Marshall Good Life Magazine - Winter 2014 by The Good Life Magazine

Marshall County

Catch an eagle, so to speak, during program’s 30th year Reputation of Mill Street has grown beyond Boaz For years Sam Harvey asked the questions; table’s turned

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Contributors

Welcome

Where eagles and Linda Reynolds dare One-hundred-foot tall Bean Rock Bluff offers a stunning panorama of Parches Cove, the Tennessee

River and, across the water, the valley from which the Paint Rock flows. But on this particular day Bean Rock was cloaked in fog. The vast view was awash in thick, wet grayness, and Jake Watson and I could see nothing but the wild boulders and gnarly cedars immediately around us. We were talking when I happened to look over my shoulder, out toward the river. Gliding silently, majestically, even mystically out of the fog was a huge bald eagle. It floated past, no more than 12 feet from me. Even with the fog I distinguished the individual feathers on its wings and body as it moved ghost-like through my line of sight. “Look …!” Just as quickly, just as quietly it disappeared, enveloped by fog in the wink of an eye. Jake never saw it. But the image remains burned into my mind years later.

hile Linda Reynolds did not make that exquisite eagle moment possible, I have to think Linda Reynolds she encouraged it. I’ll always admire Linda for standing up against logging at Guntersville State Park some years back. I also admire that, as the park’s naturalist, she initiated the Eagle Awareness program there 30 years ago in January. Once nearly extinct, the iconic bird was already staging a comeback when she organized speakers and field trips so people could learn more about bald eagles, and fill off-season rooms at the lodge to boot. I count it a privilege to live in a place populated by the likes of bald eagles and Linda Reynolds.

David Moore Publisher/editor 4

November | DECEMBER | JANUARY

Patrick Oden of Claysville drew a fun assignment shooting photos at the recent air show in Albertville. He drew a “dangerous” assignment in tackling a camping story at Buck’s Pocket. No wildlife was involved ... unless you count his wife and three daughters.

Annette Haislip of Arab has plenty of authors she loves, but she now has a new one – her granddaughter Caroline Yarber. Caroline is in China writing a blog for the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs at Georgetown University. Google her and have a look. We’ve said before that Steve Maze, publisher of the former Yesterday’s Memories and several books, knows more about Hank Williams than Hank’s momma did. He shares some of that knowledge in a story on Pee Wee Moultire of Sand Mountain, who played accordion for Hank. Good Life co-owner Sheila McAnear is something of a Renaissance Woman when it comes to artistic abilities. She’s also a heck of an advertising sales rep, which translates into the many eye-catching ads she gets to build for the pages of our magazine.

Publisher and editor David Moore still finds it amusing when people ask how he likes retirement since leaving The Arab Tribune in June 2013. Retirement? Are you kidding? By the way, this issue of Good Life begins its second year of publication in Marshall County.

Big products. Big service. Big smiles. And a big Happy Holidays to you! Here’s some big news: Smaller is better when it comes to banking. Citizens Bank & Trust combines the friendly service of a locally-owned bank with our range of big-time Kasasa products. Add the benefits of excellent online banking and you’ve got the perfect package – just the right size and big on satisfaction.

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Inside

Good Fun

Eagles, Christmas and much more

14 Good People

Sam Harvey talks about the Gleam

18 Good Reads

Hope in Germany; new life in photos

20 Good ’n’ Green

Here’s an idea for your yard – a pond

22 Good Eats

Sherry Stallings is running at Mill Street

25 Good Cooking

Company’s coming; you need recipes

30 Your pet photos

Some people call them pets, some call them members of their family

32 Living on Main Street

Joanie and Robert Reynolds just barely left home to build their life in Arab

41 Albertville air show

Thousands turn out to celebrate 50th anniversary with thrills in the sky

44 Pee Wee Moultrie

He played accordion in Hank Williams’ band in the early days

50 Going all out

Theresa Henry Green goes all out when she decorates for Christmas

On the cover: A female cardinal peers at a woodpecker from around a snowcovered bird feeder. This page: Two eagles “borrow” an osprey nest in a bare tree on the shore at Guntersville State Park. Photos by David Moore 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

54 Buck’s Pocket

An outdoor saga of going camping with one’s wife and three teen girls

58 Out ’n’ About

Birds offer entertainment outside your window, especially in the winter

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A pair of eagles, including the one above, are often seen near the parking lot on the north side of Guntersville Dam. Last year they hatched Little Bill and Shirley, one of which was reported flying this fall near the dam.

State park’s eagle weekends soar into 30th year Story and photo by David Moore

t will be cold. And it will be early. But the early bird catches a look at the bald eagle – the bird that symbolizes America and an environmental comeback from the brink of extinction. Any weekend during January and all but the last weekend of February you are invited to attend the Eagle Awareness Programs at Lake Guntersville State Park. Last year, six weekend programs drew over 2,000 people. This year marks the program’s 30th anniversary and two additional weekends have been added to the lineup. Many people don’t realize that the programs themselves are free. Each 8

November | DECEMBER | JANUARY

weekend offers a different lineup of interesting naturalists, biologists, people who rescue of birds of prey and professional nature photographers who share their expertise, fascination and love for bald eagles. Some are multi-media programs, others are live presentations of eagles and such. On Jan. 10, plans are to make a special presentation to Linda Reynolds of Guntersville, the park’s retired naturalist, who instituted the Eagle Awareness Program in 1985. Programs are held at the lodge at 2 and 7 p.m. Saturdays, field trips to known observation areas are taken at 6 a.m., 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Even if you live in Marshall County, it’s a great chance to spend a night or two at the lodge or in a cabin or chalet.

Nesting eagles numbered as many as 100,000 when they became the national symbol in 1782. By 1940 loss of habitat and hunting threatened their existence. That was compounded, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says, by the introduction of DDT. Habitat protection, banning DDT and public conservation efforts helped swing the pendulum, and the Tennessee Valley is held up as a stronghold for eagle reemergence. “We can’t guarantee that you’ll see eagles on our field trips,” says park naturalist Patti Donnellan. “But your chances are pretty darn good.” For more information: 256-5715440; or www.alapark.com. Good Life Magazine

Much to get wrapped up in during the Christmas season • Nov. 7-9 – Christmas Open House Members of the Guntersville North Town Merchants Association are combining their open houses during their regular hours Friday and Saturday, plus from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday. Most will have special sales, some will be serving refreshments, and you can pick up a copy of the Christmas Treasure Hunt. (See listing under Dec. 12.) • Nov. 20-Jan. 4 – Festival of Trees This year marks the Guntersville Museum’s Sixth Annual Festival of Trees. It will feature 35-40 trees beautifully decorated in different styles, many reflecting the groups and clubs that set them up. Admission is free. An opening reception will be 5:307:30 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 20, with an exhibit of the shadowbox art of Atlanta artist and photographer Timothy Burney; an exhibit of tablescape ideas: and wine, beer and hors d’oeuvres will be served. It’s free to members; or $15 to others, applicable to a membership. The tree exhibit is open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Friday; 1-4 p.m. weekends. For more: www.guntersvillemuseum.org; or 256-571-7597.

Good Fun

• Nov. 28-Dec. 2, Dec. 4-7 – “White Christmas – The Musical” Jane Kohl will direct “White Christmas” at The Whole Backstage. The musical starts at 7 p.m., except for Sundays with 2 p.m. matinees. When the WBS staged the musical two years ago, every performance sold out. Based on the classic film, “White Christmas” features 17 Irving Berlin songs as it follows the song and dance team of World War II veterans Bob Wallace and Phil Davis, who join a duo of beautiful singing sisters for their Christmas show at a Vermont lodge. Tickets – $18; $16 for seniors and students – can be purchased: online at www.wholebackstage.com; at the WBS office, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. weekdays; or by calling 256-582-SHOW (7469). • Nov. 28–Jan. 1 – Christmas in the Park The annual event comes to life this Friday just after sundown when more than 1 million lights come on, transforming Arab City Park into a wonderland. It’s lit nightly until 10 p.m. Stroll through the park for free, but donations are appreciated. Since 1995, the park’s been listed three times on the Southeast Tourism Society’s Top 20 Events for November. School and local groups provide entertainment on weekends. For a schedule of performances visit: www. arab-chamber.org.

• Dec. 2 – Guntersville tree lighting Santa and the missus won’t miss this, and you don’t want to either. The annual lighting of Guntersville’s 20-foot Christmas tree starts at 5:30 p.m. at Errol Allan Park downtown. The Guntersville Elementary School choir will sing, and treats will be given out. The city of Guntersville and its Beautification and Tree Commission are sponsors. Need more info, call them: 256-571-7561.

• Nov-28-Dec. 20 (weekends) – Santa in the Park In conjunction with Christmas in the Park, Santa and his elves will be at Arab Historic Village – located in the park – from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays leading up to Christmas. Kids can have pictures taken with Santa, make reindeer food, enjoy cookies and juice and listen to live music. Admission: free for kids 2 and under; $5 per person; $20 per family. For more info, call: Arab Chamber of Commerce, 256-586-3138.

• Dec. 2-Jan. 3 – Christmas Card Contest The 5th Annual Marshall County Christmas Card Contest exhibit is expected to draw 300 entries from school kids countywide. Their work will hang in the Mountain Valley Arts Council Gallery, open 1-4 p.m. WednesdayFriday. Coinciding with Guntersville’s A Night Before Christmas, a reception will be held 4-5:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 12. Awards will be presented, and Mr. and Mrs. Claus will be there.

