MARSHALL COUNTY
With their community’s support, Aggies marched in Rose Parade Nancy Stewart did what many told her ... put recipes in a book Take a look at wild landscapes through John Sharp’s eye, lens
SPRING 2018 COMPLIMENTARY
Come see our beautiful new Marine Center located at 19220 U.S. Highway 431 on Lake Guntersville
Thursday, March 29, 2018 8:00 AM - Saturday, March 31, 2018 5:00 PM
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Psalms 112
We proudly sup po high school rt bass fishing
Ask about our Freedom service appointment guarantee — done while you wait! Until March 29: 11071 US HWY 431 N, Guntersville, Across from Lowe’s
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Andy Oram Monty Davis
(left to right) Monty Davis, Amanda Stricklin, Nichole Scott, Emily Andrews, Andy Oram, JoAnn Hogeland
Emily Andrews
Relax. We’ve done this before. Experience is the difference with our expanded mortgage team. Whether you’re buying your first home or you’ve been down this road before, there’s no substitute for an experienced lender. Because a mortgage is not just a loan, it’s a process, and at Citizens Bank & Trust our team navigates the details with proven know-how. Buying or even refinancing a home should be rewarding, not stressful. With our expanded mortgage team you get the reward of a great rate. And the confidence that says: Relax, we’ve done this before. Guntersville Office Emily Andrews, NMLS# 484977 • (256) 505-4600 • eandrews@citizensbanktrust.com Arab Office Monty Davis, NMLS# 419958 • (256) 931-4600 • mdavis@citizensbanktrust.com Albertville Office Andy Oram, NMLS# 484979 • (256) 878-9893 • aoram@citizensbanktrust.com Cullman Office JoAnn Hogeland, NMLS# 1702586 • (256) 841-6600 • jhogeland@citizensbanktrust.com
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www.gilber tbaughford.com FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2018
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Welcome
Do thank our advertisers; don’t (necessarily) eat free popcorn
I
t was pretty much an uphill struggle for many years, and, bless her 90-year-old heart, it still is. Mom tried to raise me right, teach me not to do uncouth things at inappropriate times, be nice to folks and have good manners. My wife, bless her heart, tries hard, too. For my part, I really do try to observe the five-second rule when dropping food on the floor ... and when picking up random pieces of popcorn dropped on concession counters at movie theaters. In regard to good manners, I need to thank some important people. Actually, so do you. Our advertisers. If not for them, you wouldn’t get this complimentary magazine that so many people tell me they love. And I’d have to get a new job. I might even be forced to take yours, except Mom would tell me that’s not very nice. Seriously, our advertisers are great. Many of them have been with us since our first issue in winter 2013. For one thing, they get great exposure. BPI Media in Boaz prints 10,000 copies of the magazine. I am certain the number of people who read us is even higher, because so many of you are polite and share your copy. At any rate, thanks, advertisers, for making this our biggest issue yet of Marshall County GLM. I also believe our advertisers believe we live in one of the most beautiful parts of Alabama – if not the country – and want to be part of the magazine that showcases that. Like me, our advertisers find us to be a great and proud people who aren’t afraid of work. And it’s with this attitude that we’ve built a good way of life here. What’s more, Good Life covers fun things people do. After all, you can’t enjoy the good life without fun. So remember your manners. Thank our advertisers for bringing you Good Life Magazine. Patronize their businesses. After all, they are your neighbors, your friends. And it’s nice to be nice to the nice, right?
I
n writing several stories in this issue, I was reminded that not everything life dishes out is good. No matter who you are, bad things happen to good people. It’s a reality we all deal with, each in our own fashion. But ultimately we’re better off to concentrate on the positive and do our best to remold the bad into good. I’m not saying you should eat that piece of popcorn someone dropped on the concession counter at the movie theater (full disclosure, Mom, I’ve done that only once), but I do hope you make the most of what life hands you.
