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

Marshall County

Boazâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s RenĂŠe Pierce wears her crown with purpose ... and a sense of humor Since the earliest of times, man caves have provided shelter from the wilds Milton Eubanks reigns (and works) over a spring kingdom in Scant City

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Welcome

Ancient rock art paints some perspective on our time here W

e are all newcomers here. It doesn’t matter if you live in Boaz and trace your lineage to Billy Sparks, who led the wagon train of 47 people to Sand Mountain in 1878 and founded what would become Boaz. Or if your great-great-great was Thomas Albert, newcomer from Georgia in the 1850s, for whom Albertville was named. It doesn’t matter if the roots of your family tree creep back to Arab founder Stephen Tuttle Thompson or Mace Thomas Payne Brindley of the mountain fame, who moved to the

area in 1812. It doesn’t matter if your bloodline trickles back to John Gunter, who moved from the Carolinas in 1785 and became a squatter on the banks of the Tennessee River. Maybe you’re kin to the Kennamers or Ayerses or can trace your ancestors back to soldiers in the Revolutionary War. My family and I moved to Arab in late 1990. We’re certainly newcomers. But it doesn’t matter. We’re all newcomers here in Marshall County. Well, most of us. I was reminded of this recently while idling in a friend’s cold boat

and gawking up at the staggeringly massive and ancient face of Painted Bluff. Prehistoric Native Americans painted religious and other symbols on the David Moore bluff 600-700 years Publisher/editor ago. They have us all beat. I’m just thrilled they left traces. Check out the story and photos starting on page 34. The spread offers a little perspective on our being here.

Contributors Dr. J.F. “Pete” Sparks has a dental practice in Grant. He’s on the Marshall Medical Centers board. More to the current point, he’s president of the Guntersville Historic Society and author of “A River Town’s Fight for Life: The History of Guntersville, Ala., in the Civil War.” That’s handy, given what happened 150 years ago ... Patrick Oden turns his talented eye and camera to a restaurant photo spread and high school art class. In the latter case, he also wrote a story on Val Jones, a founder of ARTS and a teacher of much energy and talent. The publisher/editor likes the idea of sending an artist to cover an artist. It just seems right. “Everyone wants to know about backyard tomatoes,” says Marshall County Extension Coordinator Eddie Wheeler. So he writes about them in this issue. Still want more? Eddie is planning a free seminar on ‘maters from 9 a.m.- 1 p.m. March 26 at the Episcopal Church of the Epiphany. For reservations: 256-582-2009.

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Steve Maze, who lives near Arab, might as well have “History Nut” tattooed on his forehead. Anyone who knows him knows his love and knowledge of nearly all things involving local history. The events of Jan. 15, 1865, in Red Hill have long fascinated him, and this is the ideal time for him to write about them. Annette Haislip of late has enjoyed her garden and literary clubs, trying new recipes for her ladies’ potluck dinners and lunching with friends. One granddaughter will spend this semester of her junior year at Georgetown University in Seoul, Korea; the other expects a baby in May. Nothing exciting, she moans.

Good Life art and advertising director never fails to amaze the publisher/editor with the graphic pizzazz she creates for ads in the magazine. In this issue she also applied her talent and computer wizardry to an illustration for a spread on man caves. Check it out on page 57. Too cool. Too funny.

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Inside 10 Good Fun

From food and wine to fish and art

16 Good People

State queen talks about that crown

22 Good Reads

Rick Bragg and Galbraith/Rowling

24 Good ’n’ Green

Everyone loves a really good tomato

27 Good Cookin’

Albertville students show off their skills

32 Good Eats

Juicy steaks for the “outlaw” in you

34 Painted Bluff

It’s a looming monument on the river, but there are other reasons the place impresses

42 Val Jones

Perhaps more than anything else, she helps create new artists

On the cover, spring explodes in Milton Eubanks’s garden near Arab. Pictured here from an airplane, Paint Rock gets brushed by morning sun, but the coloring of the 300-foot rock facing is not the reason for its name. Photos by David Moore

48 The burning of Guntersville

A not very honorable predawn shooting in Red Hill led to Civil War destruction

57 Man caves

Since the darkest days before civilization man has sought refuge from the wilds

66 Out ‘n’ About

If you pass through Scant City this spring you have to see Milton Eubanks’s azaleas

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

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

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

Mo mc Publishing llc A member of the Albertville, Arab, Boaz and Guntersville chambers of commerce

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Albertville Home Bakery was one of the popular participants at Taste of Albertville last year. Photo provided.

while back, Melody Whitten asked a few folks what they thought about maybe skipping a year and not holding the annual Taste of Albertville in 2015. It was like asking if they wanted to skip breakfast, lunch and supper. “Everyone was overwhelmingly against it,” says Melody, the event organizer and director of Albertville Economic and Community Development. “It’s been such a huge hit.” So the fifth annual Taste of Albertville is on for Thursday, Feb. 26, at Crossroads Mall. The doors open at exactly 5 p.m. Expect a throng of people. 10

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Tons of tasty menu samples from 20-plus Albertville restaurants, bakeries and caterers will be served. Albertville’s homegrown winery, Jules Berta, Coke, Supreme Beverage and Birmingham Budweiser will have samples of their products, and a cash bar will be set up, too. The Yum Yum Tree, KFC, Domino’s Pizza, Arby’s, Sebastien’s, Bojangles, Santa Fe Cattle Co., Jefferson’s and the Albertville High School culinary class were the first local eateries to sign up. They’ll be feeding the masses and vying for the Best of Show Award. The Albertville Commercial Development Authority started Taste of Albertville to promote local restaurants. A portion of the proceeds goes to a charity; this year it’s Meals on Wheels. Tickets are $12 per person. That includes children. “We have some kids who eat more than adults,” Melody laughs. You can buy tickets at The Yum Yum Tree, Vantage Bank, Whitten Town and Country Clothes, Albertville City Hall and Albertville Chamber of Commerce. If any are left – only 600 are sold – you can purchase them at the door.

Go to a play, go fishing, go for wine ...

Just get out and go! • Feb. 13-15; 19-22 – “Whodunit … The Musical” Directed by John Cardy at the Whole Backstage, it opens when a wealthy spinster and her cockney maid take a beautiful summer home in 1931. All the help has quit except for an odd butler who says something “strange” is going on. After they go to bed, a gunshot sounds. A total stranger is found dead in the middle of the living room, and then things do get strange. All shows 7 p.m. except 2 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $18 for adults, $16 for students/seniors; can be purchased at, or through the office 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Mon.-Fri. by calling: 256582-7469.

• Feb. 19 – Opening night of “Bye Bye Birdie” Established in 1999, the nationallyacclaimed Arab Musical Theatre program was named top high school drama program in the Southeast and one of the top five in the U.S. in 2010. The big-budget production is the story of a rock-and-roll singer going off to the Army and its effect on a group of teens in a small Ohio town. It was inspired by the media circus caused when Elvis Presley was drafted in 1957 and gave a specially selected member of the Women’s Army Corps “one last kiss.”

Shows are at 7 p.m. Feb. 19-21 and 26-28; 2 p.m. matinées are on Feb. 21-22. Advance tickets range from $5-$12 ($3 more at the door). They can be bought at the Arab High School office or online at: www. amtshows.org. • Feb. 26-28 – Audition for a WBS play The Whole Backstage summer musical is “The Things We Do For Love, A ‘70s Musical.” Auditions will be held at the WBS at 6:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 10 a.m. Saturday. • Feb. 27-28 – Youth Theatre Extravaganza Youth troupes from across Alabama will stage plays Friday and Saturday at this event hosted by the Whole Backstage. Open to the public, tickets will be sold at the door; $4 per performance; $12 wristbands for access to all the performances. • Feb. 28 – Boaz Night Live For the 40th anniversary of Saturday Night Live, Boaz High School Theatre will stage its take-off on the characters and craziness that made the TV show iconic. Get ready to laugh. BNL starts at 7 p.m. Saturday in the school auditorium. Tickets are $5. • March 5-7 – Audition for a WBS play Hollywood actor and Mississippi native Gary Grubbs wrote “As the Crow Flies.” (Please see April 23-26 entry.) Auditions will be at the Whole Backstage at 6:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday; 10 a.m. Saturday. • March 6-7 – “Cinderella” Guntersville City Schools’ Performing Arts program presents the classic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical at 7 p.m. at GHS. The annual

Good Fun

spring musical is directed by Christi Smallwood. Tickets are $5. • March 7 – Freedom Marine Bass Tournament Launching and weigh-in at Bucky Howe Park on Spring Creek across from Outlaw Steakhouse. Cash prizes of $5,000 to $1,000 for first-fifth place. Win $5,000 as top Phoenix team; $5,000 winning from a G2 Evinrude-powered Phoenix bought from Freedom. Win $1,000 for top couples, military and parent-child teams; $500 for big fish. At same big tent event location, Humminbird GPS classes Thursday evening, live ESPN radio show Friday evening. Meet Phoenix pros, demo boat and more. For more info: 256-660-1703; or www. freedommarinecenter.net. • March 13 – Home Place wine tasting The annual fundraiser will be 5:307:30 p.m. Friday at Kala’s Cottage at 217 Gunter Ave., Guntersville. Try out 10 great wines and heavy appetizers. A minimum $20 donation is requested. Proceeds go to the non-profit’s effort to build four more apartments to help the homeless get back on their feet. • March 14 – Ms. Senior Marshall Co. A preliminary to the Ms. Senior Alabama competition, the pageant will be held at 6 p.m. Saturday at The Whole Backstage in Guntersville. It will last about two hours, followed by a reception. The queen will compete for the title of Ms. Senior Alabama, with that winner going on to the national. Last year’s winner, Renée Pierce of Boaz, won the state title and was third runner-up nationally. (Please see page 16.) For more information, call pageant FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL

director Dawn Hagstrom: 256-7385886; or assistant director Becky Rowe: 256-582-2443.

leave for the world above. But first she’ll have to defy her father, King Triton, deal with the evil sea witch Ursula and convince Prince Eric that she’s the girl whose enchanting voice he seeks.

