at least had walls. It was great for us.”

Vinemont was the general contractor. “It was an ideal situation for the client,” Jock says. “They were able to keep costs minimal because the building was structurally sound. We were able to maintain the existing mechanical system, and the parking lot was already in place.” The few exterior changes included adding an awning, hanging the county seals and reconfiguring the drive-thru teller wall to work for the boardroom and an exterior door. “Joel gave the inside its basic look and coordinated tones he county for the flooring, decided the most walls and ceiling, economic route and we drew up for a new home the plans,” Jock for the CCED says. was renovating Joel used an existing place. frosted and clear With the agency glass walls facing already there, the hallway as the First Federal a motif inside. building and Around this property appraised motif, four Four safes in the former bank for $600,000, offices, a greatly made a lot of appreciated are now storage closets ... and, sense, especially reception area and if needed, would make excellent when Billy Faulk a boardroom were tornado shelters. offered to sell it built. Plans also for $250,000. called for woodThe county paneled ceilings, got $443,000 from the insurance but the county couldn’t afford the on the Bledsoe Building and spent additional cost. $168,000 on renovating First “We’re not complaining,” Federal. Cherrie says. “We do answer to the “Economically, it was so much taxpayers.” cheaper to purchase the First Federal She says Leonard Design did a building and remodel it,” says great job. Commission Chairman Kenneth “The glass walls are awesome. Walker. “First of all, it’s a great You can shut the door and still have building, a great location and has a good bit of privacy, but we can easy access. And what we have done also see each other across the hall. has made an impact on that little We need to be able to communicate,” section of the city.” Cherrie says. “We are a team here.” Jock Leonard and Leonard Design eyond the obvious building in Cullman were hired as architects; bang the county got for its public his brother, Joel, who works from buck, there’s benefit in saving and their Atlanta office, was the interior repurposing historic buildings. designer. ReidCo Construction of

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL

“A lot of people don’t think we should renovate or restore modern architecture,” Jock says. “But that’s part of our history and heritage. “You want to extend through time where we were as a society in the past. That’s history to younger people, showing them where we were and where we were going.” Cherrie agrees. “In years past they built things to last,” she says. “In this day and time they build things that are disposable. I like things that last, so renovating this building is right up my alley.”

The inside wall of the boardroom is frosted glass, the far accent wall is green. With frosted glass below and clear glass above, the front wall of web and graphic designer Heath Stewartâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s office is open to the hallway. Others on the CCED are project coordinators Matt Kindsland and Ashley Graves and receptionist Linda Costello.

A pleasurable place to work Modern, new office space for Nearen Construction brings new feel, new life to old downtown building

“I

Nearen president Austin Hall chats in the company’s conference room with employees Tina Davis and Sharon Smith, who holds Austin’s 5-month-old son, Thatcher. The scene spans three generations because the lighting fixture was made from an old wheelbarrow that belonged to Austin’s grandfather. “We are a very family and people-oriented type of company,” Austin says. The renovated building housing Nearen is designed to feel comfortable. 56

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t’s been a real pleasure to work at the White Star Market,” Evelyn “Skeets” Schneider Noblett wrote once upon a time. She stuck her note into a mayonnaise jar with a short letter the store’s owner, Emil Loegler, penned Feb. 23, 1955. The simple time capsule was enclosed in a bricked-in window until 2013 when Nearen Construction extensively renovated the old downtown Cullman building for its new corporate office. It’s interesting that Skeets’ sentiment about working at the White Star is shared today by the seven employees working in the same building for Nearen and its president, Austin Hall. “We love it,” says corporate secretary Sharon Smith. “Austin designed it,” adds project assistant Tina Davis. “He knew exactly what he wanted. He has amazing vision ... totally creative.” A pleasurable work environment was part of Austin’s vision in designing a new life for the old building. “I wanted the layout inviting, open, but still have walls and separate offices,” Austin says. “It’s almost an open office feeling without an open space. I wanted that feeling to induce communications but still give us our own places.” The feeling of the building affects clients, too. “We want people when they come through our doors to feel we’re not a big corporate office in Birmingham,” Austin says. “We’re a place you can sit around