David Moore Publisher/editor 6
FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2018
Contributors It’s been said that former Yesterday’s Memories publisher Steve Maze knows more about Hank Williams Sr. than Hank’s momma. He also knows a lot about gangsters, at those from year’s past. In this issue he recounts a visit to Arab by an infamously notorious couple. Former Arab teacher Annette Haislip doesn’t have to read books for the quarterly reviews she writes for GLM. She merely has to choose which two to review. She averages reading four a week ... keeps her and daughter Martha Handschumacher’s library cards maxed out. Somewhat like the movie “Dead Poets Society,” Seth Terrell teaches a creative writing class for teens at 5:30 p.m. on second Mondays at the Boaz Library. Even with an MFA in the field, he does not require the kids to call him “O Captain, My Captain.” “Warrior Poet” is fine. Heard the Alabama joke about Hunter McBrayer? Walked in his office at the Marshall Extension Service and said, “Anyone seen my desk?” “No,” Eddie Wheeler replied. “Don’t think you have either.” Maybe it’s because Hunter was out researching his piece on perennials. For a photo jump on a spring issue that printed this February, Patrick Oden was sent out last spring horseback riding with some nice backcountry trail riders. Not a horseman, he was saddled up with Moonshine. Fortunately for Patrick, it was named for its color and not its gait. You get an “A” if you noticed our spring GLMs come out a bit later than others. Ad/art director Sheila McAnear explains that it’s impossible to talk to business folks about a spring ad during Christmas. “Spring? ’You crazy?” So, by design, she bumps the deadline back a week or so.
If you were one of the of nice folks helping publisher/editor David Moore look for his wallet that he lost Christmas Eve, thanks ... but never mind. After replacing all those important cards, he found it in late January, cleverly concealed on the back seat in his wife’s car.
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Inside 10 Good Fun
Beer, outdoor concerts and lots of art
16 Good People
Jean Ann Moon and her RSVP quest
22 Good Reads
“Code Girls” and “The Cuban Affair”
25 Good Cooking
Nancy Stewart finally publishes those recipes people have bugged her for
34 Good Eats
Olivo brings gourmet pizza to Boaz
36 Good ’n’ Green
Five garden ideas that repeat themselves
38 Lake Guntersville B&B
Extensive renovations breathe new life into charming house on historic register
48 Bonnie & Clyde
Cyrus Rice waited on gangster couple the day they stopped at Arab drug store
52 Trail riding
Melanie Webb, her horses and friends saddle up for backcountry trail rides
60 Aggies in Rose Parade
It took a community effort, but 270 band members marched-in the New Year
66 John Sharp’s photography
In recent years he’s come to develop the ability to capture epic landscapes
74 Out ’n’ About
Take a step into Back When Days
On the cover: John Sharp loves to fly to distant places that offer epic landscapes to photograph, but he finds stunning beauty here at home – for instance, the North Alabama Sailing Marina on Browns Creek. This page: John shot Short Creek Falls near the Hustleville Road bridge.
David F. Moore Publisher/editor 256-293-0888 david.goodlifemagazine@gmail.com
Vol. 5 No.2 Copyright 2018 Published quarterly
Sheila T. McAnear Advertising/art Director 256-640-3973 sheila.goodlifemagazine@gmail.com
MoMc Publishing LLC P.O. Box 28, Arab, Al 35016 www.good-life-magazine.net
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FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2018
Mo Mc PUBLISHING LLC Proudly printed in Marshall County by BPI Media of Boaz
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FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2018
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L
It’s back for round number 3
ike country music, good music, right? Outdoor concerts by Lake Guntersville? Eating from a food truck? And local craft beers, maybe even those go-to domestics? Like having a good time? Then you might as well put the Third Annual Rivers and Brews concerts on your calendar for April 27-28. And you might want to go ahead and order tickets (see below). You can get them at the gate, but last year some folks were too late and got turned away. Friday ... Gates open at 5 p.m. and the concerts start at 6 with The Steel Wood as the opener. The headliner will be Runaway June, three talented women from Florida and California whose voices and music meet somewhere out in the desert fused with country, bluegrass and maybe some sand. Saturday ... Come on in at 4:30 p.m. Show starts at 5 with Spare Change, Brad and Clint and also music by Steve Moakler. ParmaLee will be the last act. Hailing from Parmele, N.C., raised on Southern rock, country and blues, they joined forces in 2001 and stuck with it. Their 2013 breakout single “Carolina” was a Platinum-certified #1 hit; their debut album landed in the Top 10, and other hits cracked Billboard’s Country Airplay top 10.
Runaway June, above, head up Friday night’s music; ParmaLee, below, wrap up Saturday night’s performances.