Guntersville Museum’s Festival of Trees

• Dec. 4 – Albertville Christmas Parade Sponsored by the Civitans and

Arab’s Christmas in the Park

November | DECEMBER | JANUARY

At the 2013 Christmas Card Contest (see Dec. 2-Jan.3 event) Cale Dollar of Cherokee Elementary School in Guntersville won the Director’s Award; Tyler Thomas from Guntersville Elementary won the President’s Award. chamber of commerce, it begins at 5:30 p.m. The theme is “Christmas through the Decades.” The parade runs from First Baptist Church over to Rotary Park for a tree lighting, then resumes its normal route back to the church. To register an entry, call: 256-878-1412.

will offer door prizes and sales. Food and arts and crafts vendors will be on hand, and there will be a children’s play area. Visit Santa at the Boaz Chamber of Commerce and see live deer and kangaroos, too. For more information or to participate: 256-593-8154.

• Dec. 4 – Arab Christmas Parade It starts at 6 p.m. Thursday at Arab First Baptist Church and runs south down Main Street. The theme is “Christmas on the Big Screen.” Grand marshal will be Claud Burke, winner of the 2014 Outstanding Citizen Achievement Award. For more information or to participate, call: Arab Chamber of Commerce, 256-586-3138.

• Dec. 6 – Grant Christmas Parade Sponsored by the Grant Chamber of Commerce, it kicks off at 1 p.m. Saturday and runs through downtown.

• Dec. 5 – Boaz Christmas Parade The annual parade – part of Old Fashion Christmas in Boaz – starts at 5:30 p.m. this Friday at First Baptist on Ala. 205 then runs east on Ala. 168 and south onto Elizabeth Street to disband on Billy Dyar Boulevard. To register an entry, contact the Boaz Area Chamber of Commerce: 256-593-8154; or chamber@ boazchamberofcommerce.com. • Dec. 5-6 – Old Fashion Christmas in Boaz The event will be 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday and 10-3 Saturday downtown. Carolers will entertain, horse-drawn wagon rides will be given and merchants 10

November | DECEMBER | JANUARY

• Dec. 9 – Lights of Love Hospice of Marshall County will hold its Sixth Annual Lights of Love presentation this Tuesday starting with a reception at 5:30 p.m. and the lighting ceremony, roll call of those who have passed and other events begin at 6:30 p.m. There also will be refreshments and Christmas carols. A fundraiser for hospice, for $10-$100 you can sponsor lights, memory cards and commemorative ornaments on the large outdoor tree at Shepherd’s Cove, the agency’s end-of-life care facility on Martling Road in Albertville. You can sponsor a room for $250, and corporate sponsorships also are available. For more information call: 256-2790923; or Hospice, 891-7724 • Dec. 12 – Guntersville’s A Night Before Christmas The 25 or so members of the North

Town Merchants Association will remain open 5-9 p.m. this Friday for shopping, but there’ll be lots to do for the whole family … all for free. New this year is a Christmas Treasure Hunt. Kids can pick up a “map” at participating stores, get it stamped at the other stores, then drop it in the elf mailbox at Fant’s. Maps will be drawn from the mailbox, and those kids get one of the toys Fant’s is giving away, including an Elf on the Shelf. Santa will be at Fant’s, where he drew 400 visitors last year. Kids can drop by Bakers on Main for cookie decorating, visit Kala’s Cottage for book reading and story telling, hear music at Errol Allan Park and take a ride in a horse-drawn carriage or wagon. At Guntersville First United Methodist Church you can stroll through a replicated market place in ancient Bethlehem and visit baby Jesus at the stable. Dec. 13 is the rain date. • Dec. 13 – Guntersville Christmas Parade The parade will start at 5 p.m. this Saturday on Scott Street and proceed down Gunter Avenue to Gilbreath Street. The theme is “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.” For information about participating, call: Guntersville Chamber of Commerce, 256-582-3612.

Good Life Magazine

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Admission: age 2 and under free, $5 per person, $20 per family

(Immediate family: parents/guardians and children) For more info or directions call 256-586-6793, visit www.arabcity.org, or send us an email at parkrec@arabcity.org

November | DECEMBER | JANUARY

Veteran programs, bazaars, plays & a home-town rock star are on the list of things to do

• Nov. 6-26 – Holiday Art Shop The Arts Factory will have an array of one-of-a-kind, fine arts and crafts on sale at the Mountain Valley Arts Council Gallery at 300 Gunter Avenue. The Arts Factory, a recent offshoot of MVAC, is a co-op of 35 area artists, writers and musicians. They’ll be selling fine art, photographs, sculpture, autographed books, music CDs and hand-crafted furniture, clothing and soaps. The Holiday Art Shop will be open 1-4 p.m., Wednesdays through Fridays and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturdays. An open house and reception will be held 2-4 p.m., on Saturday, Nov. 8. For more info: TheArtsFactoryMVAC@gmail.com. • Nov. 6-9 – {Proof} The Whole Backstage presents David Auburn’s Pulitzer Prize-winning drama {Proof} to mature audiences. Directed by Meagen Cardy of Boaz, it will be staged in the WBS’s 75-seat Duff-McDaniel Black Box Theatre and stars Liz Callahan of Albertville, Scott Harvey of Guntersville, John Cardy of Boaz and the director herself. It’s the story of woman blessed with her father’s mathematical genius who also fears she’s inherited his mental illness. She gives the key to her father’s desk to one of his former students, who finds an advanced mathematical proof. He questions her genius; her older sister questions her sanity. Is she insane or author of the proof? Performances are 7 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets, $5, will be available one hour prior to performances. For information: 256-582-7469; or www.wholebackstage.com.

• Nov. 8 – 44th Annual Mother’s Club #1 Holiday Bazaar The traditional bazaar is expected to draw 135 arts and crafts booths and a crowd from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. to at the Arab Junior High School gym just off Ala. 69 west of town. Club members will sell breakfast and lunch plus cakes, pies, cookies and breads. Bid at the silent auction for hundreds of items, including a three-day trip to Highlands, N.C. Admission is $3 for adults, $1 for students. • Nov. 11 – Marshall County VFW Veterans Day Service The public is encouraged to attend the annual service in front of the courthouse in Guntersville. Sponsored by the VFW posts in Boaz, Guntersville and Arab, the program begins at 11 a.m. this Tuesday. Keynote speaker is Col. Danny R. Hughes, retired from the Army and, more recently, the National Guard. A resident of Joppa in Cullman County, he served in Iraq during the Global War on Terror. • Nov. 11 – Arab VFW Veterans Day Service The annual 2 p.m. service this Tuesday will be held at the All Veterans Monument at Arab City Park. Keynote speaker is Col. Danny R. Hughes of Joppa. Retired from the Army and, 12

November | DECEMBER | JANUARY

Justin King of Warrenton will have his photography for sale at the Holiday Art Shop

more recently, the National Guard, he served in Iraq during the Global War on Terror. • Nov. 13-15 – Audition for a play John Cardy of Boaz will direct The Whole Backstage production of the hilarious musical “Whodunit” in February. But first he needs a cast. Want to audition? Set in 1931 at a beautiful Connecticut summer home, a strange face appears at the window. Someone tries to break in. That night, a gun shot sounds, and the body of a total stranger is found dead in the living room. Then another. Then things really do get strange … and funny. Contact the director at: johncardy87@gmail.com • Nov. 21 – An Evening with Damon Johnson Geraldine native and “hometown rock star” Damon Johnson performs a solo/acoustic concert. A singer/ songwriter, guitar slinger and storyteller, Johnson is a member of Black Star Riders and the legendary Thin Lizzy. He has toured with Alice Cooper and John Waite and is the founding member, lead singer and guitarist for Brother Cane. The evening of songs and stories benefits The Whole Backstage. VIP tickets, $50 each, include a pre-show meetand-greet with drinks; reserve seats are $25 each. • Jan. 19-February – a ‘Fossil’ Roadshow Jun Ebersole, an archaeologist/paleontologist with the McWane Science Center in Birmingham will be at the Guntersville Museum for two short presentations Monday, Jan. 19, on the unique geology of Alabama. He’ll bring some fossil footprints, bones and other items that will remain on display through February. He’s asking people to bring archaeological items they’ve found. Think of it as the Antique Roadshow for fossils, says museum director Julie Patton. “He’s hilarious,” she adds.

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Good People

5questions

Story and photo by David Moore

Mary Ruth McCord gave Sam Harvey a big hug. It was in July at the Guntersville Museum, which threw a community celebration in honor of Sam’s official retirement as editor of the The Advertiser-Gleam. Verging on shy, he was a bit embarrassed by the public fuss but beamed at the hug. “I’m 63,” Mary Ruth beamed back, “and I can’t remember a time in my life without The AdvertiserGleam.” “I got my Alabama history from school,” her sister, Kathy Olpolka, added, “and my Marshall County history from the Gleam.” Historic references are fitting. An era has ended. In June, Sam and his son John, the Gleam’s advertising and business manager, sold the newspaper – synonymous with the Harvey family for 73 years – to Barrett and Clint Shelton and other members of their long-standing newspaper family in Decatur. Sam and John express faith in the Shelton family carrying the Gleam banner. Readers watch for any changes in the formula that Sam’s father, the late Porter Harvey, brought to The Guntersville Gleam, which he founded in 1941. (He bought The Guntersville Advertiser in 1944 and combined the papers.) The Gleam broke the mold, writing news in the local vernacular, pretty much the way people talk. The paper’s look has changed little in decades. Stories still run under onecolumn headlines of small, far-fromblaring type size. Stories meander 14

November | DECEMBER | JANUARY

Sam Harvey

For 47 years he was the typewriter, Polaroid and mind behind the Gleam around pages. There are no organized sections. Legal ads are strewn amongst news, sports and community columnists. But always the content is local – and pretty darn interesting. Sam and his siblings grew up with the Gleam. As well as teaching for a few years, their mother, Alice, worked there, too, keeping the books and circulation straight and helping with news and advertising. After working 13 years at dailies in Ohio and Kentucky Sam moved his family to Guntersville in 1967 and went to work with Porter, taking notes with pencil and pad, pictures with a Polaroid and typing on an old Royal. The late Don Woodward, who had married Sam’s sister, Mary, was already the advertising director. Some folks laughed at the Gleam’s quaint look. Some journalism professors held it up as an example of how not put out a paper. But readers loved it. The twice weekly grew in size. Circulation topped 13,000 in its heyday making it the largest non-daily in Alabama. And if the Gleam looked and read different than other papers, its readers always knew that somewhere back on page 13 or 18, they would find a tidbit of interestingly and maybe odd news. Sam retired in conjunction with the sale, leaving the Gleam a landmark on the changing newspaper landscape state and nationwide. Now the tables are turned on the man who once asked all the questions. Now Sam gets to answer a few ...