• March 14 – “Boaz Has Talent” It’s the fifth annual takeoff on America Has Talent. The twopart show features students K-5 that afternoon and older kids and faculty that evening in an array of performances from gymnastics to music. Tickets are $5. For times and more info, see the Facebook pages for Boaz High School Theatre or Boaz High School Arts Club. • March 19-21 – FLW Rayovac Series The Rayovac Bass Tournament brings its first-place purse of $40,000 to Lake Guntersville State Park. Hosted by Marshall County Convention and Visitors Bureau, daily takeoffs are at 7 p.m. from the park. Weigh-ins are 3 p.m. Thursday and Friday at the park; 4 p.m. final day at Guntersville Walmart.

• March 19-22 – “Little Mermaid, Jr.” Kelleybrooke Brown of the Whole Backstage Children’s Theatre will direct the 60-minute version of the Disney Broadway production. Shows at 7 p.m., except 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $10. Follow Ariel and her aquatic friends through the magical underwater kingdom she longs to

• April 9-12 – Elite fishing/ outdoor expo BASS celebrates the 10th anniversary of the Bassmaster Elite Series with its second event at Lake Guntersville, site of the 2014 Classic. Daily blastoffs and weighins will be at the city harbor in Guntersville. Saturday and Sunday the hosting Marshall County Convention and Visitors Bureau will hold a free outdoor expo noon-6 p.m. at the harbor, featuring major BASS sponsors with lots of giveaways, food and, Saturday, drinks. “Lake Guntersville is a perennial bass fishing powerhouse,” says Bassmaster Magazine. “It has never ranked below fifth on the annual rankings of Bassmaster’s 100 Best Bass Lakes list.”

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• April 10 – Alabama Farm and Poultry Expo If you don’t enter the BBQ chicken cook-off, then sign up for the chicken-eating contest. The secondyear event, set for 9 a.m.-6 p.m. at Boaz Outlet Center on Ala. 168, salutes the burgeoning local poultry industry. If it has anything to do with farms, chickens or the egg, you’ll likely find it here. The expo features farm and poultry equipment, exhibits, educational farm sessions and live farm life demonstrations by the Marshall County Extension. There also will be arts and crafts, food vendors, free children’s inflatables and other entertainment. For information on sponsorships and booths, call the Boaz Area Chamber of Commerce: 256-5938154. • April 10-12 and 16-19 – “Steel Magnolias” Directed by Allen Jolley and Christopher Carter of the Whole Backstage.

The action is set in Truvy’s beauty salon in Chinquapin, La. Helped by her eager new assistant, Annelle (unsure if she’s still married), the outspoken, wise-cracking Truvy dispenses shampoos and free advice to the town’s rich curmudgeon, Ouiser; an eccentric millionaire, Miss Clairee, who has a raging sweet tooth; and the local social leader, M’Lynn, whose daughter, Shelby, is about to marry a good ole boy. Filled with hilarious repartee and humorously revealing verbal collisions, the play moves toward tragedy. All shows 7 p.m. except 2 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $18 for adults, $16 for students/seniors; can be purchased through the WBS office 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Mon.-Fri. by calling: 256582-7469. • April 23-26 – “As the Crow Flies” Play creator Gary Grubbs is scheduled to attend the Whole Backstage production. It will be directed by Andy Hunter in the WBS Duff/McDaniel Black Box Theatre. The venue holds 75 people; tickets

When “That will never happen to me” happens.

Gary Grubbs sold at the door only, $10 each. The play premiered in 1999 in Grubbs’s home state of Mississippi. He has starred in such feature films as “JFK,” “Silkwood,” “Honkytonk Man,” “X-Files The Movie,” “Doubletake” and “Astronaut’s Wife.” Among his 200 credits are TV appearances on “ER,” “Angel,” “NCIS,” “Will and Grace” and “Criminal Minds.”

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Art on the Lake is back for its record 54th year There are two good reasons – OK, make it three – why Art on the Lake is the longest running arts and crafts show in the Southeast: • It’s a great show. • Dedicated people run it. • It has Lake Guntersville for a backdrop. The 54th Annual Art on the Lake will be held rain or shine 10 a.m.-5 p.m. April 18-19 inside and outside of the Guntersville Recreation Center on Sunset Drive. Admission is $2 for ages 13 years and older. Once again, some 130 vendors – including a few selling food – will display a mélange of their work. This is not a flea market. The show committee

Come to the iconic show and make a day of seeing the area. Photo provided. approves only those who exhibit original creations. Last year, Art on the Lake drew about 6,000 visitors. Many of them come from Huntsville, Decatur and Birmingham and make a day of it in the area. The annual show is the main event of the 71-year-old 21st Century Club

of Guntersville, which uses proceeds to fund renewable, $1,000 scholarships to local students, says show chairman Julie Patton. The club also contributes to the Marshall County Christmas Coalition and Blessings in a Backpack. “We probably give back $7,000$8,000 a year to the community,” she says.

• April 24-26 – Aladdin Jr., Boaz High This will be the first musical staged by the growing Boaz High School Theatre program. The “junior” Disney production follows Aladdin, Jasmine, Iago, Jafar and Genie on a musical adventure filled with magic, mayhem, and flying carpet rides. Friday and Saturday shows are at 7 p.m. in the BHS auditorium; Sunday matinée at 2 p.m. Tickets are $7.50. An Aladdin Jr. party for kids to meet the cast is planned for April 18 at the Boaz Public Library. For more information contact Jeff David: jgdavis@boazk12.org. • May 2-3 – Auditions for WBS play Auditions for “Mommy Monologues/ Daddy Dialogues” are set for 10 a.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. The play, directed by Johnny Brewer, will be held May 28-31 in the Duff/McDaniel Black Box Theatre.

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Good People

5questions Story and photo By David Moore “Do they have a swimsuit competition?” It’s not a rare question for Renée Pierce, who holds the 2014 Ms. Senior Alabama title and was third runner-up in the national pageant. “I get asked that a lot,” she grins good-naturedly. “I say, ‘Think about that … really? That would keep you awake at night.’” That insight into the Boaz woman’s sense of humor aside, she takes seriously the state title she proudly wears this year. Renée also was serious about representing the state at the 28th Annual Ms. Senior America contest Oct. 28-30 at the Resorts Hotel and Casino on the Atlantic City Boardwalk, one of 42 contestants from across the country, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. She was serious – well, sort of – on her Halloween flight home from New Jersey when people stared at her, wondering if the sash and crown she was required to wear for the trip was a costume. “I would wait for them to say something,” Renée grins. “I knew they would. Finally they just couldn’t stand it any more and would say, ‘Is that for real?’” She certainly was serious riding in the original Veteran’s Day Parade in Birmingham and sitting at the tri-tiered head table amongst generals, admirals, national and state veteran officials and the reigning Miss Alabama, Caitlin 16

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL

Renée Pierce

Boaz woman wears her state crown with a sense of purpose ... and humor Brunell. And she was serious when she rode in six area Christmas parades in a two-week span. “It’s been neat,” she says. “I figure I will go all out. When I give up this crown I want to be able to say ‘good riddance’ in the sense I rode this journey to the fullest. Then I can take off my crown with a sigh of relief because I will have done everything I could possibly do.” Renée is a young 62. The pageant is open to women 60 and older, “the age of elegance,” she says. “I don’t represent seniors because of my appearance,” she continues. “I represent them as people who are still useful and full of life, who are not willing to just lay down, who are contributing to our society. “Just because you retire doesn’t mean you sit in the rocking chair on the front porch. Seniors are our national treasure. They have lots of experience and knowledge and shouldn’t be relegated to the back shelf.” Did someone say she’s serious about this?

What prompted you to enter the Ms. Senior Marshall County Pageant last March, and did you ever think you just might possibly go on to win the state title and compete for the national crown? I had judged the county pageant the year before, where I met Jeanene Kaiser, the pageant director. To be judge, I had to write a bio for the program. Jeanene kept

saying, ‘Oh, with your bio you ought to be in this.” I said no, but she kept on calling me. My daughter kept saying to step out of my box, that it would be fun, that at least I could say I did it. Tommy’s always been supportive of anything I did. He said I had the talent. When the January deadline came, Jeanene was still calling. She wouldn’t take no. I don’t want to say she made me be in it. It was my decision, but she kept on. I had not memorized a piece of piano music in 40 years. I am an accompanist or a director; I always had the music in front of me. So I memorized a piece of music – “The Old Rugged Cross” with a CD accompaniment, which helps with memorizing. I met my daughter in Birmingham to get a dress. I said I was getting anything that fit. Went through 50 dresses … At the county judging, the state pageant was not even a reality. The only reality to me was that I finally had to admit that I was a senior! When they finally announced the winner, I didn’t have a clue it was me. I was number 9. They called my number, I looked down at my dress and said, “Hey, I am number 9.” They said they’d see me at the state pageant, but it still didn’t register. The idea that I might win was so foreign to me I just didn’t consider it. Then, seeing the other contestants at state, I thought I didn’t have a chance. So I was really surprised when they called my number again.

Snapshot: Renée Pierce Education: Graduated 1970 from Austin High in Decatur; bachelor in music education from the University of Montevallo, 1975; graduate work at the University of Alabama in Gadsden and Auburn University. Family: Married Deward Thomas “Tommy” Pierce, minister of music, Boaz First Baptist Church. Grown children: Adam Taylor Pierce, wife Jennifer; Dustin Thomas Pierce, wife Gretchen; and Alison Renée Pierce. Grandchildren: Jenna, Tyler, Adison, Braysee and Charly Kate. Music background: Taught private piano lessons 1985-1994 and 2011-present. Music associate, worship pianist and student choir accompanist at Boaz First Baptist Church, Boaz, 1998-present. Adjunct music instructor at Snead State Community College, 2008-11; directed College Street Singers. Initiated Boaz High School Concert Choir while teaching there 1999-2005.Volunteer work with the Alabama Baptist Children’s Honor Choir and Alabama Singing Women. Tidbits: Who’s Who of American Women, 2002; Who’s Who in American Education, 2005; co-authored with her husband “Songs of Christmas and The Stories Behind Them.” Co-wrote pre-school “operas” for children at The Shepherd’s Place. Her choral arrangement of “The Star-Spangled Banner” was performed at the Detroit Tigers/ KC Royals game last June.