Beer and food ... A $5 beer ticket will get you a great, 12-ounce craft brew or a 16-ounce domestic. Guntersville Main Channel Brewery and Back Forty will be selling their best stuff. The beer lineup was incomplete in early February, but last year – in addition to the standard domestics – about 15 craft breweries were represented, say organizers Jeremy Smith, Matt Colvin and Justin Quarles, all of QSC Promotions, all of Albertville. Food trucks to keep your stomach happy will include I Love Bacon, Beast Mode, and Manic Organic. Concert tickets and stuff ... Friday tickets are $25; Saturday, $30 tickets. They are on sale at www.riverandbrews.com if you want to play it safe. Bring cash for food and drink. There is grandstand seating, but bring your lawn chairs if you like. Bring the kids. Bring your dog if it’s on a leash. QSC will donate a portion of the proceeds to The Real Life Pregnancy Center. In previous years, they made donations to Hospice and Every Childs Playground.
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FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2018
• Through April – Museum Favs Visit the Guntersville Museum for a peek at its permanent art collection. It owns 240 pieces of art, 13 of which will be exhibited this spring along with two pieces on loan from the Arab Chamber of Commerce. Those two pieces are by internationally acclaimed artist Nall, who lives in Fairhope, studied under Salvador Dali and, while in high school, lived in Arab. Some of his museum pieces will be augmented by those from Arab. The other artists in the permanent collection exhibit are: • William Walmsley,
an art instructor at Florida State University • Annette Brewer, who now lives in Guntersville • Sandra Mann of Warrior • Linda Hisaw of Huntsville • Robin Richeson Colter, formerly of Guntersville and now of Birmingham • Michael Banks of Guntersville, recently named artist of the month in Nashville and featured in the fall 2015 issue of GLM. One of Michael’s pieces is pictured above. The museum is open 10 a.m.-4p.m. Tuesday-Friday and 1-4 p.m. Sundays. Admittance is free. For more information, call: Guntersville Museum, 256-571-7597.
Good Fun
Spring: time to wake up from hibernation • Through Feb. 23 – Child Outreach The Mountain Valley Arts Council has again collaborated with the Crain Court Youth Center to present their annual exhibit showcasing the kids’ artwork. The 2018 exhibit features Mardi Gras inspired work and includes pieces created by youth from the Child Advocacy Center. MVAC, in dire need of art supplies, is collecting donations of pencils, crayons, coloring pages and such to be utilized for youth through Crain Court Youth Center, Court Appointed Juvenile Advocates, Guntersville Child Development Centers of Marshall County, Kelley’s Rainbow
Shelter, Child Advocacy Center and others. The MVAC Gallery is open 1-5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturdays at 300 Gunter Ave., Guntersville. For more information: 256-571-7199. • Feb. 28 – March 30 – Linda England Exhibit Linda England’s watercolors will be on exhibit at Mountain Valley Arts Council with a reception for the artist 5-7 p.m., March 1. Her fascination with nature and her inescapable eye for detail stems from a deep love and admiration of God’s
beauty in creation. The passion to capture the intricacies of line, design, and color are prominent in her work. Linda, who is mostly self-taught, teaches near Morris. The MVAC Gallery is open 1-5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturdays at 300 Gunter Ave., Guntersville. For more information: 256-571-7199. • March 3 – City Feud A little friendly competition never hurt anyone … too much. With that in mind, City Feud returns this year to pit the mayors of Albertville, Arab, Boaz, Douglas, Grant and Guntersville and FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2018
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• April 21-22 – Art on the Lake The 57th annual edition of Marshall County’s – and one of the state’s – longest running art shows will feature more than 130 fine artists and craftsmen from throughout the Southeast and beyond. As always, there will be food vendors, outdoor games and rides and a bake sale – fun for the entire family. Rain or shine, the show will be 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Guntersville Recreational Center at 1500 Sunset Drive. Admission is $2 for 13 years and older. Sorry, no animals allowed. Artist applications are available online: www. artonthelake-guntersville.com; or by contacting show chair Julie Patton: julespp@aol.com. While you’re at Art on the Lake, you might want to buy this year’s T-shirt. It features artwork, above, by Orlando Mathers, a previous award winner at the show who is from David Lipscomb University in Nashville. their chosen teams in a Family Feudstyle competition before a (probably very) lively crowd at Guntersville Town Hall. The annual event is a major fundraiser for Marshall County