Since 1941, you and/or Porter structured The Advertiser-Gleam, determined what it was. Conversely, how much did the Gleam structure your life, determine what it was?

It determined a great deal of my life. I’m 84, and I worked there 47 years. When I was growing up I delivered papers. After school I ran the press. I sometimes did a little reporting then. Not much. There was a softball organization in town. I guess Daddy arranged this, but I was the guy who kept statistics for them. I wrote up the games in a very limited way. Most of my early writing was for the high school paper. I wrote for The Crimson-White at The University of Alabama, where I was editor my senior year. And I was a reporter for 13 years at two dailies. I came back to Guntersville as editor, but I was primarily reporting. I probably averaged 50 hours a week. I didn’t punch a clock. There were night meetings to cover, but I didn’t write my hours down. Getting enough stories to fill the paper was a challenge since all of the news had to be local. On a daily, you had a Teletype machine that ran all the time providing state, national and world news, so there was no problem filling up the paper. When you only use local material, you sometimes write stories that don’t have to run right away and hold them for when news is short. Sometimes it got to be embarrassing, the articles got so old. I’d usually go to work around 7, 7:30, go home and hour or so for lunch, then go home 5:30 or 6. Sometimes I brought stories home and worked on them, a council meeting for example, something we would need the next morning. It was enjoyable work, but there was a lot of it, and it had to be done in time to get the paper out.

Snapshot: Sam Harvey

Early career: Earned a BA in journalism, University of Alabama, 1951. Served in the U.S. Air Force until 1953. Worked as a reporter four years at The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch and nine years at The Louisville Times as a reporter and assistant city editor. Family: Married Valerie Yencha, now deceased, in 1954; four grown children: Kenneth, an industrial designer who lives in San Antonio, Texas, with his wife, Jane; John, who was president of Honey Baked Ham of Georgia before returning to Guntersville with his wife, Sheila, to work at the Gleam; Anne Hails, a former daily newspaper reporter and teacher working at the AARP state office in Montgomery; Mary Porter Grizzle, a nutritionist at the University of South Alabama in Mobile; and eight grandchildren. Affiliations, awards: a member of St. William Catholic Church; president of the former Guntersville Kiwanis Club; president of the Alabama Press Association; and a recipient of the Guntersville Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year Award.

2. What are a couple of Gleam

stories over the years that you found most interesting? A man came in one day kind of excited and said, “You won’t believe what I saw in the road about three miles out on Highway 79.” There was a dead dog in the road, and the state had painted a center stripe right over it. I went out there and took a picture. We ran it inside the paper. It wasn’t a big thing for us, but it stirred up a lot of talk. Some folks were offended by it. We had always run a lot of pictures of snakes and stuff, but some people couldn’t believe the newspaper would print a picture of a dead dog, whether it was striped over or not. For most people it was kind of a funny thing. A few years later I was taking a highway paving picture, and this one guy moved out of the way real fast. He said, “You nearly cost me my job once.” He was the operator who had striped over the dog. Somebody had sent that paper to his boss in Montgomery. Then there was Carole Brown. She sent us a letter along with a story I had written about a grease fire in a house. She’d marked up the story pretty good for grammar, taking points off for all of our mistakes and things she didn’t like. The final paragraph cost us 15 points for being too wordy, too informal and changing tenses a couple of times. She gave us a 53 and wrote “F” with her red pencil. She sent it in for our information. But I thought what she said was pretty interesting. So we ran her letter and the story with all her markings and comments across four columns in the paper. We got letters on it from both sides, but we had more people defend us and the paper’s “personality,” than we had agreeing with her. I felt bad about that, so I wrote a little editorial saying hooray for her for having the gumption to tell us how she felt. I also said we appreciated those who had 16

November | DECEMBER | JANUARY

nice things to say about us but that others think “at times our writing ain’t so hot.” Another time I wrote an editorial saying I didn’t think we needed a new senior center building with city money being tight like it always is. Some seniors got upset. A busload of them came down to the Gleam with picket signs. We wrote it up, told what the signs said and took pictures. While they were picketing, someone in the office went out and bought cookies, and we passed them out to show we weren’t mad. After they left, I don’t think they were mad at us. But it was pretty interesting.

The Gleam has always been noted for its obituaries. Comment? Daddy started that early on. Newspapers typically carry long stories and put them on the front page when a well-to-do person, dies. That always seemed unfair to him. So for years he started all of the obituaries on the front. It got to where there was not enough room on the front page to do that. So the deaths of prominent people were relegated to the inside like other folks. Daddy’s obituary ran on an inside page, the way he would have wanted it. To him, any death was news. He thought we should tell more about a person than the fact that he died, who his survivors were and the funeral arrangements. When possible, he wanted to contact the family for more information. Ralph Rodgers’ death was an example of the detail we’d get, but in his case, dying in the middle of a church service … that was a news event. Mr. Rodgers was 67 and died in 1977. We talked to his family and learned that he had been feeling tired but did not feel sick, so he and his wife, Pearlie, went to a revival service. He was standing between her and a Mr. Spray. The congregation

was singing “Since I Have Been Redeemed.” They had just started the fourth verse when Mr. Rogers collapsed into Mr. Spray’s arms, dying instantly from a heart attack. Also, most papers used to not run pictures with their obituaries, but we thought that was a good thing to do. Don Woodward suggested it. So we started asking people to bring in a picture. We felt like, at least in death, someone ought to get their picture put in the paper. It takes an effort to contact families and do all of this. But we think it’s worth it.

. What’s the most diabolical thing you’ve done to get a story? Back in October 1980 we were getting up stories for the 100th anniversary of continuous news coverage by the line of papers stretching from the old Guntersville Democrat, through various consolidations, up to The AdvertiserGleam. We had stories on the other four publishers, but we didn’t have one on Porter. I knew he wouldn’t go into the amount of detail I wanted, but we needed the story. The entire family was going up to the Ocoee River in Tennessee to do some whitewater rafting. I forgot who all was in our car, but we had several hours of driving. I got in the back seat and saw that Daddy got in the front. I got him talking about him being a publisher for 39 years up to that point. That was longer than any of the previous publishers. Daddy talked some about the things newspaper publishers do. He did those, too, but, unlike them, he spent most of his time finding news and writing it up. He’d written about killings and cuttings and wrecks and big winds and big snows and big turnips and big rattlesnakes. He’d written the obituaries of thousands of local people. He didn’t realize I was taking notes in the backseat. And he wasn’t

involved in the actual laying out of the paper, so he didn’t know about his story. The stories on the other four publishers ran on the front page. We put Porter on page 2, but with a long write-up about him. He called me at home the next day and said, “I’m mortified.” He was joking, of course. I know he was pleased, but he would have never written it himself.

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People used to ask me sometimes why I didn’t write more editorials. I could answer that question with a question: “Why should I?” Do people really want to know my opinion on a topic for an editorial? Why should a newspaper run the editor’s opinion every week, and not other people’s? Is the editor more informed on these important things? Maybe smarter? No, he is not. How many people buy a paper for my opinion on something? They buy it for the news and the ads. They want to be informed, maybe entertained. I don’t think I would run out and get a paper to see what Sam Harvey had to say about something. People might not know I lived my first seven years in Dodge City, Kansas. Mother was teaching school there, almost fresh out of college. Daddy was the news editor and a reporter for The Dodge City Globe. They met at the rooming house where they took their meals. We were there during what they came to call the Dust Bowl of the 1930s drought. A dust storm would blow through and you could hardly see in it. It would be almost black. Afterward, there was dust over everything. I guess you’d measure it in inches. Of course, Dodge City is best known as the location for “Gunsmoke, “Wyatt Earp” and other tales of the Wild West. The funny thing is, I was young and completely unaware of Dodge City’s history and reputation. People might be glad to know I was never a gunslinger. As kids, we played cops and robbers. Good Life Magazine