Project assistant Shanna Shedd works in one of the four offices at Nearen. The building was stripped to its concrete subfloors, which were polished with diamond grinders and stained for a unique and varying look. In Austinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s workspace, left, old windows opening on an alley were bricked over on the outside, vintage wood shelves and casing constructed inside and insulation installed between. Renovations continue at Nearen with an expansion into the space Austin bought behind adjacent Cullman Quick Copy, doubling the number of offices. Nearen also is leasing the building to the east, mostly for storage. FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL

Gary Hooten of Clyde Hooten and Sons Construction with Austin Hall in the reception area of Nearen’s renovated office on Second Street SE. The exposed brick wall is complemented by old oak planks on the counter from a dismantled barn in Good Hope. “Part of what we have to do as builders, especially as renovators, is take an outside look at a building and the space you have. Everything has good in it. You just have to be able to cut through the layers of what may be covering up the good.” That, he adds, is not unlike people. “I always dreamed of having a company like we have here. I would love to have been 35 or 40, a little more seasoned, but the Lord’s timing is perfect. We have to be willing to go on that.” Austin soon bought the old Star Market, which after several different phases had been the photography studios for Theresa Burns. The potential he saw in the labyrinth of small, dark-paneled rooms was initially lost to his new staff, but they soon caught his vision as the building was gutted, old brick exposed and 2,800 square feet of space opened up.

the table and talk, a setting that is inviting to a relationship, like a family. “A lot of places, it’s hard to go and feel comfortable. We want people to feel warmth when they walk in here. We want to let people feel comfortable. The building speaks to that.”

he late James and Frances “Dutch” Nearen started the construction company, now in its 50th year, from another comfortable place – their house on 7th Street and 2nd Ave. in Cullman. Tommy Ross bought Nearen from his in-laws in 1978 and ran it until he sold it to Austin in late 2011. For most of that time, the company operated from a building facing Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Coincidentally, Nearen was using part of the building where it’s now located as a satellite office in 1984 when Austin was born. After graduating from Cullman High in 2002, Austin attended Wallace State Community College then earned a degree in building science from Auburn University. He was working for Gray Construction’s regional office in 58

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Encased in a bricked-in window for 58 years, Emil and Skeets’ notes and the “time capsule” sit on the table in the Nearen conference room Birmingham when he heard that Nearen might be for sale and called Tommy Ross. “I always wanted to be home,” says 30-year-old Austin. “Cullman means a lot to me. I was persistent enough that Tommy gave up trying to convince me not to buy it.

here are many great building designs with unique approaches today, Austin says. But most commercial buildings lean to the utilitarian, 50,000 square feet of space that the client needs done on a tight schedule. “Old buildings are more unique. Maybe it’s because so much time was invested in every detail, in the feel and taste of them,” Austin says. And that uniqueness can resurface when old structures are renovated. “These buildings,” Austin says, “take on a life of their own.”

Antique & Furniture Shops of Cullman County

Hamby mill

Flea Market and Antiques I-65, Exit 299, HWY 69 South, 465 Co. Rd. 30 Bremen, Alabama

24,000 sq. ft.

256-287-2255

Open Fri.-Sun. 9am-5pm

Glenn & Freda Perdue invite you to come antiquing today Furnishing Cullman Area Homes For Over 40 Years

A Great Place to Buy & Sell!

201 1st Avenue SW Cullman, AL 35055

256-727-5341

Water Valley Flea Market We sell

Friday—Sunday 9am-5pm

90 booths in two buildings

Antiques, Furniture, Glassware, Records, Movies, Lamps, Kitchenware, Advertising Items, Iron Ware, Outdoor Furniture, And More!

906 Perry Street SW, Cullman

256-734-6564

13076 US 278 • Cullman

Easy Pickens Antique Market Located at the 4-Way in Trimble 6474 County Road 222 Cullman, Alabama 35057 Hours: Thurs. - Sat. 10-5, Sun. 12-5

256-734-9118

Mitch & Vanessa McCluskey

256-747-4496

Village Furniture And Gifts Cullman’s Most Unique Store 224 3rd Ave SE

256-734-8844

Jennia’s Hen House Antiques, Household, Furniture & More

Buyers, sellers & collectors are welcome!

7583 US HWY 31 Johnson’s Crossing Hanceville, Alabama

256-595-0049

Open: Tuesday-Friday 10-4, Saturday 10-5, 1st Sunday of the Month 1-5

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL

A three-page promotional section of Good Life Magazine

An early American table, above, is one of a slew of items for sale upstairs at Easy Pickens. Below, this Hoosier cabinet can be used as is or re-purposed, perhaps as a bathroom cabinet with a sink in it.