Home Place, a countywide non-profit that provides transitional housing – a helping hand, not a handout – for homeless families. This year, the other city teams will try to dethrone Guntersville and Douglas, who last year respectively won the fundraising and game competition. Heavy hors d’oeuvres and cash bar will be available at the event, which starts at 6 p.m. Tickets are $50 per person. To purchase them or for more information, call: Home Place executive director Leigh Ward, 256582-2360. • March 23-April 15 – ARTS at museum ARTS stands for Artists Responding to Students, a long-running group of local artists from all fields who volunteer their time and talents with students across the county. Fifty-plus pieces of the students’ work will be on display at the Guntersville Museum, with awards being presented 1-4 p.m. April 15. The museum is open 10 a.m.4p.m. Tuesday-Friday and 1-4 p.m. 12
FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2018
Sundays. Admittance is free. For more information, call: Guntersville Museum, 256-571-7597. • April 19-May 24 – Spring concert series Mountain Valley Arts Council this year is holding a free, spring concert series with performances 6:30-8:30 p.m. on Thursdays at Errol Allan Park in downtown Guntersville. Concertgoers are welcome to bring an ice chest. The first concert will feature the Joe Harvey Band, a feel-good group from middle Tennessee covering everything rock, blues, R&B and country. For more info on the concert series, call: MVAC, 256-571-7199. • April 20-29 – Charley’s Aunt This classic comedy, dating to the 1890s, gets The Whole Backstage treatment from director Johnny Brewer, assisted by Dana Thomas. Pay attention … Jack loves Kitty, Charley loves Miss Amy Spettigue. They invite the ladies to meet Charley’s millionaire aunt from Brazil, “where the nuts come from.” The visit falls through at the last minute, sending Jack and Charley into cataclysmic confusion, solved by drafting their feckless Oxford pal Fancourt Babberley into a black satin skirt, bloomers and wig to
impersonate Charley’s aunt. The ensuing classic comic confusion only gets deeper as this charade inevitably crumbles before the pieces come back together in surprise combinations. Staged at the WBS theatre in Guntersville, performances are April 20-22 and 26-29. All show times 7 p.m. except Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets – which go on sale April 1 – are $18 for adults, $16 for seniors, $10 for students. They are available at the WBS office 9 a.m.-3 p.m. weekdays; by phone at 256-582-7469; on the WBS Facebook page; or at: www. wholebackstage.com. • April 28 – Back When Days The long-running annual event at the Arab Historic Village returns to offer folks a walk through days gone by. The village pays tribute to the pioneering people who settled North Alabama and built it into what it is today. The village was started in 1991 and now has nine buildings, some of which were moved and renovated at the park. Others were built from reclaimed lumber or even from new by members of the Arab Historical Society. The event is 9-4 p.m. and free to the public. For photos of last year’s Back When Days, please see the regular Out ‘n’ About feature on pages 74-75.
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• May 2-31 – Susie Garrett Exhibit Susie Garrett works predominately in color pencil and collage, evoking an Edward Hopper feel. She has a studio at Lowe Mill in Huntsville. The exhibit is at the Mountain Valley Arts Council gallery with a reception for the artist 5-7 p.m. May 4. The gallery, free, is open 1-5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturdays at 300 Gunter Ave., Guntersville. For more information: 256-571-7199. • May 6 – Alexander Rich exhibit A one-night exhibit of Alexander Rich’s religious artwork titled “Altar” – including paintings, photography, sculpture and video – will be held 6-8 p.m. at Lake City Assembly of God in Guntersville. “This is a Christian art show about the relationship between a believer and God, and my personal experiences as a missionary around the world,” says Alex, who lives in Gadsden and grew up there and in Arab. An art educator, artist and missionary, she holds a BA in fine art and art history from Jacksonville State University and a MA in art education from UAB. She has done volunteer mission work in Nicaragua, Tanzania, Nepal, China and Spain. Gadsden band Worship Circle will be part of a corresponding live service at the church. Left: Alexander Rich’s “Wither” illustrates the temporal nature of life with sequences of eight flowers she photographed through the stages from fresh to wilted. “I hope when people see this art it helps them view life as precious but fleeting,” she says.
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Good People
5questions
Jean Ann Moon
Funds still needed, but the long quest starts to end for a new home for RSVP
Story and photo by David Moore
all of the flowers were, which influenced me, too.”