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Good Reads

‘Book Thief’ explores power of words in Nazi Germany

Photographer in ’Still Life’ finds that hope has feathers

is certain that the events that lie in store will not be very pleasant. And most certainly not in 1939 when Hitler is in firm control of Germany, and WWII looms on the Somewhere in the horizon. In “The Book Thief” snow, she could see her by Markus Zusak, broken heart, in two citizens of a small town pieces. Each half was face adjusting to a life glowing, and beating controlled by the harsh Nazi regime; their Jewish under all that white. neighbors shipped to concentration camps, their own children forced into joining the Hitler Youth or drafted, their books burned, their homes searched and their lives violated. It is also a story of family, friendship and young love, of devotion, sacrifice and bravery. It is a time when people eventually realized the power of words, the evil words of Hitler that could incite hatred, bigotry, violence and destruction, or the good kind words of simple people that could bring healing, comfort, safety and salvation. “The Book Thief” is basically the story of a young girl caught in the vast uncomprehending devastation of war and who, despite her horrendous experiences and losses, eventually finds that the power of words found in books can save her. – Annette Haislip

novel, “Still Life with Breadcrumbs,” is an uplifting story of reinvention for an aging divorced woman. Once a well know photographer, she has lost her creativity It is a funny thing, hope. and, as a result, her It’s not like love, or fear, income has diminished. or hate. It’s a feeling you Seeking solitude and don’t really know you to conserve money, she leases out her upscale had until it’s gone. apartment in New York and rents, sight unseen, a ramshackle cottage in a remote rural area. A local handyman, who happens to be a Forest Service employee, helps her put the cottage in order. He then enlists her help in photographing local eagles, and they begin a tentative relationship. As she explores the dense forest behind her home, she discovers a series of crudely constructed crosses each decorated with vintage mementos that catch her attention and her acute photographer’s eye. She sends the haunting images she captures to her agent and, as a result, restarts her career. Eventually she discovers a relationship related to the crosses that has a large bearing on her life. She also finds, as Emily Dickinson wrote, “Hope is the thing with feathers … And never stops at all ...” – Annette Haislip

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Good ’n’ Green

Building a pond adds a quiet splash to your home Story and photo by David Moore

here is something very appealing about living on the water, the beauty and tranquility of a lakeside home. But not everyone can afford to live on Lake Guntersville or wants a waterfront lot badly enough to move. If you have a little land, however, building your own pond might be a win-win option. It was for Tommy and Pam James, who live on Shoal Creek Road in the Grassy community east of Arab. They built a half-acre pond on their property about 18 years ago. With two boys – Andrew, now 30, and Ross, 27 – recreation was their first motivation: fishing and swimming. Plus a pond offered landscaping value. Simply having it there to look at is nice, they say. But it serves a practical purpose, too. A swampy, low area to the side of the house caused drainage problems and was basically useless. Building a pond there was a perfect solution. Tommy’s first step was the right one, and it’s what you should do, too, before jumping in over your head and digging a big hole in your yard. He called the Marshall County Natural 20

November | DECEMBER | JANUARY

Resource Conservation Service office in Guntersville. “They will take a core sample and tell you if you have the proper soil that will hold water,” Tommy says. “They are real good, and they do that for free.”

District conservationist Shawn

Manning can talk to you, but Bucky Howe, a NRCS technician who lives on Sand Mountain, does most of the agency’s pond consulting in Marshall County. Last year, he helped people

in Mount Hebron, Grant and Union Grove get ponds started. Landowners usually have an idea for a pond site, but either way he checks for soil types that will hold water and the soil’s depth. The lay of the land determines if the pond is dug on relatively flat land, or earth-filled, meaning a dam is built between two higher ridges. Before coming for the consultation, Bucky will study topographic and soil maps and get an idea of the drainage area for filling the pond.

Tommy and Pam James sit on their pier with two of their dogs, overlooking their pond in Grassy. The pond is stocked with catfish, bass, bream and crappie, though Tommy rarely fishes. He applies lime and fertilizer to the pond to encourage growth of phytoplankton, part of a pond’s food web that also helps block sunlight and discourages aquatic weeds. His use of inert dye colors the water and further cuts sunlight penetration. Tommy works in the Marshall County Schools’ maintenance department. Pam retired from the system as a math teacher.

“We give people an estimate for the cost and encourage them to build to our specifications,” Bucky says. Careful site selection and proper construction of pond slopes are crucial, he says, to minimize seepage and even help defray aquatic plant maintenance. “If you put $10,000 into a pond, you want it to hold water,” Bucky says. “That’s my job, to be very truthful when it comes to building a pond.” Good Life Magazine

What it takes for a pond What’s involved in building a pond on your property? You can get a basic idea from these five points NRCS technician Bucky Howe bases on averages he’s found for ponds in Marshall County ... • Size: half-acre, say 120x80 feet • Cost, earth-filled: $10,000 • Cost, dug: $6,000-$7,000 • Needed depth: 6 feet • Construction time: five days Want more information? Call or visit Bucky at the NRCS office: 1206 Gunter Ave., Guntersville; 256-582-3923.

November | DECEMBER | JANUARY

Good Eats

Mill Street’s tasty reputation has extended beyond Boaz Story and photos by David Moore

ill Street Deli in Boaz offers an extensive choice of sandwiches and such, but nowhere on its printed menu or the large, colorful, chalkboard menu on the wall do you find an “energy sandwich.” If you did, chances are it would look like deli owner Sherry Stallings. The lady stays on the run keeping up with lunch crowds Monday through Saturday. They come from near and far, attracted not just to her extensive menu, but because the food is so good. It’s the egg salad that draws Rhonda Stapler in Rainbow City up the mountain to Mill Street. That and the peanut butter pie. And the cobblers ... “If I come to Boaz, this is where I come to eat,” she laughs. “I’ve eaten here ever since I remember.” Dee Lange of Albertville and her daughter, Toby, are eating at Mill Street this particular day. That’s no big news. They’ve been regulars at least 10 years. “The menu is amazing. Everything is good,” Dee says. “The chili, cornbread and vegetable soup will knock your socks off, and you won’t be hungry or cold for the rest of the day.” Toby is partial to the BLT but loves it all. “All of their food is fresh compared to fast food,” she says. “But it’s quick enough to eat on your lunch break. The customer service is awesome.” 22

November | DECEMBER | JANUARY

The menu includes at least 25 different sandwiches and wraps, 10 fresh salads with various options of side orders, breads and desserts. Nearly everything is made fresh, says owner Sherry Stallings, above. She figures she gets the energy to run the place from her father, Ray Jolley, a local farmer who still runs wide open. Toby finds the clientele interesting. They always see folks they know, and there’s a comfortable mix of people from different economic and age demographic groups. Joe and Marsha Batchelor live at Sand Rock over in Cherokee County but visit Boaz to shop. Today, it was a funeral that brought them, but that

didn’t curtail eating at Mill Street; Joe a turkey Reuben, Marsha the chicken salad. “We try to eat here whenever we come to Boaz,” she says. “It’s the best place in town.” If Marsha loves the chicken salad, she’s not alone. It’s the signature dish at Mill Street.

Zack Snyder, Mark Guest, Chris Duckett and Justin Childress, left to right, work at Mueller Co. and eat together at Mill Street several times a month. Zack is a fan of the roast beef sandwich. Chris’s top choices are the turkey and roast beef au jus, while Justin is split between the club and BLT. Mark likes the chef salad, and don’t go thinking it’s a lady’s portion. “I usually can’t finish it,” he says. It’s been published in cookbooks, made the 2012 Alabama Tourism Office list of 100 dishes to try before you die and was even sought out by Bon Appétit magazine. A letter from the latter is proudly posted inside the front door. It was written to former Mill Street owners Charlie and Betty Hargrove, on Sept. 5, 1990, and states that the magazine had received a letter from a reader who “particularly admired your chicken salad.” The magazine requested the recipe for possible publication. Sherry never heard if it was published. She was probably too busy.

yron and Nell Davis opened the deli in 1986. It was Nell who introduced the area to her chicken salad. They sold it after a few years to the Hargroves, who owned it 11 years. It was Charlie who hired Sherry in April 1998. He took a quick liking to his new employee, who had graduated from Boaz High School four years earlier. “I don’t know what Charlie saw in me, but he did need someone who would work,” she says.

Five months later, he sold her the deli. Being owner did nothing to lower her energy requirements. Sherry puts in 10 hours a day, six days a week. And they’re wide open hours and days. Charlie did well drawing the older crowd, but Sherry has expanded the clientele. She gives discounts to students and staff at Snead State Community College. She and her crew of 13 full- and part-time employees also branched out by offering catering and carry-out. Usually Sherry cooks when she goes home, but sometimes her husband, Bill, a UPS driver, and their daughter, Cassie, a junior at Jacksonville State University, get carry-out she brings home.

Sherry laughs and claims not

to be smart enough for interior decorating – the dining area is different in an interesting, fun way – but she is smart enough not to mess with the chicken salad. Over the years, some old dishes have gone, some new ones have come. In 2002 she moved the deli from a few blocks away on Mill Street, to the corner of South McClesky and East

Main. But the chicken salad is still a mainstay. “It’s one of the things we’re known for,” Sherry says. “We have sold out before. It hurts my feelings when we do, but it does happen.” Sherry still appreciates ol’ Charlie, at least as much as folks appreciate her chicken salad. “All in all, I’d say I’ve been blessed for a lot of reasons,” she says. “I’d never have made the living I’ve made with another job. And I’ve met some really nice people.” Over the years, Sherry has gotten attached to many of her older customers, and it’s broken her heart whenever one has died. On the other end of the spectrum, she has customers who came in as kids with their parents, who now have kids of their own. “It’s just neat,” she says. “I have met some people I’d never have the privilege to meet otherwise. I also have had some young men and women work for me who will always have a place in my heart.” All in all, Sherry says, Mill Street Deli has been good for her. It’s still a lot of work, but if anyone can handle it, it’s the lady with all of that energy. Good Life Magazine November | DECEMBER | JANUARY

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Company’s coming!

Greg Gibbs has his table set for holiday company, above. Below, he holds his “Merry Mousse,” which makes for a delicious centerpiece.