2. What was it like competing

for the title of Ms. Senior America in Atlantic City?

One of the best things is that 27 people from here came up to support me – the Alabama Gang. And Tommy’s aunt and cousins came in from Boston. The theater there seats about 500 people, but when you come out on the stage you can’t hardly see anything because of the light in your eyes. But I could see the gang right in front. They were holding up signs and hollering for me. When Ms. Senior Virginia came out, there was clapping. She told me later it sounded like crickets in the background compared to everyone cheering for me. I knew all my friends were out there, and that helped me a lot. Prior to the national pageant, I tried to size myself up and see where I ranked with everyone else. It’s hard to do because you don’t know what you’re walking into. You’ve never met these people and don’t know what you are about to do. During the preliminary Tuesday we had our interviews, evening gown competition and had to give our philosophy on life. At Wednesday’s preliminary, we had to perform our talent. I was playing an arrangement of “How Great Thou Art” by Dino Kartsonakis. I had not played it since rehearsal on Monday. So I had to walk out cold without warming up my fingers or my brain. My friend at church, Dana Hill, had texted right before I went out and told me to remember I was playing for an “audience of one.” That meant so much to me. So when I was sitting behind the stage curtain, I said, “Now, God, you are the only one I want 18

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL

to hear this. You are the only one that matters.” These LED stars came on in the black background and the curtains opened. I played it and took my bow. I felt that under all the duress I had done the best I could. When I got in the wing off the stage, I basically collapsed. I squatted on the floor and just cried. Ms. New Hampshire came over and raised me to my feet said, “Honey, why are you crying?” I said, “I just feel I gave it my very best.” I just cried because I was happy. I went back to the dressing room. There was closed circuit TV, and the others had all seen and heard me. They said, “Why are you upset? You did so great.” I said, “I did the best I could for my audience of one.” They thought about that. There wasn’t any reaction, but after that “audience of one” kind of became my byline. The top 10 contestants were announced Thursday after opening, and I made the cut. Then we had to re-compete. We had to do our talent, poise, evening gown and philosophy again. I was not as emotional the second time I played, and it didn’t go quite as well as the day before, but I was pleased. At least I didn’t have a senior moment! My goals for the local and state pageants were to remember my piano piece and not fall down. I added a third goal for the national pageant – to be in the top 10, because for six consecutive years Ms. Senior Alabama had done that. I did not want to be the dud. Plus, I wanted to make the cut because of the entourage that followed me up there. If I wasn’t in the top 10, their excitement was basically over. The support for me was unreal, not only from the ones there but I had so many Facebook comments

and messages. I read them when I got up in the morning and just cried that so many people took the time to support and pray for me. Sometimes I would have to stop reading them it would be so emotional. I thought my face would be red the whole day. They announced the winners at 1 p.m. Thursday afternoon. Remember, these are senior adults ... You can’t have it at night. When they started naming off the top five ... I guess you are always hopeful but I was not fingernail biting. It would be OK if I got called. It would be OK if I didn’t. I would just enjoy the ride. I was number 31. Number 30 was Ms. Virginia, who won, and number 32 was Kentucky who was second runner-up

3. What is the philosophy of

life that you gave at the national pageant?

At the local pageant I gave a completely different philosophy of life. I kept getting mixed up on saying it. I was as lost as a ball in high weeds, as my husband would say. So I had needed something to state I could remember under pressure and say in 35 seconds. I was listening to YouTube’s of past queens, and it came to me I needed something easy to remember but that still meant something to me. So I googled a lot of old sayings and picked out things I believe and like, such as one my grandmother always said. Plus, I wanted some scripture, so I ended it with Romans 8:28. Here’s what I gave for my philosophy of life: Life brings many challenges that could be made better by remembering a few short phrases, such as: Attitude is everything. Better late than never.

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their old hobbies. But if you learn music you can always sing and play and express yourself, express whatever your heart is saying. I want kids to be able to do that. I think music is a soul language. Because of that you need to understand it, sort of like in English you need to know how to write complete sentences and use the right words. In music you need to understand how it works and what the music does to you. Music is something innate to every culture. It’s such a necessity to the soul it deserves some knowledge and understanding and thought.

Count your blessings. For every wall there is a door. It’s never too late. Just do it! Nothing ventured, nothing gained. This too shall pass. My granddaughters like to say, “Let it go!” My grandmother taught me that no matter what my station in life, I could always give a smile. My favorite phrase comes from God’s promises, which reminds me that “All things work together for good.”

How and why did you come to love music? What does it mean to you to teach choir and piano to young people today, and what do you hope it means to them?

5. Many people know you from

church, school and around Boaz. What’s something most people don’t know about the reigning Ms. Senior Alabama?

I hope it’s a life skill for them. Their athletic bodies will one day fade, and with age restrictions they’ll only be able to talk about

I was only in one other pageant. I was a student at Calhoun

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Community College and the school newspaper had a fundraiser that included a Miss Merry Christmas beauty pageant. Since I was dating the editor, I was obligated to be in it. There was a set of risers, and you were supposed to walk up to them and turn around. They would announce your name and who your parents were, that kind of thing. Then you were supposed to step up on the riser, turn around and pose. I wore a full-skirted dress with an empire waistline. I was the last girl. There were four others on the top riser, three on the second and two or three girls on the first one. I started to go up on the bottom riser, and stepped on the hem of my dress. It was the domino effect. I fell into the first two, and they fell into the next three and they fell on the others. Of course, I didn’t win. I later asked my date how I did. He said, “I don’t think we need to talk about that!” Good Life Magazine

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Rick Bragg put his jeweler’s touch on a ‘great ball of fire’

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wo well-known sons of the working class rural South spent two years together to produce a thoroughly enjoyable real-life read in Rick Bragg’s “Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Story.” Bragg, a self-proclaimed Alabama redneck and unkempt bear of a man, produces words cut with He is not, even with the diamond brilliance. Each years tearing at him, word in his introduction reads like a string of a soft man. jewels strung together by a master craftsman. For years, legendary rock-and-roller Jerry Lee rode a wave of fame, fortune, liquor, pills and women, pounding his piano for every sound he could muster from it, driving his fans, mostly young females, into a frenzy. Now aging, lying in his bed burdened by arthritis and various illnesses, Jerry Lee is cared for by his seventh wife. From this perspective he recounts the good, bad and ugly of his past. His thoughts frequently return to his poverty stricken childhood; a father who toiled in the fields and made moonshine on the side and a mother who was a devout member of the Assembly of God Church, where the young Jerry Lee frequently sang. He still believes in the reality of a Heaven and a Hell, and, although not sure just where he will end up, he’s sure that in the end he wouldn’t change a thing in his life. Jerry Lee himself was one “great ball of fire.” – Annette Haislip

eaving Harry Potter far behind and writing under the pseudonym of Robert Galbraith, J.K. Rowling creates an unlikely new hero, Cormoran Strike. “The Cuckoo’s Calling” is the first novel in this series for adults starring the large, rumpled and battered private investigator. The illegitimate son of a legendary British This was when London rock star and a drugwas the most lovable; her addled groupie, Strike’s childhood was chaotic. working day over, the As an army MP he pub windows were warm found the structure he sought, but after losing and jewel-like, her streets his leg in Afghanistan he hummed with life. was forced to find a new occupation. With his background, he became a private investigator. Deeply in debt and sleeping in his seedy office, Strike is surprised when an affluent client, brother of a deceased school friend, offers him a large fee to investigate the police-proclaimed suicide of his adopted sister – a beautiful bi-racial model known as “The Cuckoo.” Strike enters the high-fashion world of famous designers, beautiful women, clubs and drugs. With the aid of his neophyte assistant, Robin, they solve Cuckoo’s death and discover a murder from years earlier –and this one is personal. In the end, you’ll want more of Strike and Robin. – Annette Haislip

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Good ‘n’ Green

And again, the winner of ‘The Most Popular Crop Award’ goes to ... That’s because so many people like you love to grow, share and eat them

John Mullins began growing tomatoes years ago in his home state of

Mississippi. He carried his touch with him when he moved his family to Arab in 2002 to become superintendent of the city’s school system. Above are some of the many he harvested last year.

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL

Story by Eddie J. Wheeler Photos by David Moore

on’t act shocked, but tomatoes are the most popular garden crop around. A member of the nightshade family along with Irish potatoes, eggplants, peppers and tomatillos, fresh tomatoes are nutritious, providing vitamins A and C. They are popular in salads, on sandwiches and sliced. And they can also be used in a variety of other ways and in main dishes. Then there’s the ever-popular BLT sandwich. Lots of people grow tomatoes, and you can, too. The best time to plant tomatoes is in the spring after the danger of frost. If transplants are purchased from a garden supply store, select stocky diseasefree plants. Tomatoes are considered either determinate or indeterminate. Determinate varieties, also called bush tomatoes, grow to a compact height. They stop growing and the entire crop ripens at or near the same time in a four- to sixweek period. Indeterminate varieties are also called vining tomatoes. They grow and produce fruit until killed by the frost. They require caging or staking. Tomatoes can be grown on a variety of soils, however, a deep, well-drained soil in full sun is most suitable. They grow best in a slightly acidic soil (pH 6.0 to 6.5). A soil test is always the best method for determining fertilizer and lime needs. Tomatoes – or other nightshade plants – should not be planted in the same location in the garden year after year. Move the plants around in the garden so they are not planted in the same location more than once every three years. They’ll benefit from fewer diseases, less pest prevention and better nutrient balance. Mulch materials, such as straw, leaves, or compost can prove to be beneficial for tomato plants. Mulch applied 4 to 6 inches thick provides weed control, uniform moisture levels, reduces certain disease problems and improves fruit quality. Your tomatoes will need 1-2 inches

of water per week. In absence of rain, a heavy soaking once a week is better than a number of light sprinklings. Staking or placing cages around your plants makes it easier to harvest and to spray tomatoes. When staking plants, use wooden stakes about 6 feet long and 2 inches wide. Insert the stakes about 4 inches from the plant and use a strip of cloth or heavy strings to tie the stalks to the stake. You also can support the plants by enclosing them in wire cages. A cage 4 to 5 feet tall and 2 feet wide will support most plants. You can buy them or make them from concrete reinforcing wire mesh. Besides you, a number of insects and diseases like tomatoes, too, so check them frequently to help stay ahead of these problems. Sometimes pesticides may have to be used against insects and diseases. If this becomes necessary, remember to read and follow the label directions. As for a BLT recipe, you can pretty much figure that out on your own. Good Life Magazine

One of life’s small but great pleasures ... a BLT prepared with a juicy homegrown tomato.