Ghost can’t help at Easy Pickens; McCluskeys can Visit Easy Pickens Antiques in

Trimble and you might or might not encounter Pops, the harmless ghost who reportedly lives there. But you can see and talk to owners Vanessa and Mitch McCluskey, and perhaps find something you can’t live without. Built in 1906, the two-story structure was initially a mercantile store. People later lived there, and, perhaps Vanessa believes, so did Pops. “We usually have something going on with Pops every time we’re here,” Vanessa says. A poultry scientist with an Auburn degree, she says she’s seen him behind her before, caught a glimpse of him once upstairs and has smelled pipe tobacco in the store. Others have seen or heard him, too.

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Once an 8-track stereo upstairs turned on. No one was up there to do that. Vanessa’s mom, Paula Kretzschmar of Garden City, once saw someone in the door behind the counter, but all believe Pops is harmless. The McCluskeys have always loved antiques and “picking.” They were vendors there when Easy Pickens opened in 2011. Last April they bought

the business because, Vanessa says, it fits their passion for preserving history. “Our vendors work very hard to make sure that they provide authentic period pieces to our customers,” she says. “We tell our vendors to buy low and sell low – that is what keeps bringing folks back. “We also have the reputation for not being one of those ‘stuffy’ antique stores where folks feel if they touch anything, they will break it.” She offers some antique picking tips: • Be creative. Look for ways to repurpose old things, like making light fixtures from minnow baskets or lamps from tall metal milk cans. • Know real from reproduction, and don’t trust eBay prices for valuing. • Realize that buyers won’t pay you for your sentimental value. • Importantly, buy what you love. “Incorporate your style into your home,” Vanessa says. “Not everyone’s taste is the same. Surround yourself with things that have meaning to you.” Good Life Magazine Part of a year-long, three-page promotional

SA antiques are steeped in stories, their uses endless Some people possess a lifetime

of knowledge and appreciation for antiques. Garlan Gudger Jr., for instance, grew up imprinting his dad, Dr. Garlan Gudger, as he collected antiques from across the region. Today, Garlan Jr. co-owns Southern Accents Architectural Antiques in Cullman, renowned nationally as a premier source of antique building materials. On the other hand, Ben Sellers’ awareness of antiques is newfound, though he lacks no passion because of that. He detoured from a pursuit of teaching high school mathematics in 2013 to work for Southern Accents and is now showroom manager. “I wanted to do something interesting, and this fell into place,” he says. “My knowledge and awareness of antiques has grown immensely from being here.” Antique doors are popular architectural items, but SA also makes fine, custom doors from salvaged wood. Ben is amazed what carpenter artistry combined with today’s technology can produce. And the heavy old wood just adds character. “You never know who touched that door or old wood, what bit of history is connected to it,” he says. “It’s no different with antique lighting, a newel post or fireplace tile. They all have their own stories and past, but doors stand out to me.” Since he came to SA, he and his wife, Lindzie, have not only hung an antique front door at their house but have added architectural items throughout. They plan to remodel their basement, creating character and texture with reclaimed barn wood. “I tell people not to fall in love with just any antique, but to fall in love with a look you like,” Ben says. “The section of Cullman County Good Life Magazine

Doors are popular at SA, Ben Sellers says, but refurbished bathtubs, hardware, lighting, mantels and reclaimed wood are also sought. potential of any piece is endless. Buy a door for a door or put a mirror in it for your bedroom wardrobe. “There is no end to the items and materials we have. They’ve been used 80-130 years, and we’ll put them into someone else’s house for another 80130. They will go into another home and make new stories that will carry over for someone else one day.” Good Life Magazine

Newly salvaged antiques from across the Southeast arrive daily at SA. FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL

Out ‘n’ About It’s hard not to love the transformation that spring brings to the hibernating earth. And getting out ‘n’ about in the historic home district of Cullman is as fine a place as any to enjoy the season. A look around the area last spring provided images, clockwise from far right, at homes of: Tim, Mary and Chris Chambers, 512 8th Ave. SE; Sam Hankins at 702 2nd Ave SE; Anita Frezza at 810 2nd Ave. SE; and Floyd and Shirley McDowell at 503 5th St. SE. Photos by David Moore. FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL

1655 Cherokee Avenue SW Cullman, AL 35055

256-734-6430