Story and photos by David Moore

hanksgiving, Christmas, New Year … Greg Gibbs can tell you what the season is almost guaranteed to mean: “Company’s coming!” He also can give you recipes that will help ensure your holiday party hosting comes off in tasty fashion. “I love company and making people happy,” he says. “I love to have a big meal or party and stand back and watch people have fun.” Greg holds down the home fort in Arab while his wife, Anita, works as an international program analyst at Redstone Arsenal. And, yes, nice guy that he is, he prepares supper for her. “I’ve been cooking as long as I remember,” Greg says. That goes back to accompanying his grandmother, Inez Thornton, to her job as lunchroom supervisor at the old

Joppa School in Cullman County. He watched and learned from her. As far back as high school, Greg

Good Cooking

was being asked to bake wedding and specialty cakes. More recently, he owned Broadway Catering with a fellow Arab cook, Anthony Wilson. And one of Greg’s dessert dishes won first place in the “Taste of Arab” contest held a few years back by the Arab Chamber of Commerce. He’s backed off catering but works two days a week as head cook for Guntersville First United Methodist Church. He still does big tailgating spreads when he and Anita and maybe their kids, Macy, 22, and Sumner, 18, go to Tuscaloosa for football games. Greg likes trying new recipes, especially during the holidays. “Some are good and some are flops,” he laughs. “You learn what you can do to enhance them, or you say, ‘That’s not us.’” Here are some of his favorite party dishes to brighten your holiday palate. After all, company’s coming … November | DECEMBER | JANUARY

Santa’s Christmas cheese ball Santa’s Christmas Cheese Ball ½ cup (about 14) maraschino cherries 2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened 1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple, well drained 1 cup pecans, chopped Crackers or cut-up vegetables Drain maraschino cherries on paper towels. Chop and drain again. Beat cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed 3 to 4 minutes or until smooth. Stir in pineapple and cherries. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. Shape cheese mixture into a ball and roll in pecans, pressing nuts into surface to adhere. Refrigerate about 1 hour or until chilled. Serve as a spread with crackers or vegetables. Tip: You can prepare this appetizer in advance and freeze it for later use. Allow cheese ball to thaw in refrigerator before serving. 26

November | DECEMBER | JANUARY

Cookie Dough Truffles ½ cup butter, softened ½ cup firmly packed brown sugar ¼ cup sugar ¼ cup thawed egg substitute 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1¼ cups all-purpose flour 1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate morsels ¾ cup chopped pecans or walnuts 1 (12 ounce) package semisweet chocolate morsels 1½ tablespoons shortening Beat butter at medium speed until creamy; gradually add sugars, beating well. Add egg substitute and vanilla; beat well. Add flour to butter mixture; beat well. Stir in miniature chocolate morsels and chopped pecans. Cover and chill 30 minutes. Shape mixture into 1-inch balls. Cover and freeze balls until very firm. Place (12 ounce) package morsels and shortening in a 1 quart glass

Cookie dough truffles bowl; melt in microwave according to package directions. Using two forks, quickly dip frozen truffles into melted chocolate, coating completely. Place on wax paper to harden. Store truffles in refrigerator 2 to 3 days. Yield: 4½ dozen. Merry Mousse For an elegant, easy appetizer showpiece, choose a festive mold and fill it with a rich, airy mousse. This recipe makes a decorative, delicious centerpiece with a bit of imagination. 1 envelope unflavored gelatin ¼ cup cold water ¼ cup dry white wine 2 (8-ounce) cartons sour cream 2 cups mayonnaise 2 tablespoons prepared horseradish ½ cup chopped fresh or frozen chives ½ cup spicy brown mustard 2 tablespoons dry mustard 2 teaspoons ground red pepper

Cranberry meatballs Garnishes: fresh chives, lemon rind strip Sprinkle gelatin over cold water in a small saucepan; let stand 1 minute. Cook over low heat, stirring until gelatin dissolves; stir in wine. Combine sour cream and next 7 ingredients; add to gelatin mixture, stirring until blended. Spoon mixture into a lightly oiled 6-cup mold; cover and refrigerate overnight. Garnish, if desired. Serve with sliced salami, ripe olives, pimiento-stuffed olives, gherkins, pepperoncini peppers and assorted breads. Yield: 5 cups. Cranberry Meatballs 2 pounds ground chuck 2 large eggs 1/3 cup dry breadcrumbs 1 teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon pepper ½ teaspoon garlic powder ½ teaspoon onion powder ½ teaspoon thyme 1 (16 ounce) can cranberry sauce 1 (12 ounce) jar chili sauce ¼ cup orange marmalade

¼ cup water 2 tablespoons soy sauce 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar 1 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes Combine first 8 ingredients in a large bowl. Shape mixture into about 54 (1-inch) balls. Cook meatballs, in batches, in a large skillet over mediumhigh heat, until browned (about 5 minutes); remove meatballs from pan and drain well on paper towels. Stir in cranberry and chili sauces and next 5 ingredients in a large Dutch oven over medium heat; cook, whisking occasionally, 5 minutes or until smooth. Add meatballs; reduce heat to low; cook, stirring occasionally, 15-20 min. or until centers are no longer pink. Tip: Make ahead by placing cooked meatballs in a zip-top plastic freezer bag and freeze up to 1 month. Thaw in refrigerator, and cook, stirring occasionally, until thoroughly heated. Baked Goat Cheese Dip 1 10-ounce log goat cheese at room temperature

4 ounces cream cheese at room temperature ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing Freshly ground pepper 8 small grape tomatoes (about 10 ounces) quartered 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar 1 clove garlic, finely chopped ½ teaspoon Kosher salt Toasted baguette slices for serving Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Combine goat cheese, cream cheese, Parmesan and 2 tablespoons olive oil in a food processor and season with pepper; puree until smooth. Brush a 1 quart baking dish with olive oil, then spread the cheese mixture in the dish, mounding it slightly. Bake until golden and heated through, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the tomatoes, chives, vinegar, garlic, the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and ½ teaspoon salt in a medium bowl. Spoon the tomato mixture on top of the dip. Serve with baguette slices. November | DECEMBER | JANUARY

Honey-Peppered Goat Cheese with Fig Balsamic Drizzle Prep: 8 minutes 1 (11-ounce) package fresh goat cheese 1/3 cup olive oil ¼ cup honey ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper 1 tsp. fresh thyme leaves Fig balsamic vinegar or balsamic vinegar Garnish: fresh thyme Using a sharp knife, carefully slice goat cheese in ½-inch thick slices. Place cheese in an 11x7-inch dish or other serving platter. Drizzle with oil. Combine honey and pepper; drizzle over cheese. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon thyme leaves. Cover and chill up to 2 days. Remove cheese from refrigerator 1 hour before serving. Just before serving, drizzle a little vinegar over cheese. Garnish if desired. Serve with bread or crackers. 6 to 8 servings.

Honey-peppered goat cheese with drizzle

Deviled Eggs with Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese 6 large eggs 3 tablespoons minced smoked salmon (about 1 ounce) 3 tablespoons minced green onions 3 tablespoons softened cream cheese 1 tablespoon sour cream 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 2 teaspoons lemon juice ¼ teaspoon salt

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1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper Garnishes: fresh dill, smoked salmon slivers, sweet paprika Place eggs and enough water to cover in a saucepan over medium heat; bring to a boil. Cover, remove from heat, and let stand 15 minutes. Drain; return eggs to saucepan, and add enough cold water and ice to cover. Let cool. Remove shells from eggs, halve each egg lengthwise, and scrape yolks into a bowl. Reserve egg whites. Combine yolks, salmon and next 7 ingredients, mashing with a fork until well blended. Spoon filling into reserved whites, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and refrigerate up to

2 days. Garnish, if desired. Yield: 12 servings. New Year’s Eve Champagne Punch Large can crushed pineapple 16-ounce can frozen limeade ½ cup sugar 2 liter ginger ale Bottle of champagne Mix pineapple, limeade and sugar in a blender until sugar is dissolved. Pour into a mold and freeze. Put frozen mold in a punch bowl and add ginger ale and champagne. Allow the mold to begin to thaw before serving.

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1954 North Brindlee Mountain Parkway Dogwood Plaza • Arab, Alabama 35016 November | DECEMBER | JANUARY

256-586-7309 29

Reads share photos of

Family Members

Clockwise from top left: Jill and DK Mitchell’s guard cat Mr. T and boss dog Boss; Greg and Donna Brown’s birthday Maltese, Oscar; Stella, Gravy, and Biscuit, belonging to Ben and Lindsay Brown, took a trip to the lake to swim and chase ducks after shopping for dog food; Lorna and Scot O’Leary’s Ollie curls up in his wooly bed, while Spooky gets a walk on a leash.

Rascal belongs to the sofa of Rose and David Myers; Cooper, above, has spoiled Claudette and Grant DeMuth, and Sheri Koger says, naturally, that Abbie, left, is the best.

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74 N. Main Street

November | DECEMBER | JANUARY

Joanie & Robert Reynolds are right at home on ....