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Good Cookin’

Cooking..

to share, to teach and to make people happy

right move at the right time,” she says. Her and her husband’s families f you get an email are still in town, and from Lauren Bolding, Zac also landed a job attached below her name at AHS teaching health you’ll find the quote at science. the right. It wraps itself Last year, Diana around Lauren’s passion retired and Mattie for cooking like a snug Cofield was hired to oven mitt on your hand. teach the introductory And just as much as classes of 190 students. she loves cooking, she Lauren has 68 in her loves teaching students advanced classes. to cook in her culinary Lauren attributes class at Albertville High some of cooking’s School. popularity among Actually, she shares students to The Food her love and knowledge as Network, but it’s much as she teaches. not necessarily a Lauren Bolding, rear, with Albertville High students “I love to see them good influence. For excited and really instance, she says, Brenda Jones, Mariana Garza and Martha Gomez passionate about the end “reality” cooking shows result, about what they are depict no hint of food But the kitchen called. So did her doing,” she says. sanitation and kitchen alma mater. Lauren was offered a Lauren’s own passion was safety. Many cooks are not true job teaching in the rapidly growing evident as a youngster. chefs and do no-nos such as wear culinary arts program at Albertville “I used to plan menus for my jewelry while working. High. family,” she laughs. “I wrote the Other factors affect the popularity menu on a paper plate and taped it of the culinary arts – which other or years at AHS, Diana to the front door. I would tack up a schools in the county are starting to Johnson taught home ec and family sheet over the kitchen door so they offer – at Albertville. consumer sciences, which included wouldn’t watch me cooking, then “It’s not a hard class,” Lauren cooking classes in “Mrs. Johnson’s I would serve them in the dining says. “And it’s potentially useful, little house” near campus. After the room – grilled cheese on china.” definitely.” school separated culinary arts into In high school Lauren’s dreams Even if students don’t pursue a stand-alone program, more and of becoming a chef drifted. A 2005 further studies in culinary arts, they graduate of Albertville High School, more students signed up. learn life-long skills ranging from In fact, it was so popular that when knife safety to independence in the she earned a degree in restaurant the new high school was built in and hospitality management from kitchen. Also, they might someday 2010 officials included a large, wellthe University of Alabama and become like Lauren and Zac and equipped commercial kitchen. That became an event planner at Ross enjoy cooking together at home. same popularity is what prompted Bridge in Birmingham. officials in 2012 to hire Lauren as the hen again, some of the more “I was not in the kitchen, but I second culinary arts teacher. passionate of these students could was working with food, planning “It fell in my lap, but it was the go on to become famous chefs like menus with clients.” Story and photos By David Moore

When you acknowledge, as you must, that there is no such thing as perfect food, only the idea of it, then the real purpose of striving toward perfection becomes clear: To make people happy, that is what cooking is all about. – Thomas Keller, “The French Laundry Cookbook”

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MEXICAN STUFFED PEPPERS Chosen by Martha Gomez 1 Tbsp. olive oil ½ lb. ground beef 2 tsp. chili powder 2 tsp. cumin ½ tsp. salt 1 cup rice, cooked ½ 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed, well drained 1 large tomato, chopped small 6 medium green bell peppers 2/3 cup marinara meatless spaghetti tomato sauce 2/3 cup water or less Mozzarella cheese Cheddar cheese Heat skillet on stovetop; add oil. When sizzling, immediately add ground beef; stir until nicely browned, cooked through; drain excess fat; stir in 1-tsp. chili powder, 1-tsp. cumin, ¼-tsp. salt. To same skillet, off heat, add black beans, tomatoes and rice. Stir in the rest of the spices and salt. Cut tops off peppers, stem and seed; stuff with the filling. Fill a baking dish with marinara sauce; add just enough water to make sauce less dense. Place peppers tightly into prepared baking dish, stuffed side up; top with cheeses, sprinkling some over the sauce. Cover with foil. In oven preheated to 350 F., bake 30-40 minutes until peppers are tender, filling is hot. Serve in shallow bowls with sauce on the bottom. Lauren’s quotable favorite, Thomas Keller. Keller’s landmark restaurant, The French Laundry in Napa Valley, is a perennial winner in Restaurant Magazine’s annual Top 50 Restaurants of the World. And, among other accolades, Keller was named the James Beard Foundation’s Best California Chef in 1996 and the Best Chef in 28

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America in 1997. You have to make reservations at The French Laundry two months in advance for one of his 17 tables. You get a $295 fixed price feast, which, of course, does not include service or a bottle of wine that costs from two to four digits. Lauren has a Keller-signed cookbook and has eaten at his bakery. “It’s on my bucket list to go to

the French Laundry,” she says – which says something about her passion for cooking. Lauren had three of her more passionate students pick out the following recipes, which they tweaked to their own tastes. “We have made them our own,” says their teacher. “Cooking is all about experimenting.” Good Life Magazine

VEGETARIAN QUINOA CHILI Chosen by Brenda Jones 1 cup quinoa 1 Tbsp. olive oil 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 onion, diced 2 14.5-oz. cans diced tomatoes 1 15-oz. can tomato sauce 1 4.5-oz. can diced green chilies 1½ Tbsp. chili powder, or more, to taste 2 tsp. cumin 1½ tsp. paprika 1½ tsp. sugar ½ tsp. cayenne pepper ½ tsp. ground coriander Kosher salt; fresh ground black pepper 1 15-oz. can kidney beans, drained and rinsed 1 15-oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed 1½ cups corn kernels 3 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro leaves Juice of 1 lime (optional) 1 avocado, halved, seeded, peeled, diced In large saucepan, cook quinoa according to package instructions; set aside. Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium high heat. Add garlic and onion; cook 2-3 minutes stirring frequently until onions are translucent.

Stir in quinoa, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, green chilies, chili powder, cumin, paprika, sugar, cayenne pepper, coriander and 1-2 cups water, covering most of the ingredients; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Reduce heat

to low; simmer, covered, until thickened, about 30 minutes. Stir in beans, corn, cilantro (and lime juice) until heated, about 2 minutes. Serve immediately with avocado and cornbread twist (see recipe below), if desired.

CORNBREAD TWISTS Chosen by Brenda Jones

egg, cornbread mix, flour and yeast. Set on “dough” cycle. When complete, remove dough to floured surface. Roll into 15 x 8-inch rectangle. Cut ¾-inch strips on short side. Dip in butter, then cornmeal, if desired. Knock off excess cornmeal. Twist and lay onto one or two greased cookie sheets or silicone mat. Don’t crowd. Cover twists and set in warm place to rise about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees; bake 12-15 minutes until golden. NOTE: For a stand mixer, add ingredients in order given. Add an additional Tbsp. of milk. Mix on low for 1 minute with paddle attachment. Change to hook attachment and knead at low to medium speed for 7-10 minutes or until elastic and dough cleans the bowl. Cover dough and allow to rise in a warm place until double. Proceed as above.

½ cup milk 1 egg 1 box Jiffy cornbread mix 1¼ cup unbleached flour 1½ tsp. active yeast ¼ cup butter ¼ cup cornmeal (optional) Heat milk to lukewarm; add to bread-machine pan with the

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL

BALSAMIC GLAZED STEAK ROLLS Chosen by Mariana Garza 1½ – 2 lbs. sirloin Salt and pepper 3 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce Mesquite or steak seasoning of your choice 1 Tbsp. olive oil 1 carrot 1 bell pepper ½ medium zucchini 5-6 green onions 2 cloves of garlic 1 tsp. Italian herb seasoning 2 tsp. butter 2 Tbsp. finely chopped shallots ¼ cup balsamic vinegar 2 Tbsp. brown sugar ¼ cup beef broth Trim fat from steak; cut into 8 to 10 3-in. wide strips. Season both sides generously with salt, pepper and Worcestershire, letting strips set from 30 minutes to a few hours. Chop carrot, bell pepper and zucchini into matchstick pieces a little more than 3 in. long. Cut green onions to similar size and slice in half lengthwise. Peel garlic cloves and crush just enough to bruise. Set all aside. Melt butter in a small saucepan; add shallot and sauté 1-2 minutes until soft. Stir in balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, beef stock. Bring to boil and reduce to almost half volume until consistency of syrup and butter comes to the top. Transfer sauce to a bowl. In same pan with heat off, add touch of olive oil and garlic; allow cloves to flavor oil several minutes. Turn heat to high; add carrots, bell pepper and zucchini; stir-fry 2-3 minutes. Add Italian herb seasoning and salt; transfer veggies to a bowl. Lay strip of marinated steak with the short side toward you. Place cooked veggies and raw green onion in the middle of strip and roll up beef over filling, securing with toothpick. Repeat with other strips. Heat large, lightly oiled skillet over medium-high heat. Add beef rolls, seam side down, not touching, and pan fry several minutes. Turn roll and cook on all sides to your taste. Add steak seasoning to taste. Remove toothpicks; serve with balsamic glaze spooned over each roll. Good Life Magazine 30

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL

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Outlaw Steakhouse is located in Guntersville, just off U.S. 431 on Wyeth Drive. Chef Moises De

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Painted Bluff

Even without its ancient mysteries it creates a monumental sense of place

Story and photos by David Moore The boat slowed to a putter in the middle of the Tennessee River opposite the massive, towering wall of Painted Bluff, the stunning cut-away view of the side of Merrill Mountain. For my first 22 years in Marshall County I had marveled at this monument to time itself, the multifaceted, sheer cliff facing that geology had painted gray and yellow and algae had streaked with black strokes. I thought it appropriately named. Only in the past year or two have I learned the nameâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s true source ...