Main Street in Arab

Story and photos by David Moore

ou can measure your life in the miles you’ve traveled, the distance from your home today to the home where you grew up. Or home can remain in the same basic place from which you started, and you can be happy with that and measure your life by metrics other than mere mileage. Joanie and Robert Reynolds didn’t stray far from their beginnings. They live in a 110year-old house on North Main Street in Arab, in the neighborhood where they grew up a few blocks shy of downtown. It was a thing for her. “I just love old houses, and,” she shrugs, “And I wanted to live on Main Street” ...

oanie and Robert are sitting on a leather sofa in the living room she describes as “small.” Robert is far more complimentary – and ultimately more accurate. “I think it’s warm, friendly and comfortable,” he says. “It’s livable.” Helping the room feel both livable and small is a ceiling a bit lower than most, thanks to new layers of wood overhead and underfoot. Much of the atmosphere stems from a wonderful mix of antiques and newer items everywhere one looks, creating a delight for the eye and a feel of cozy fullness, a deep sense of home. She grew up as Joanie Hawkins, just around the corner on 4th Street. “There and here, that’s been it,” she laughs. Robert grew up on North Main, across from their home today, in a rock house razed some years ago for an expansion at the growing First Baptist Church. “I can tell you a lot of stories,” he grins. In the day, he and his buddies camped out, roamed around at night and perhaps stole a watermelon or rolled a yard. “There wasn’t much to do,” he says. Later, as a lineman, he traveled from the East Coast to the West, living out of motel rooms. “I always said if I had a chance to come home I would never leave, and I haven’t,” Robert says. “Arab is home.”

dozen years in age difference, she never really knew Robert, though she grew up around the corner. After graduating from Arab High School in 1979, she was trained and worked in respiratory therapy at the old Arab Hospital. Robert, meanwhile, worked for the Arab Fire Department. They got to know each other through an EMT class she took and he taught. He was also a contractor and excavator when they married in 1983 34

November | DECEMBER | JANUARY

Robert has two grown children: Robbye, a nurse in Huntsville; and Chuck, a federal marshal who lives in Arab and serves on the school board. Joanie and Robert have two sons: Joey, 29, owner of Reynolds Excavating living in Arab; and Justin, 27, who works for USDA in Corinth, Miss. – a fortunate fit, as it turns out, with Joanie’s thing for old houses. The house they bought was built in 1910, was most recently owned by the late WA and the late Gracie Martin. That was in ... what? Joanie and Robert look at each other while puzzling it out. Gee, 31 years ago. One wouldn’t know in passing, but their property runs deep, entailing four acres. They bought it with the intention of fixing up the house and flipping it for a profit. Instead, the more they worked on it, the more attached they became. Plus, Joanie always wanted to live on Main Street. “It became convenient, we had real good neighbors and decided to stay,” Robert says. “And we couldn’t really find anything we could afford. Then it became a white elephant no one else could afford.” He built shops behind the house

for his contracting work. Meanwhile, Joanie took design courses at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. In 1992 they started Parkway Flooring in Arab, putting their pooled talents to good use. The store and his contracting work are under the umbrella of The Reynolds Group. At AFD Robert climbed fire ladders and rank ladders, retiring as a captain in 2004.

obert’s first project on the house was converting a second front door on the porch into a bedroom window. He enclosed a side porch to create a narrow room that, for some years, was the Christmas tree room. Later, after removing an inside wall, it became the dining area. A new roof was installed over the existing one. The space between serves as insulation.

About 10 years ago they undertook a major project installing, at Joanie’s urging, tongue-and-groove wood on the ceilings and bead board over plastered walls. Robert also built square, half-columns over exposed wall edges. Being in the business, hardwood floors were a given. In redecorating, Joanie started with a pattern of green, brown and gold – her favorite colors – to recover two old chairs. Everything else flowed from there. Below, a dim but warm hall. “You can heat this place with a candle,” Robert says. Being an old house, unlevel ceilings and floors were a given. Judicious placement of crown molding camouflaged the former, and Robert jacked up and put piers under the old floors then shims under a new subfloor. In the early 1990s, the Reynoldses built a separate, 12x24foot playroom off the carport; today it serves the useful, if not unusual, function of a duck decoy room. Later they built a 16x36-foot, freestanding game room, now a quasi-apartment. Major projects are collaborative efforts. Robert figures out which options will work, which won’t; Joanie decides which to do. But outside of a few interior trim ideas, interior decorating is

In tearing down an old barn on the property, Robert saved some of the vintage oak to build the corner cabinet in the dining area, above. “You couldn’t drive a nail in that for love or money,” he says. Joanie put a framed print to good – and unusual – use, hanging it over a window so that it offers privacy and still allows light. pure Joanie. Some of her inspiration comes from her design courses at UAH, following basic tenets such as mixing patterns and textures. Some ideas emanate from her natural taste. “It’s all what I like,” Joanie says. “And I like old stuff.”

rojects were undertaken over time as money was available, but they added up to a very comfortable 3,600-square-foot home. They also added up, period. “We could have bought two houses for what we spent,” Joanie laughs. “If we had it to do over we might do something different,” Robert says. “But we can’t figure out what that would be.” Conversation in the living room, perhaps inevitably, shifts from their life Joanie’s father once shot the pheasant on the living room mantel. 36

November | DECEMBER | JANUARY

Robert remodeled Joanie’s kitchen – along with most of the other interior projects – with help from his longtime firefighting buddy Tony Cox. With her love for all things old, Joanie insisted on keeping the existing 48-inch stove, so the guys built the new kitchen around it. on Main Street to a stroll down Memory Lane. The old neighborhood had lots to do with their wanting to live there. North Main mainstays in the 30s and 40s were Dr. James Crawford and family. Their house was one of a handful razed to accommodate expansions of Arab First Baptist Church. The church’s blended buildings today look beautiful, Joanie says, but that didn’t stop her from squalling when the Crawford house was demolished.

Back in the day, Lloyd Scott, president

of the old Bank of Arab, and his son, Wayne, also a banker, lived next to Robert. And several preachers and their families lived in the former First Baptist parsonage. Then there were the homes of Mary Frances; of Randolph and Ava Ruth Linn, who owned A window in the kitchen opens out to the living room area. November | DECEMBER | JANUARY

The deck and pergola Robert added to the back of the house created a new and inviting living area, buffered from passing traffic out front on North Main. the former Linn’s Five and Dime downtown and other businesses. Julian and Ruth Brannon lived a few houses up and across the street from Robert. Just beyond them was Arab High School football coach Bemon Lyon and his, wife. A bit closer to town were Clyde and Reba Hart. They had three sons, Jimmy, Jerry and Johnny, the latter who, like his father, served as mayor of Arab. Everyone knew everyone. “Even as a kid, on any street you knew someone. If you were out and got hungry, you could get something to eat,” Robert says. The flip side of everyone knowing everyone, he adds, is that everyone usually knew everyone else’s business. Bo Roberts and his wife, who raised children not their own, used to live next door to where the Reynoldses live today and had a chicken coop. He was, Joanie says, quite the character. She and Robert eventually bought that house, but sold it later on to an absentee owner 38

November | DECEMBER | JANUARY

buying property to rent. While the sale worked out well at the time – they doubled their money while their boys were in college – they now wish they still owned it.

early all of their old neighbors have passed with the flipping of calendars. Absentee ownership now accounts for a good bit of residential property on North Main. Like many aspects of life in the past few decades, relationships with neighbors have changed. “I don’t even know them,” says Joanie. “They’re probably nice. But when we moved here, we had the best neighbors and knew them all.” Bill Darmer and Cliff Griggs are the only ones left on that stretch of road who grew up there, Robert says. In its heyday of decades past, The Arabian Motel was a stopover for southbound Snow Birds driving U.S. 231, “the short route to Florida.” The old landmark has hit potholes since, but the Reynoldses say its ownership

and clientele have greatly improved in recent years. There are other upticks. Tut and Roberta Estep for years lived up the street. Daniel and Alisha Roe bought their brick house and, Joanie says, did a wonderful job updating it. Another couple bought Arlon and Deleen Wheeler’s house, and one of the Darmers, another old Main Street family, bought the home of Charlene McGee. “It’s good that younger people are buying these houses,” Joanie says. “We love to see a revitalization of the Main Street residential areas.” Maybe there will be more positive change, additional old homes lit up with refurbished light. Maybe not. Regardless, Joanie and Robert have built their home and life on North Main. “It’s still a convenient place to live,” he says. “I look forward to getting back here every day. We’re not going anywhere. It’s home.” Good Life Magazine

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Dreams of wings and thrills galore as Albertvilleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s airport turns 50 Photography by Patrick Oden

A young spectator with a dreamy look watches the air show held this fall to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Albertville Regional Airport. Jerry Ward and Billy Worth, above were among the world-class aerobatic pilots who thrilled the crowd. Below, a WWII T-28 Navy trainer swoops low over the field.

Despite overcast skies and a busy September weekend, the airshow drew 4,000 visitors to Albertville Regional Airport. Among those who flew in were, from bottom left, USN Reserve Cpt. Dan Serrato, LaGrange Ga., with a 1955 Grumman C1A, which carried mail to the aircraft carrier Lexington; and former Army pilot turned airline captain Drew Muench, Talladega, with his 1960 Focke Wulf 149D West German trainer. Another visiting pilot exercised his funny bone with the surprise he left in his cockpit. Besides attracting air show crowds, the airport has attracted the Alabama Aviation College, RainAir Aviation, Mid-South Aviation and defense contractors BAE Systems and Selex Galileo as neighbors.

Two private grass airstrips operated in Albertville in the 1950s. Several veteran WWII pilots and others later convinced the city council of the need for – and benefits of – a real airport. One of them, former fighter pilot Thomas J. Brumlik, was named chairman of the new Albertville Airport Authority. Grants were secured, a site was purchased, a runway built, and, in 1964, the municipal airport was dedicated. Today, Jerry Cofield is director of the greatly expanded Albertville Regional Airport – Thomas J. Brumlik Field. With 43 hangars, the airport provides a base for 63 planes including five corporate jets – thanks to a 6,117-foot runway. The airport handles an average of 10-12 takeoffs and landings a day.

November | DECEMBER | JANUARY

Waylon Jennings might wonder but ...