Painted Bluff is a rock canvas on

that the Southeast contained little rock art of interest, especially which ancient Indians painted colorful compared to western regions of the pictographs. And on this day it was United States, was widespread and t would have been good to have those ancient paintings, links to the continues today.” Dr. Jan Simek with us. natives’ religious beliefs, which we’d Rock art, Simek explains elsewhere, come to see. was an important link to I scanned the big blue faith and to nature for the skies over Painted Bluff and ancestors of the Cherokee, the expanse of the river and Choctaw and Creek tribes. the surrounding forests and To understand the scope of mountains. this link requires looking at “No guarantees,” I said. outside artwork, such as that “But I’d be more surprised at Painted Bluff, in congress if we don’t see eagles than if with cave artwork. we do.” “We have come to realize David Russell, a friend that the two kinds of artwork, from Arab, was behind one high up on the bluffs, the the wheel of his bass boat. other down low underground, Patrick Oden, a friend from are related to each other Claysville who shoots and and were made by the same writes for the magazine for people and reflect different An eagle carries a stick as it flies into the wooded me, stood on the bow deck, parts of their religious absorbing the bluff’s massive system,” he says. “Their mountainside at Painted Bluff. bulk through the viewfinder religion was constructed on his Nikon. of legends and stories and He is a distinguished professor of A bright November sun began parables and truths that were taught science and president emeritus of the thawing us from the cold run upriver from generation to generation.” University of Tennessee system. He from Ditto Landing as we studied the That story repetition is echoed was named a fellow of the American far shore for a likely docking place. in the repetition of symbols found Association for the Advancement It was then we spotted a pair of bald on bluff and cave walls. One oft of Science for his work in the field eagles current-riding high in the sky, repeated symbol is a circle with a of prehistoric archaeology, notably heads and tails shimmering white in cross in it, reflecting a three-tiered European Neanderthals and, more the sunlight. universe: the ground and all that’s recently, his discoveries of cave art in Believe in signs or not, they above and below it. certainly felt like sentinels soaring over the Southeast. ome paintings at the bluff depict He sent me a copy of his critically a sacred site. acclaimed article “Prehistoric Rock Art human figures hunting or images We tied up the boat in a shallow seemingly drawn from everyday from Painted Bluff and the Landscape micro-harbor on the upstream end of life. Elsewhere are anthropomorphic of North Alabama Rock Art,” the bluff. It looked like the least of the figures, human images exhibiting published in 2013 in the academic bad places on the steep banks to dock, characteristics of a god or animal. A journal Southeastern Archaeology. but forced to disembark by balancing notable one at Painted Bluff appears to Though modern man has known on a downed tree should have been a be a man with wings flying. about this site for more than a century, hint that this wasn’t the best approach. “These folks recognized multiple Simek’s 25-page article was the first to The river elevation here is 567 feet. layers of reality, and humans only document it in detail. Merrill Mountain tops out at 1,100. occupied one of the layers in the “Painted Bluff in northern Best I can tell from topo maps, the Alabama,” he writes in the opening, “is middle,” Simek says. “But they tallest sheer faces of the bluff proper interacted with and were influenced one of the richest and most elaborate loom at least 300 feet. To reach the by a celestial world, an upper world open-air rock art localities in the boulevard-like trail at the base of that had certain creatures and spirits Eastern Woodlands, rivaling some of the actual bluff required scrambling the Southeast’s dark zone cave art sites associated with it, and an underworld up 50-60 feet of rugged, wooded that had other spirits associated with it.” discovered in the past several decades. embankment, capped by a grunting, This three-tiered view of the world “… The (mistaken) impression 15-foot hoist up a rock wall. Finally, there I was, at the base of Painted Bluff. And I saw for myself its ancient namesakes.

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL

The polychromatic pictograph above includes a red pigmented, serpentine line that echoes the crack in the rock below it; to the right is an orange anthropomorphic figure, arms curved down. Below is what appears to be the profile of a horizontal person with wings; to the left of the face, behind the nose, is a circle containing a cross. Below the wing to the right is a small sample of spalling, or flaking, on the rock surface, one of the natural threats to the 80 paintings.

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL

Dr. Jan Simek researches prehistoric paintings (amid graffiti) on the dizzying upper ledge of Painted Bluff for his acclaimed 2013 paper. The photo was shot by Alan Cressler of the US Geological Survey, who co-authored the paper along with Nicholas Herrmann of Mississippi State University.

and religion is represented by figures on open-air bluffs, and those he found crawling through some 75 caves across the Cumberland Plateau. It’s comparable, Simek says, to the views of other religions, even Christianity. “Christ was taken to the top of the mountain, crucified, taken down, put in a cave and from there was reborn,” he says. “Those are the vertical levels of our spiritual world.” That early native artists and priests in this region went to the trouble and danger of painting figures and symbols important to their spiritual hopes and fears so high on the cliffs and in the dark depths of the earth indicates a sophisticated society and belief system, Simek says. “This stuff is thoughtful, insightful, profound, sacred,” he says. “These people have taught me a great deal 38

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL

about the power of the human mind. “… Understanding religion in the past suggests that people have always had belief systems about where we came from and where we are going,” he adds. “There are characteristic issues in life and thought that characterize all of us. “Regardless of how different we are in our cultures, the similarities should far outweigh the differences in how we perceive each other, and, in the end, that does demand tolerance of us and acceptance of each other.”

t was after David, Patrick and I visited Painted Bluff that I ran across Dr. Simek’s name, got his report and read interviews on his interpretations of the artwork published in UT’s student newspaper, The Daily Beacon, and other sources.

While his company and scholarly commentary that day would have added tremendously to our little expedition, Painted Bluff did a fine job speaking for itself. The site unmistakably communicated that it is something rare, something special, something sacred in the most natural sense of the word. I left with a feeling of awe. I left, too, with a feeling of appreciation that such a mysterious wonder exists in my home county. As the boat took off downriver and the monolithic profile of Painted Bluff began falling astern, I looked again for the sentinel eagles. I didn’t see them, but I knew they soared or roosted nearby, drawn, understandably, by the very power of this monumental place. Good Life Magazine

The mystifying, nearly five-foot tall figure above is located on a second-level ledge

a short scramble up from the base of the

bluff. At left is an anthropomorphized fish with a â&#x20AC;&#x153;Scream-likeâ&#x20AC;? face inside; below it

is another fish, perhaps a catfish. Below, a cross was painted inside a circle.

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL

Month-long project helps erase graffiti, curb damage It was a call to action when Painted Bluff and its rare,

prehistoric native artwork made the list of Alabama’s “Places in Peril” in 2013. Last year, a small army of volunteers spent a month at the Marshall County site attacking graffiti and vandalism that is part of the threat to one of the richest and most elaborate collections of native, open-air rock paintings in the Southeast. Remediation of the vandalism without further damaging the paintings was technically challenging. Deciding which graffiti to remove or cover and which to leave was also tricky. Some of the names and dates scrawled on the towering bluff wall date to the Civil War and are historic themselves. Camille Agricola Bowman was one of the volunteers who offered her expertise and, Camille Bowman especially after working at the site, appreciates it as a treasure. “It’s a very, very sacred site, even to this day, and it needs to be understood as that and treated that way,” she says. “It was very moving to be there.” Camille holds a master’s of science in preservation from Columbia University in New York City and is retired from the state preservation offices in Virginia and Alabama. As an architectural historian, she’s well-versed in conservation of building materials and finishes. Growing up, she summered in Guntersville for years and still pops in periodically at the family home at Signal Point. “I volunteered for the whole month of March,” Camille says. “I could come here and stay. It was perfect for me.”

The Tennessee Valley Authority, led by its

archaeological specialist Erin Prichard, and Dr. Jan Simek at the University of Tennessee pushed for the remediation efforts. They hired Dr. Johannes “Jamie” Loubser to lead the removal and camouflaging of the graffiti at Painted Bluff. Educated and trained in Australia, Loubser’s specialty is rock art conservation and management. Before work started, TVA and others consulted with Native American tribal officials, as required by law. Painted Bluff is on TVA land and therefore open to the public. “Protecting the site and balancing it with Native American concerns, public access, education and awareness is very important,” Camille says. 40

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL

Educating rock climbers to the issue will help; now if only vandals will keep their names off the walls.

In trying to physically remove graffiti, volunteers always started with the gentlest means possible, such as river water, moving up to cotton swabs, soft toothbrushes, etc. “We camouflaged where we worked to make it blend,” Camille says. “The camouflage was with natural mineral pigments and water and can be removed if need be.” Perhaps the worst of the graffiti was “Eddie and Sonja,” repeatedly painted – large and in numerous places –on the bluff in gray primer, sometimes accompanied by a happy face. “They were modern, intrusive, ugly and damaging,” Camille says. All “historic” graffiti, however, was protected. Camille made the four-mile boat trip from Guntersville Dam every day with the other volunteers, many of them graduate or doctoral students. Now that the site is cleaned up, she, TVA, Loubser and others hope it will cause people to think twice about vandalizing it again. Interpreting the art is not her specialty, but she hopes people do come and appreciate it – and conduct further research. – David Moore

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“I have come to believe that a great teacher is a great artist and that there are as few as there are any other great artists. Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit.” – John Steinbeck

most prolific creations exist in the form of the artists she helps create Val Jones’s

Story and photos by Patrick Oden

or Val Jones, teaching children through art is her life’s calling. It’s all she’s ever wanted to do, and she loves it. An artist herself, it could be said Val’s most prolific creations exist in the form of the artists she helps create. Val began as many artists do, sketching from a young age. The pencil gave way to the paintbrush, but, as time passed, she found her 42

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL

favorite mediums to work in have become graphite, fibers and collage. But Val isn’t just a practitioner of the arts; she’s an advocate for the role they can play in a child’s overall development. As an art teacher, Val splits each day between Guntersville Middle School and Guntersville High School. She teaches seventh and eighth graders before spending her planning period commuting to teach three general studio classes and an advanced art class at the high school.

For some of her students, art is a passion they would like to make their life’s pursuit. Val does a great job of making sure they have both frequent and diverse opportunities to explore their creative sides. Among those unique opportunities is the 120-foot-long mural that spans the lunchroom wall at Guntersville High. The project took two years and was a student work, from topical research through project completion. Val empowered her students to conceive and produce the mural;

“It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge,” Albert Einstein once said. He is one of the great minds whose portraits are scattered on the walls of Val’s high school art room, where she teaches three general studio classes and, pictured here, one advanced class.

the result is a grand homage to local history.

al encourages her students to share their work, and many enter contests. For students of the arts, this sort of recognition can lead to academic scholarships, better academic opportunities and better jobs. Step into Val’s classroom at Guntersville High and look around. A well-lit and visually stimulating environment … it’s littered with really big trophies. Art trophies. Winning isn’t everything … still there is plenty to glean from the experience. But, unlike the field house, here the trophies seem to be an inevitable byproduct rather than the true goal.

There is no trophy case in Val’s classroom. Trophies sit in corners; they’re piled on shelves. For Val, the lessons her students learn are more universal than talent alone can reflect. A lot of her students have achieved success in the arts, and Val is very proud of them. They include architects, designers, film industry professionals and educators. Some kids will grow up to be great artists, but that doesn’t mean they will all be painters or sculptors. These days, computer animators and video game designers are in high demand. It’s estimated that more than 1.25 million Americans work in visual arts and that number is growing steadily. Val does her best to help her students understand that “starving” isn’t a prefix for the word artist, even

going as far as maintaining a website with statistics and career paths relative to creative fields. Val sees the big picture, though. Art is the vehicle that allows her to help students express themselves in their own unique way, and in an environment where their expression has value and merit. By teaching students to think creatively, they have to begin to approach things from a new direction. Carried beyond the art classroom, this promotes maturity in problem solving skills and an outside-of-the-box way of thinking that helps every student grow and develop in a well-rounded manner. al’s credentials are quite impressive, not only reflecting her

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL

Val imparts lessons on proportions, angle of light and shadows to eager students in her advanced class. The students are, from left, senior Rebecca Williams, junior Kamylle Cole, freshman Belinda Jensen and junior Courtney Reed.

Twelve teach visual arts in local schools Marshall County DAR High – Zan Edmonds Brindlee Mt. and Asbury – Beth Bruce Douglas High – Pam Landers Albertville High school - Ashby Frazier Primary school - Ramona Hall 1-2, 7-8 – Alexandra Rich Boaz High school – Jeff Davis Corley Elem. – Suzanne Vann Arab Junior and high schools – Wanda Shipp Guntersville Middle, high school – Val Jones K-2 – Sharon Everton 3-5 – Debbie Killan Other professionals in the public schools teach “art” classes that include music, voice and drama. Still others teach art and related classes outside of the public schools and/or provide private lessons. All encourage and help create young artists.

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL

commitment to education but to a knowledge that her influence can reach far beyond the classroom. Her involvement is impactful. It’s purpose driven, and that purpose is the children. She believes all students have the ability to express themselves creatively and to grow through exposure to the arts. It’s always about the children, Val says. And though not all of the learning takes place in the classroom, Val knows it all has an impact. No better example of this can be seen than in the non-profit organization Val co-founded in Marshall County in 2007. When budget cuts caused the loss of elementary level art programs throughout schools across Marshall County, Artists Responding to Students – ARTS, if you will – was born. The first program ARTS brought the community was the daylong Cultural Outreach.

Elementary children were bused to a local park where Val’s high school students taught art lessons they had prepared themselves. Val had found a way to bring the arts back to the elementary children, while creating another opportunity for her own students to learn and grow. Now a two-day-event, Cultural Outreach has grown to feature musical performance, theater, sculpture and more, with numerous local artists demonstrating and sharing their crafts.

With the success of Cultural

Outreach, the community rallied behind ARTS. Volunteers and donors made it possible for ARTS to launch its second program, a week-long summer arts camp. Each summer children from kindergarten through the fourth grade are exposed to music, dance, drama, and the visual arts. For these Marshall County

Val’s students are on a streak. As a senior last

year, Brittani Mason’s ant photo, left, won “Best

in Show” in the State Superintendent Student Art Exhibit; it also was published in Photographers Forum Magazine. Helen Nuyen’s painting,

center left, won Best in Show last year at Rep. Robert Aderholts 4th Congressional District

Student Art Competition, the seventh such win for GHS; it’s on display at the U.S. Capitol.

As a 10th grader in 2012,

Cadley Jackson’s “Flashlight,” above, won GHS’s first

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Superintendent Student Art

Exhibit – the equivalent of a

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in the show. Cadley, left, watches as Val goes over some of her first semester work. The Mountain

Valley Arts Council is exhibiting Cadley’s work through Feb. 27. FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL

Val believes art should be seen and enjoyed. Her students’ mural depicting the history of Guntersville does both, commanding a huge wall in the Guntersville High School cafeteria.

children, this may be the only art experience they have for the entire academic year. And though on summer break, Val’s high school students show up with other ARTS members to help and mentor the young ones. With all of these budding artists, ARTS’s next idea just made sense. Now one of the most popular exhibits at the Guntersville Museum each year, Art Sparks is an annual exhibit of local student work. Complete with an artist reception, Art Sparks is open to all grades, as well as to students who are homeschooled. A real confidence builder, for many of the kids it’s the first time something they’ve created has been displayed. Art Sparks is a large show with more than 150 pieces from 13 schools. It also provides Val’s advanced class 46

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL

ARTS is an all-volunteer, non-profit organization of artists committed to bringing cultural, artistic and mind-expanding programs to the children of Marshall County. Visit on Facebook: https:// www.facebook.com/pages/ ARTS-Artists-Responding-ToStudents/238567569510550 For info on ARTS or to volunteer call: Judy Chalmers, 256-582-1919.

at school with yet another invaluable opportunity as they help set up the show each spring. The most recent of ARTS endeavors is the Spring Musical program. By arranging transportation and providing volunteers, ARTS is bringing more than 1,000 school children from around the county to

see Guntersville High School’s spring musical performance each year. Val’s students will be working behind the scenes. Set design, lighting, make-up and costuming all provide her students with unique opportunities not regularly found in an art classroom.

sing the arts as a means of stimulating creativity and exercising her students’ minds, Val is helping develop the traits in her students that will help them to succeed … to achieve their potential in life, not just the arts. And whether in the classroom or in the community, two things are inescapable: Val Jones cares about kids and she cares about the arts. She’s an art teacher … it’s all she’s ever wanted to do. Good Life Magazine

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A predawn shooting in Red Hill during the Civil War led to

The day Guntersville went up in smoke

Prologue One hundred and fifty years ago Union troops burned most of Guntersville to the ground. Such atrocities, unfortunately, are not uncommon in war, but in this case a rather unlikely turn of events lit the torches that led to the destruction. A Confederate general from Kentucky named Lyon was caught asleep in a bed in the Red Hill community by a small contingent of Union soldiers led by a sergeant from New York, also named Lyon. Various histories record conflicting details on exactly what transpired in the following smoke-filled moments, but from all accounts, the surrendering general got his pistol, shot and killed Sgt. Lyon. The sergeant was one of the most popular and distinguished soldiers in the 15th Pennsylvania Cavalry. And the upshot of that early morning shooting on Jan. 15, 1865, is that Union troops were so incensed by his death that they marched up Browns Valley, setting fire to every farm and plantation along the way. When they reached Guntersville, the heat of Union anger soon blackened the sky, creating the darkest day the town has ever known.

A glowing morning sky over Red Hill and Dividing Ridge can be a pretty thing today. If the sky was red the morning Union Sgt. Ar thur Lyon died in the flash of a revolver, however, it could well have por tended the disaster that would befall Guntersville before sunset. On the sesquicentennial of the date, the Guntersville Historical Society and the Marshall County Civil War Roundtable dedicated a plaque, caught in the flash of a camera, on Warrenton Road near the site of the shooting. Photo by David Moore.