Naw, Hank really did it this way ... And Sand Mtn.’s Pee Wee Moultrie was there with him, playing the accordion Story by Steve Maze Photos from his collection

he legendary Hank Williams put together several versions of his Drifting Cowboy bands during his career, but only one band member was from Sand Mountain – and he was one of the original members from the late 1930s. Born in 1922, Cois Elmo “Pee Wee” Moultrie was the youngest of five children of “Little John” and Hattie Lee Collier Moultrie. He was raised in Albertville, but the family moved to the Liberty Hill community when he was about 12. Pee Wee, though not called that, was still attending Douglas High School when he became fascinated with music. One Saturday night he fell in love with the accordion after hearing Pee Wee King and the Golden West Cowboys on the Grand Ole Opry radio show. Someone told him about a fellow who had an accordion for sale, and he talked his mother into 44

November | DECEMBER | JANUARY

In this 1938-39 photo, Hank Williams drapes his arm across the shoulder of Pee Wee Moultrie, his Drifting Cowboy accordion player selling a bale of cotton to purchase it. “That accordion almost caused a divorce, but Dad finally got over it,” young Pee Wee laughed while I interviewed him a few years ago. “I locked myself in my bedroom and practiced until I felt I could hold my own with the local bands.” In 1939, he heard a band called the Radio Rangers on a Huntsville radio station and wrote them to ask for a job. To his surprise, they

answered and told him to be in Huntsville the following day.

he band soon headed for Montgomery and got air time on WCOV. While playing there, Pee Wee noticed two individuals watching them perform from outside the studio. “They walked up to us after our show and introduced themselves as Hank Williams and Hezzy Adair,”

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Hank Williams, right in this 1940 photo, with his Drifting Cowboys. At the time they were, from left, Pee Wee Moultrie, accordion; Charlie Mays, fiddle; Sue Williams, occasional fill-in singer and no relation to Hank; and Smith “Hezzy” Adair, who played bass. he said. “They were forming a band to be called Hank and Hezzy and the Driftin’ Cowboys and wanted to know if me and our fiddle player, Charlie Mays, wanted a job.” Hank had been playing around Montgomery as The Singing Kid but wanted to form a band similar to the Sons of the Pioneers. He needed an accordion player, as well as a comedian, and Pee Wee filled the bill since he had held both roles with the Radio Rangers. Hank always nicknamed his band members and immediately christened Pee Wee as “Pee Wee” due to his skinny frame of 108 pounds. He shared a large bedroom with Hank 46

November | DECEMBER | JANUARY

Williams and Charlie Mays on the second floor of a Montgomery boardinghouse owned by Williams’ mother, Lilly. The band found plenty of work but was hardly getting rich. Hank Williams was not the music icon he would later become. The group played daily radio shows, but usually came out in the hole after they paid for their air time. Lilly, their selfappointed manager, took up the admission fees for their gigs. “She took a cut for the car she provided us, a cut for Hank and a cut for any other expenses,” Pee Wee said. “That left very little for the rest of us.”

fter one gig, Pee Wee had a letter waiting on him from a band in Tennessee. They had a radio program in Nashville and were trying out for a commercial that advertised some type of tonic. Thinking Nashville would be a step up, Pee Wee left Hank and the band. The new group lost the commercial to a harmonica band, however, and Pee Wee went home to Sand Mountain to rest up. He was standing on an Albertville street corner one day waiting for a traffic light to change. Looking down at the curb, he was shocked to see Lilly’s 1936 Ford right in front

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Monday - Saturday 10:30am-9pm, Sunday 11am-3pm November | DECEMBER | JANUARY 47

In 1975, the late Waylon Jennings wrote and recorded “Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way?” The song paid homage to country legend Hank Williams Sr. and also took a jab at the direction of county music and musicians with their “rhinestone suites and new shiny cars.” Author Steve Maze, far right, first met the late Pee Wee Moultrie in 1998 at the Hank Williams festival in Georgiana. Having played accordion with Hank for several years, Pee Wee knew the truth –they were far more worried about getting paychecks than having fancy wardrobes. of him. Hezzy was driving, Lilly was in the front passenger seat, and Hank was lying in the back. They had come to Albertville in hopes of getting Pee Wee to rejoin the band. “Boy, get in this car!” Lilly snapped. “Hank’s mother weighed about 200 pounds, and I wasn’t about to say no to her,” Pee Wee laughed. “We went home and picked up my accordion. Lilly saw my mother give me $5 and took the money from me to buy gas on the way back to Montgomery.”

he band played a daily radio show in Huntsville to advertise their show dates, but the members still were basically working for room and board. Lilly still handled the finances, which caused several quarrels between her and Hank and is probably why he left Montgomery for a short time in 1940. Most of their performances were on the weekends, but they still had to be available for their daily radio programs. By the end of 1940, Pee Wee could see they weren’t going any place fast. Most of the money was going to Lilly, and the band basically worked for three meals a day. 48

November | DECEMBER | JANUARY

Pee Wee left and entered a trade school in Gadsden.

n 1943, he was drafted into the U.S. Air Force and assigned to Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, N.M. Unaware of that, Hank, his wife, Audrey, and bass player Lum York drove to Sand Mountain in an effort to get Pee Wee to rejoin the band. “We ran out of gas three-quarters of the way up the mountain between Guntersville and Albertville,” Lum recalled. “I volunteered to walk down the hill to get gas at a filling station. I hadn’t gone far when I heard a car coming down the mountain at a high rate of speed. It was Hank’s ’39 Chevrolet. “Audrey was driving and Hank was sitting in the front seat. He had the passenger side door open with his feet on the running board.” “I’m going to bail out!’ Hank screamed as they sped past Lum. “Hang in there boy!” Lum screamed back. Somehow, they made it to the bottom of the mountain without wrecking. Upon their eventual arrival in Albertville, Pee Wee’s mother told

Hank that her son was in Albuquerque and moonlighting at the Chesterfield Club.

ne night a few years later, to Pee Wee’s surprise, Hank strolled into the Chesterfield Club. Pee Wee took a break from his show and had a nice visit with Hank, who was quite famous by then. He didn’t realize it, but that would be the last time Pee Wee would ever see his former boss and fellow musician. Hank died a short time later on Jan. 1, 1953. “I could tell Hank was special due to the way an audience would react to him,” Pee Wee said. “His ability to influence a crowd was like no one I have ever seen – either then or since. I still have many fond memories of Hank and the time we spent together.” Before he died Jan. 15, 2012, Pee Wee often quoted what Hank used to say at the end of their performances: “If the good Lord’s willing and the creek don’t rise, we’ll see you down the road.” I’m sure that the good Lord was willing, and Hank and Pee Wee are now doing what they loved to do – singing and making music. Good Life Magazine

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November | DECEMBER | JANUARY

Going all out for Christmas

Photos by David Moore

Theresa Henry Green loved it when her dad went all out decorating for Christmas. At her own house in Arab, she used to decorate a tree in every room. In 2011, she and her husband, Jerry, opened the Vineyard and Blackberry Chapel, an event center east of Arab. After that, all of her Christmas efforts went into decorating there. Last year her theme was “A Winter Wonderland” – and she lavishly went all out.

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Don’t Miss The Sixth Annual Festival of Trees See our exhibit of more than thirty-five beautiful and unique Christmas trees

November 20 through January 4 Guntersville MuseuM 1215 rayburn Avenue, Guntersville, Al 35976

Free AdMission Hours: tue-Fri 10-4, Weekends: 1-4

www.guntersvillemuseum.org

open 24 / 7 . . . even on Holidays

peoples bank

of alabama in god we trust

www.PeoplesBankAl.com Albertville 256-891-2265 • Arab 256-931-8500 • Boaz 256-840-9998 • Guntersville 256-582-5024 November | DECEMBER | JANUARY

Theresa restricted vivid colors last Christmas to a few areas of the large room, notably the deep red tree between to columns in one of the corners. Mostly, her wonderland effect relied upon golds, silvers, whites and greens. She got plenty of sparkle from crystal, cut glass, glitter and lots and lots of lights. This year, she shifted gears for a “Down Home Country Christmas.” As one might expect, she’s once again going all out. 52

November | DECEMBER | JANUARY

Mary Holley MD

GYNECOLOGY WOMEN’S WELLNESS GENERAL MEDICAL CARE Dr. Mary Holley welcomes Shirley Powell, Doctor of Naturopthy in Original Medicine, to her staff in Guntersville. Dr. Powell has seven years of professional experience in helping people overcome health challenges through holistic, natural means. She has been practicing holistic health and sharing insights with others for 25 years. Schedule your appointment today and she can: • Identify the true cause of your health imbalance • Provide holistic healing, wellness, and weight loss guidance • Recommend appropriate natural solutions and remedies to common problems to restore optimal function • Personalize a diet and lifestyle program for you, including meal plans and supplement schedules • Monitor health status through testing to evaluate progress

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North Alabama & Marshall County's oldest community theater, celebrating 40 years

Tickets are on sale now. Visit the WBS website at www.wholebackstage.com 256-582-7469 • 1120 RaybuRn avenue, GunteRsville, al 35976

An Evening with Damon Johnson Friday, november 21 at 7:30 pm tickets are $25 reserved and $50 viP status which includes a meet & greet with Damon, drinks and premium seating

White Christmas The Musical

Directed by Jane Kohl Nov. 28-Dec. 2 & Dec. 4-7 Friday & saturday at 7 pm sunday Matinée at 2 pm

AUDITIONS:

Whodunit, the Musical Directed by John Cardy Thurs., nov.13-15 at 6 pm November | DECEMBER | JANUARY

With his crew of women watching and his camera set for a 15-second exposure, Patrick Oden tries his hand at writing with a burning stick.

Buckâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Pocket

The (not quite) epic saga of survival (in a state park) with a wife and three teen girls

Story and photos by Patrick Oden I confess. I have no rugged disposition or a kinship with the earth. You could write books on what I don’t know about camping. But I did recently learn that the words “we’re going camping” are magical ...

When we married in 2013,

spots to pitch our tents, fire pits and picnic tables. Restrooms were only a short walk away. “That tent’s not big enough for all three of us,” Katie said. “I’ll sleep in the car,” Lexy offered. No. I asked the girls to gather wood for

side and a spoon from the other. Perpetually glued to cell phones and iPods, I’m still not sure they ever reflected upon the value of their fingers as they whittled furiously at those sticks. In no time at all weenies and marshmallows were awkwardly skewered, and we had a feast that would be the envy of … well, no one. Ever.

Miranda had three beautiful daughters. Katie is 11, Chloe is 13, and Lexy soon will be 15. In my new role as teacher of values, guardian of virtue and instiller of knowledge, I’ve learned it’s nearly impossible to get them to tell me anything about school. But when I said, “We’re going camping,” the girls t wasn’t much promptly informed past 8 p.m. when our me of every project modest fire began they have or expect to take its last dying to have from now gasps for oxygen, through their doctoral and that seemed studies. Despite like reason enough their reluctance, we to call it a day. I’m laid plans to spend a not sure if I was September weekend tired from setting camping at Buck’s up camp, stressed Pocket State Park. about having to bury Thanks to a body in the woods Buck’s Pocket State Park offers developed and primitive testosterone and REI, if the complaining camping, picnicking, hiking and more. To get there, continue I was pretty sure I had drove Miranda over past the entrance of Guntersville State Park, northeast on everything we would the edge, or if it was need for a weekend in the cool breeze and Ala. 227, following the signs, for about 15 miles. the woods: two tents, sounds of nature, but I camp stove, big knife, slept like a baby. little hatchet, fresh water and every the fire as I pitched the tents. I thought Maybe it was the pillows, blankets, product on the market sold to aid in the their complaining to the trees would and big squishy air mattress. starting of fires. give me a moment to relax. Besides, There was no more reason to the What I hadn’t thought about my I didn’t want witnesses as I tried to time we awoke than the time we had wife, Miranda, had, and that list figure out which rod was Rod A and turned in. The sun came up and so did was substantial: two queen-sized which loop was Loop B. every living thing in Buck’s Pocket. air mattresses, seven blankets, five Night fell quickly upon us. But Or so it seemed. Mother nature had pillows, the entirety of isle three of the thanks to the gallon of leaves Katie had flipped on the lights, and her alarm grocery store, and the biggest package collected and something called “Fire clock has no snooze button. of baby wipes I have ever seen. Paste,” we were nestled into an array But it was a pleasant and peaceful For the girls, packing was easy. of multicolored folding chairs in short morning. Pop-Tarts and hot chocolate The clothes they had on, 18 different order. made the girls happy, and Katie found electronic devices and bad attitudes As the fire crackled, conversation a box of matches to entertain herself were all they seemed to need. quickly turned to dinner. There were while Miranda and I explored the finer s’mores to be made but that was points of instant coffee. Spoiler alert, e left home after school that dessert and would have to wait until there are none. Friday, bound for Buck’s Pocket. after everyone had had a healthy meal. Wow, it was already 7:30. Now The park encompasses roughly Sharpen your sticks ladies … it’s what? 2,000 acres in Marshall, Jackson weenie time, I said. Katie giggled. I “I want to go to the playground,” and DeKalb counties, and we found, should have expected no less. Katie said. Perfect, I thought, I at least I did, that it couldn’t have And sharpen they did. I had given didn’t have any better ideas yet, and provided a more inviting or peaceful each of the girls a pocketknife when this would buy me time to think of atmosphere for our adventure. Even we arrived. They were handy little something to do to entertain the troops. our primitive campsite had nice level tools with a fork that folded from one Thanks to suggestions from the

November | DECEMBER | JANUARY

Katie lights a stove under mom Mirandaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s eye, above left; the two of them and Chloe, top, at camp after Patrick, above, figures out Rod A and Loop B; and the tent holds up, even in the gloaming. November | DECEMBER | JANUARY

rangers in the camp office, entertainment didn’t turn out to be so hard. And, as the day passed, I noticed the complaining had ceased completely, replaced by smiles and the sarcastic banter that indicates this family is having fun. Swings and seesaws gave way to a short hike … actually, a short walk on a well-developed path out to Point Rock scenic overlook. The view is spectacular. The giant trees in the pocket below seem to be stretching for the sky, as you stand perched above them.

ungry, we headed back to our campsite. Ham sandwiches seemed like a delicacy, but we were still roughing it. There was no mustard, only mayonnaise. There was plenty more to explore, and we were the crew to do it … but first a nap. With clear skies, temperature in the mid-80s and a big buckeye tree shading our campsite, the next two hours fell from the clock unnoticed. By early afternoon the girls were vigorously attacking a nearby dry creek bed, springing from rock to rock, scaling and descending anything and everything that dared get in their way. If they’d had a flag, they’d have planted it. As it was, they settled for leaving evidence of their visit in the form of a tic-tac-toe game played on a large rock using a smaller rock as a scribe. Though we had brought bathing suits and fishing 58

November | DECEMBER | JANUARY

Katie gives sister Chloe a funny but rude wakeup call, above left, while Miranda yawns back to life in her and Patrick’s tent. Chloe has a bite of nourishment, far left, while Miranda passes a pack of something from “the entire aisle three,” which she bought at the grocery store, to Lexy. poles, we never made it to the park’s recreation area on the lake. The day that had started so early had passed quickly, and it was time to gather wood again for the evening’s fire. Only 24 hours had passed and we were already adapting beautifully to our surroundings. Our efforts to be mindful of our environment had lent themselves to an epiphany moment, and we began to relocate the large partially burnt logs from the fire pits at other campsites to our own. “What’s for dinner?” Chloe asked. She was thrilled by the reply.

“Weenies and s’mores.” Katie giggled, then asked. “When are we going home?” “In the morning when we wake up,” Miranda answered. “Why are we going to sleep in these tents again if we’re just going to go home in the morning?” Katie asked. “We can go home now and take showers.”

We stayed, and, despite the clean showers at the park,

the girls chose to bathe with baby wipes. Public showers were an adventure they just weren’t ready for. November | DECEMBER | JANUARY

Katie watches from above while Miranda, Chloe and Lexy climb down near the edge of the bluff. Chloe stretches out as she climbs over boulders, center. At the bottom, Lexy catches up with her distant sisters while exploring at Buck’s Pocket. The night passed around the campfire as the girls sharpened sticks, set them on fire and repeated the process. It was a calm and mellow evening and everyone seemed relaxed. We were all unplugged, spending time together as a family and no one was complaining about it. Whether they had simply succumbed to the experience or were actually enjoying themselves, I may never know. I like to think it’s the latter. As it had the night before, Saturday night passed without incident. Wild animals didn’t ransack our campsite, shred our tents and devour us in our sleep. No wilderness roaming axe murderers showed up to make a coat of our hides. Heck, we didn’t even find any snakes in our pillowcases.

fter two more cups of bad coffee and a short wrestling match with a tent, we were on our way. Buck’s Pocket was in our rearview mirror as the sun climbed into the Sunday sky. Reflecting on the experience, I realize that the notion of having a rugged disposition or a kinship with the earth isn’t a prerequisite of camping or enjoying it. The trip was lots of fun, and there was something intangibly delightful about sleeping in the fresh air. Not only were my notions of camping inaccurate, it would be hard to say we “roughed it.” Oh, one more thing … My girls still don’t know that I wrote about our experience for Good Life Magazine. I figured I would let them read about it like everyone else. Just wait ’til they learn, even at our “primitive” campsite, the park’s Wi-Fi was coming in strong. Good Life Magazine

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Duckett Pointe | Val Monte DriVe | GuntersVille, al November | DECEMBER | JANUARY

Out ’n’ About You might not be out and about in the middle of winter, but many birds are. You can help them through the winter – and entertain yourself at the same time – with a birdfeeder or two in your yard. Placing feeders near a window helps in viewing, and the entertainment only multiplies with a camera, long lens and a tripod. According to the Audubon Society, wild birds usually manage to scrounge up enough to eat from the natural environment, but it’s especially beneficial to them during snow and heavy freezes to keep a stocked birdfeeder or two. Black-oil sunflower seed is the preferred menu item of many woodpeckers, finches, goldfinches, cardinals, grosbeaks, chickadees, titmice, nuthatches and grackles. Squirrels like it, too, but that’s another war. Suet, fruit and – if you want go all out – peanut butter pudding – are also appreciated by your fine-feathered friends. Photos by David Moore 62

November | DECEMBER | JANUARY

Convenience is just the first advantage.

There are many reasons Marshall Medical is the confident choice for cancer care. When the Marshall Cancer Care Center opened, the closer-to-home advantage was big news. Anyone who has traveled for treatment knows the benefits of a shorter ride. But here’s what patients and families have found even more powerful: having access to the latest treatment options in a caring, patient-focused environment. From advanced radiation technology to comprehensive patient support programs, we’re committed to making your choice for cancer care an easy decision.

Our physicians make a difference: Dr. Gideon P. Ewing (Hematology/Oncology), Dr. Tom Payne (Radiation Oncology) and Dr. Jonathan Storey (Hematolgy/Oncology).

256.894.6750 • mmcenters.com Located on US Highway 431, just south of Cracker Barrel in Guntersville.