Union pursuit reins in CSA cavalry at Red Hill

A third battalion, searching for Gen. Lyon, noticed a horse tied in the yard of a house and a soldier knocked nion Gen. William Tecumseh on the door. A man raised a window Sherman led a march of fire and and asked what they wanted. The he night before, the gunboats destruction on his campaign through Union soldiers apparently passed USS General Grant and USS General Georgia and the Carolinas during themselves off as Confederates. Thomas had ferried the Union soldiers the Civil War to undermine the “It was still dark, so residents across the Tennessee several miles Confederacy’s ability to continue could have spoken with them and not downriver from Painted Bluff. The fighting. To a great degree he was realized they were Union soldiers,” successful. Sparks says. “It is Except for a also possible that the handful of homes Federals may have and businesses, had someone in their Guntersville and other ranks that spoke with Marshall County a Southern drawl.” communities were The Union also burned near the spokesman told the end of the war. But man in the house he it wasn’t to impede had some dispatches the ability of the for Gen. Lyon but Confederate Army. It could not locate him. was something else The man said he was entirely. a colonel and would Thomas Noble’s farm house, shown after it fell into disrepair. Here’s what led up give the papers to the to the burning … general. Confederate Gen. The Union solider Union cavalrymen soon discovered Hylan Benton Lyon commanded the told him that his orders were to that Gen. Lyon’s troops were headed 10th Kentucky Cavalry Regiment, hand them to Gen. Lyon personally. which he led on a series of raids across down Browns Valley toward Red The colonel then informed him the Hill, but they did not know the exact Kentucky, Tennessee and into north general was further down the road at whereabouts of the general. Alabama during the latter part of the Tom Noble house. The colonel Palmer marched the 1864 and in January 1865. Lyon and discovered the ruse only when the Pennsylvanians in that direction, his 300 troops made it to Scottsboro departing Union soldiers led his stopping to rest around 11 p.m., only where they briefly attacked a black horse away. to set out again at 1 a.m. on the 15th, Union garrison before heading for the pon arrival at the Nobel Tennessee River and Gunter’s Landing. planning to attack the Confederates residence, Sgt. Arthur Peace Lyon before sunrise. These raids did not go unnoticed and four or five soldiers entered “The darkness would have given by the Union Army. The 15th Noble’s house where they found them the element of surprise,” says Pennsylvania Cavalry, under Col. Gen. Lyon sharing a bed with a Maj. Dr. J.E. “Pete” Sparks, author of “A William Jackson Palmer, was Rankin in a guest room. Both officers dispatched from Huntsville to capture River Town’s Fight for Life: The were still in their nightclothes. History of Guntersville, Alabama, in Lyon and his men. Union gunboats “It was common for military the Civil War.” “They also wanted also prowled the high water of the officers to hang their sword and to time their arrival just as daylight Tennessee River in order to keep the was breaking so it would still be dark, pistol on a bedpost while sleeping,” Confederate soldiers from crossing. says Sparks. but light enough to keep them from On the nights of Jan.10 and Jan. When General Lyon moved to shooting any of their own men.” 11, 1865, Lyon and his Kentucky hand over his sword and .44 Navy Two of Palmer’s Union battalions cavalrymen managed to sneak Colt in surrender, he apparently readily captured most of the across the river in the dark, some on dropped the gun from its holster, Confederate camp. horseback, some by ferry and canoe. Story by Steve A. Maze

Saturday, Jan. 15, they leisurely made their way to Red Hill, not knowing that the vanguard of Union troops hunting them was hot on their heels.

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL

Sgt. Arthur Peace Lyon, USA

Gen. Haylan Benton Lyon, CSA

caught it and shot Sgt. Lyon in the head, killing him instantly. Other shots, probably from both sides, were rapidly fired. One shot hit Maj. Rankin in the leg. Helping the major with him, Gen.

Lyon managed to escape the smokefilled room through a back door or possibly a back window. They lit out, partially dressed, into the cold, dark woods. The pursuing Rebs followed a blood trail – assuming the general had

been wounded – but they lost the trail in the night. Other accounts have the surprised general answering a knock on the bedroom door only to find Sgt. Lyon and his men brandishing pistols. With a smile, young Sgt. Lyon said he was taking the general prisoner. The general offered no resistance but meekly asked if he could first dress. The sergeant courteously consented. The general stepped back into the dark room for his trousers and boots, noting that the fire was out and there was no way to relight it. A sudden commotion outside causes some of the Union soldiers to scramble, thinking Confederates were coming. In the confusion, the general reached under his pillows, where he supposedly kept two revolvers wherever he slept, and shot Sgt. Lyon in the head. However it actually happened, the death of Sgt. Lyon that morning triggered far-reaching consequences later that day.

US troops turn their outrage into a fiery march Story by Dr. Pete Sparks

gt. Arthur P. Lyon was one of the most well-known and popular soldiers in the 15th Pennsylvania Cavalry. Only days before he was killed, he’d received a citation for valor and the promise of a commission to second lieutenant. His commander, Col. William J. Palmer, noted in his report on the shooting that Lyon “was a battalion in himself” and “the bravest soldier in my regiment.” When news of his death reached the regiment, his fellow troops were outraged. Their outrage quickly transformed into violence and revenge. As the Federals moved north back through Browns Valley, every plantation and farmhouse was put

to the torch, including Col. James Shefﬁeld and Thomas Atkins Street’s plantations. By the time the Federal cavalry neared the Tennessee River, a general mercantile store and a Methodist Church were burned. Col. A.C. Beard’s plantation, slave cabins, and outbuildings were burned. They were just getting started. When the Federal troops reached Deposit Landing with their prisoners and the news of Sgt. Lyon’s death, the gunboat captains there swung into action. The Marines from the USS General Grant sent out a party and burned several houses at Beard’s Bluff and the town of Manchester. At noon the Grant headed back up river to Guntersville and sent out 40 Marines to burn the town. According to the captain’s log, the almost total destruction of

Guntersville ended at 3:50 p.m. Only seven buildings remained in the once thriving river town: Marshall County Courthouse, Guntersville Hotel, Masonic Lodge, city jail, a school and two residences, the Gilbreath house on Blount Avenue and the Nickles house on Hill Avenue. According to a popular story, Col. Montgomery Gilbreath’s house was spared because he was a Mason, as was one of the Marine commanders on the raid. Since the Masonic Lodge was also spared this is probably a correct assumption. Looking east from Warrenton one would have seen nothing but billowing smoke from Guntersville. Likewise, looking west from Guntersville, black smoke would have filled the air toward Warrenton and Manchester. Sherman’s brand of war had FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL

The USS General Grant – which dispatched the Marines that burned Guntersville – was 171 feet long, 26 feet wide

with a 5-foot deep hold and a displacement of 201 tons. A wooden, steam-driven side-wheeler, it was armed with two

30-pound Parrott riﬂes, three 14-pound howitzer cannons and a 12-pound cannon. Oddly enough, the Union Army built it – and its sister gunboats General Thomas, General Sherman, General Burnside – in nearby Bridgeport in

1864 for about $19,000. Along with the refitted Stone River, the gunboats patrolled the upper Tennessee River until the war’s end, aiding the Union Army in clearing Confederate troops and militia from the region.

Guntersville Hotel, above, and the Gilbreath House, right, were two buildings spared from burning.

Louis Wyeth, above right, went

north after the war seeking disaster

aid for the town he founded. His

son, John Allan Wyeth, far right, returned from a Union POW

camp to find Guntersville in ruins. 52

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL

come to the Tennessee Valley. Before nightfall on Jan. 15, not many houses or buildings were left standing in Warrenton, Manchester or Guntersville. In a macabre turn of events, Col. Palmer ordered Sgt. Lyon’s body immediately sent to his family in New York. He provided a two-man escort, which lost his body after it was misplaced during a layover at a railroad depot on the way to New York. After being found, Lyon was buried with full military honors and received a second lieutenant commission posthumously.

fter the South surrendered that April, Confederate soldiers began returning home, but in some cases this took months because they had to walk from Virginia and North Carolina. Many would never return including T.J. Eubanks, killed at Wauhatchie

Valley; John Rayburn, killed at Antietam; John May, mortally wounded at Gaines Mills; Elisha Hooper, killed at Salem Church; John Thornburg, killed at Parkers Crossroads; and Washington May, H. Clay Wiggs, Amon Sparks and John Moore, all of whom died in service. It took John Allan Wyeth, released from prison camp in Indiana, several weeks to find his family, which, displaced by the burning of Guntersville, was in Lee County, Ga. He traveled by train to Atlanta and walked the remaining miles to get home. Wyeth and his family returned to Guntersville with only $15 that had been hidden in his boot after a relative gave it to him while visiting him in prison. Wyeth described his journey home: All the railroads in the South which could be operated were taken over and run by the United States government,

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which gave our family transportation to Decatur, Alabama, by train and thence up the Tennessee by steamboat to where Guntersville had been. With the exception of half a dozen dwellings, which were spared because they sheltered the sick or wounded too feeble to be removed, the village had disappeared. Nothing but tumbled down walls and a mass of brick debris was left of our home. The nearest shelter that could be obtained was a log house on Sand Mountain, five miles from town, and in this my parents found a temporary abode.

ields in Marshall County had been uncultivated in 1864, and Wyeth said returning soldiers arrived too late to plant a crop in 1865, leaving the area “destitute of the simplest necessities of life.” This created a period of hunger and extreme poverty. People died of starvation in the winter of 1865-66.

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Only the crops of 1866 ended this sorrowful time in Guntersville. In the interim period, John Allen’s father, attorney Louis Wyeth, traveled to Nashville, Louisville and Cincinnati explaining the suffering in Marshall County. Generous people of those cities forwarded food, supplies and clothing that helped to end starvation until the next summer crops could be harvested. Until proper homes could be rebuilt, “lean-tos” were constructed by placing poles around chimneys left standing after houses burned. In town, Louis Wyeth erected a lean-to around the chimney at his old law office. He practiced three days a week in his crudely constructed office. It would be many years before Guntersville recovered from the war and resumed its status as a center of commerce and trade. Effects of the Civil War lasted well into the 20th century. As late as 1935 there were 43 widows of Confederate veterans in Marshall County drawing pensions. The last Confederate veteran to die in the county was John L. Cox of Nixon Chapel, who passed away Jan. 5, 1944, at age 97. Epilogue With his posthumous promotion, Lt. Arthur Peace Lyon’s tombstone reads in part that he “led the advance guard in the Regt. and captured the Rebel Gen’l Lyon, who after he surrendered shot him through the head killing him instantly.” Gen. Lyon, for his part, escaped that night and continued to serve the South until the end of the war on April 9, 1865. He was later honored when a new county in Kentucky was named for him. Col. Palmer, who led the 15th Pennsylvania, was promoted to brevet brigadier general. He went on to build railroads and become an industrialist and philanthropist. In 1894, Palmer was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in Red Hill where “with less than 200 men, [he] attacked and defeated a superior force of the enemy, captured their field piece and about 100 prisoners without losing a man.” It took a while, but Guntersville and the rest of Marshall County moved on to become enviable places where tens of thousands of people today lead the good life. Good Life Magazine 54

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL

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From the darkest days of prehistory, man has sought a comfortable cave as his private ...

Refuge from the wilds of the world Killing saber-toothed tigers to survive and giant mastodons to feed and clothe his family have evolved into driving to work and punching a clock ... or making sure everyone else does. The urge to find a place of refuge from the wilds of the world, however, persists to this day . And so the need for a man cave also has evolved ... PhotoShop illustration of cave created by Sheila McAnear Stories and photos by David Moore

Brian Walker says a pool table, along with a bar and big TV, are three items he’d suggest as essentials for a man cave.

Evolution visits and revisits Brian Walker’s man cave

volution has been part of Brian Walker’s man cave since the beginning of time … well, since 1996 when he and Wendy built their house on Georgia Mountain Road. It was their builder, Mike Casey’s idea to convert the a 800-1,000-squarefoot area upstairs into a man cave. “He was the one who talked to me into it,” Brian says. “I was going to leave it an unfinished bonus room. It’s a lot bigger than I planned on it being. But Mike does quality work.” The gabled roof creates interesting, angled space, and a lot of it, plenty for a bar, a sectional, a big TV with built-in surround sound and, of course, a slate pool table. It was a popular place in its first evolution not just for Brian’s friends, but for big Auburn football parties. Then, too, Mitchell, who was 7 58

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL

Man caves differ according to their occupant’s collections. Brian has nearly 100 shot glasses from around the world, and a collection of maybe that many different pocketknives.

when they moved in, would have friends over. Later daughter Emma had slumber parties there with her friends. The room changed when Mitchell went off to Auburn and managed to

abscond with the sectional and big TV. Brian got around to replacing the items about four years ago, and the room again came to life with football parties.

Space is not a problem in Brian Walker’s upstairs man cave. In the event it should get crowded, say during a big Auburn football game, there is plenty more space on the deck outside with a fine view of Georgia Mountain. The house is very convenient to Discount Building and Supply, which the Walkers own in Warrenton.

“I bet we’ve had 50 people in here,” Brian says. The last big hurrah came in 2013 season with Auburn’s Miracle Season. The cave stood witness to unbelievable wins over Georgia, Alabama and Missouri in the SEC Conference game, then the stunning late loss to Florida State in the BCS Championship. Now the “cave” is undergoing further evolution. Brian and Wendy become present-day “Dead Heads” and watch the addictive “Walking Dead” TV series. Plus, Mitchell and his wife, Michelle, are expecting a child, and already baby toys await on the floor in a wing of the room. “It has been an evolution,” Brian says. “It started with me, but we’ve all used it. Now we’re starting to use it again. The big kids and grandkids get it now. I guess it will be a man nursery.”

This man’s home may be his castle, but his ‘cave’ is his smoking room

Whit Duckett and family live on Tant Much Dam Road. He might say something similar about his smoking porch, but it has all of the comforts he wants. “I didn’t want smoke in the house,” he says. “And it’s the only place with screens.”

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL

sk Whit Duckett about his man cave, and you might get a funny look. But he can show you his screened-in smoking room. Whit built his house himself just east of Albertville. He, Amanda and their youngsters, Clay and Braden, moved in at the end of 2011. They wanted a screened-in porch with an outdoor fireplace, so he constructed both on the back of the house. “It wasn’t going to be my room,” he says. “It was just an outside living room.” But life evolves. Neither of them wanted Whit smoking around the boys or smelling up the new house. “So I inherited the room,” he says. “She’s a good woman. She puts up with me. I don’t call it a man cave really, but she’ll tell you that’s my room. It’s not your ordinary man cave. But it is my place where I hang out.” It comes with seasonal limitations. “When the weather’s fit we watch football out here sometimes, but it gets cold,” Whit says. “When the wind’s blowing, the outside fireplace doesn’t do you any good. But I like it. It’s ambiance, really.” Two years after moving into the house, he added a pool in the backyard with an outdoor cooking cabana. Like the screened porch, the Green Egg and smoker are his domain. Whit has done construction since “about the time I started walking.” By the time he graduated from Albertville High in 1997, he was literally building houses himself. Today, Duckett Construction builds custom homes and does custom cabinetry and flooring. If he ever wants a true man cave, it won’t pose any problems for him.

“I am a simple man,” Whit Duckett says. “I like watching ballgames, but

I am not a die hard fan. I’d just as soon be watching a western.” Above,

he kicks up his feet after work one evening to watch one of his favorite

movies, “True Grit.” Below, Whit holds his border collie Blue in his outside kitchen. At right, is the pool house bathroom he built for $200, using scrap wood from his cabinet shop, a wash tub and a $150 toilet.

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL

The theater is 25 x 16.5 feet. Alan is poking fiber optic cable through a black ceiling cover to create a ‘starry sky’ effect.

... Now playing at the plush Man Cave Theater in Boaz

While building their

technology, later changed to Samsung. house in Boaz in 2009, Alan Alan wanted a 100-inch Hales made a last minute screen, but size was an change, nixing a pull-down issue, and his 80-inch screen ladder, installing stairs and has better high-def. Bigger, creating an attic man cave. he says, is not always best. After he and Bromleigh He also did not rely solely moved in, a buddy from on what he read online, his days at The University seeking instead input from, of Alabama saw the man and buying from, Magnolia cave and its card table and Design Center in Atlanta, Get your popcorn, settle back into a plush leather seat mentioned the space would a home theater specialist and enjoy your favorite movie at Alan Hales’s house. make a great home theater. branch of Best Buy. At UA they had movie “I spent maybe a few nights (and days) watching converting the man cave. hundred dollars more, if stacks of DVDs. “The Godfather” and “I did everything but stretch the that, than I would have online,” he other series were popular. carpet and install the seats,” Alan says. says. “But I heard and saw everything Alan jumped at the theater idea. He researched the acoustics of I needed and got it tailored to what “Within a week I had drawn out angled ceilings and built sound baffles I wanted – which is theater-quality what I wanted,” he says. After work at on the walls. A long-time fan of Bose, sound.” his Pasquale’s restaurant and mostly he knew what speakers he wanted. Alan doesn’t have a true favorite, commercial real estate business, he He initially bought a Yamaha receiver but he loves re-watching all of the spent his evenings for nine months but, with the advent of 3D and other “Back to the Future” and Bond movies.

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL

Alan, above, used a layer of foam and two layers of sound fabric to

build each baffle on the walls of his theater. He didn’t want plain,

flat surfaces but had no luck attaching buttons to the center of the

red coverings. His family owns a cabinet shop and one day he tried

a drawer knob that worked perfectly. His former man cave is now a family gathering spot. “It’s theirs as much as mine,” Alan says of

Bromleigh and their two children. The theater is equipped with an

Xbox and six controllers ... and Alan has seen “Frozen” about 100 times.

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL

Russ Elrod took his

6x6 elk in Wyoming in 2001, shooting it with a bow from 35 yards. He shot the

wolf and two bears

during a 2010 hunt in the far northern reaches of Alberta. “It was just sheer

luck that the wolf

came by,” Russ says.

Marty Upton of Arab mounted the mallard and other ducks.

Game room is brimming with stories and memories

When Russ Elrod says he has a game room, don’t think

Nintendo. Think wild game. From white tail and mule deer, ducks and bears, to an antelope, giant elk, double-bearded turkey, wolf and a 10foot alligator, every trophy tells a story. For instance, the gator hide came from a 350-pounder Russ took in a 2007 South Alabama nighttime hunt. He snagged it with a fishing line, and it swam to the bottom. When it came up for air, he “harpooned” it. Another time he was standing on the bow of a johnboat operating a spotlight that set aglow dozens of pairs of gator eyes in the night water. The boat hit a submerged stump, toppling Russ into the water. “All I could think of was “Jaws,” he laughs. “I was out of that water so fast I didn’t even get wet.” Mementos also have stories. A seat, tapestries and a tobacco hookah came from a trip to Istanbul with his University of Alabama MBA class. Russ can talk for hours about the trip. But there’s value beyond the stories. “Some people look back at their yearbooks,” Russ says. “I look at this room and remember the good times I had with my friends on these hunts.” A hunter since high school who loves cooking wild game, Russ had a trophy room in mind when he and his wife, Andrea, built their house in Arab in 2001. His neighbor, designer and contractor, Mark Gullion, reinforced one section of wall with 2x8s to bear the weight of the elk trophy. Mark also helped Russ install the vaulted ceiling, which they spent a long, messy night staining. Russ’s man cave will soon evolve. The pool table will be removed to make room for a family home theater. Russ’s trophies and memories, however, are staying. Evolution only goes so far. Good Life Magazine 64

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL

Bar stools are

fashioned out of

saddles in Russ’s game room. He

found the wooden

Indian – “It weighs a ton” – for sale at

an antique store in Florida. He laid it

on back of a flatbed

truck, covered it with a tarp and hauled it home, wondering if

he might get pulled over by police. “It looked like a body lying back there,” he laughs.

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL

Out ‘n’ About It was in the 1970s that Milton Eubanks and his now late wife, Geneva, started

buying azaleas and rhododendrons on trips to places south and planting them in the piny, three-quaerter-acre lot next to their home on Ala. 69 just west of Scant City. It is hard work to rake out the underbrush and plant litter every April, to

water and trim afterward, but Milton’s labors produce a dazzling display of pretty pastels, hot hues and fresh greens connected by meandering brown paths of leaves

and straw. The azaleas bloom first for about three weeks, fading away all too soon

just after the rhododendrons explode. If you’re out ‘n’ about, Milton won’t mind if

you stop to enjoy his outrageous and magical garden spot. Photos by David Moore. FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL

Welcome to knowledge that is changing the way the world fights cancer.

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Patient Navigators play an important role at Marshall Cancer Care Center, ensuring patients and family menbers have the benefit of complete information regarding their treatment.

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