ean Ann Moon has made long, interesting journeys before. Her journey to marriage began with a job presentation in Chicago and ended in a sports car with Calvin on a winding trek across Germany. This spring, at age 70, she and her daughter plan to journey to Peru to see Machu Picchu and the huge, ancient geoglyphs in the Nazca Desert. Her journey to the position of executive director of Marshall County Retired and Senior Volunteer Program actually began with her father’s influences when she was a little girl. So, one might say, Jean Ann should have been semi-prepared for her journey – her quest, if you will – to procure a permanent and functional home for the county’s nationally recognized RSVP program, which has taken 17 years and counting. But at least construction is underway at the building’s site on the shores of Lake Guntersville, to which one might also say Peter Pan would be proud of. Growing up in Guntersville, Jean Ann recalls her father helping people behind the scenes with anonymous gifts of food or rent money, setting up chairs and serving on committees for church or civic groups. “The year I was born, he started the Guntersville Public Library by getting some used books from TVA and encouraging the city to find an empty space,” she says. “He worked all his life to move the library from space to space until he helped get the permanent building they have today. “Dad,” she adds, “gave me the gift of giving to others and believing all things are possible. He was also all about water and hiking and trees and knowing what
fter graduating from Birmingham-Southern College, Jean Ann got a job in the D.C. area as an analyst for Scientific Data Systems marketing small computers and applications in the science field. While making a presentation to a Chicago drug firm she impressed a visiting group from Germany who invited her there for a job interview. That’s where she met Calvin Moon. “He’s a God story,” she laughs. “God had to work hard to make all of the pieces fit.” Among the moving pieces were a college roommate at BSC and her cousin, who bunked with Calvin, an Army optician in Germany. Long story short, Jean Ann was dying to see Germany and, sight unseen, Calvin agreed to drive her around for 10 days or so before Christmas in 1971. Jean Ann bought the gas and Calvin tooled them around in his new Fiat Spider. Rank Xerox had bought SDS by the time Jean Ann returned to Germany that April for the new position for which she’d interviewed. On the weekends, she and Calvin joyfully continued their tour of Germany. They married in Guntersville over Christmas 1972 and lived in Germany until 1974 when Calvin was transferred to Tobyhanna Army Depot in the Poconos Mountains of Pennsylvania. Jean Ann worked for the nearby University of Scranton, also earning a master’s degree and giving birth to daughter Poppy. When Calvin got out of the Army in 1976, the young family moved to Guntersville. Jean Ann wanted to care for her parents, and Calvin, who hails
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from California, thought Marshall County was a better place to raise Poppy. They lived – and still do – on Thompson Falls Drive, on property that has been in her family since the land grant days in the 1830s. When Poppy was in fourth grade, Jean Ann took a part-time job with the Girl Scouts. In 1992, Jean Ann’s father – an RSVP volunteer in the Marshall County program that had started in 1972 – showed her an ad seeking a new agency director. “Wow!” she thought. “A real job that worked with volunteers making a difference in Marshall County.”
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ean Ann was hired and inherited a program with just under 200 volunteers. RSVP was mostly designed as a clearing house, matching volunteers with, say, positions at a hospital, hospice or nutrition center. The group also had quilters but offered little for men. “I saw lots of people retiring from Redstone Arsenal, and so I started programs for them, like Reading Buddies, Water Watch and our free tax filing service,” she says. “As fate would have it, due to a series of snafus, I was on the job for three years before I got my ‘new director training.’” It was then that Jean Ann learned that creating programs was not in her job description. “It was too late then,” she laughs. Marshall County RSVP had set its course with signature volunteer opportunities and has been recognized eight times as a program of national significance. What’s truly great about her job, Jean Ann says, are the volunteers. “They are all unique individuals with talents and skills developed over a lifetime that they are willing to share
Snapshot: Jean Ann Moon
EARLY LIFE: Born Sept. 12, 1947, in Guntersville, the only offspring of James and Opal Johnson McCain. EDUCATION: Graduated Marshall County High School, 1965; graduated Birmingham-Southern College, chemistry/math, 1968; University of Scranton, MA in secondary education/science, 1975. CAREER: Analyst for Scientific Data Systems and, after it sold, for Rank Xerox in Western Europe, 1969-74; University of Scranton, analyst and marketing for computer department, 1974-76; Girl Scouts of North Alabama, part-time field director, 1986-92; since then, executive director, Marshall County Retired and Senior Volunteer Program. FAMILY: Married Calvin Moon, 1972; lives on Thompson Falls Drive. Daughter, Dr. Poppy Moon, professor, born, 1975. Two cats, Bubbles and Miss Magnolia. ACTIVITIES: Lifetime member, Guntersville First United Methodist Church; former choir and hand bells member; plays in the RSVP dulcimer ensemble; loves smocking, needle work, reading, design beads and travel.
with others,” she says. “I have learned so much about giving and believing from these individuals. It is a joy to be around them.” Perhaps her biggest challenge has been the quest for a permanent home for RSVP. Many times the journey has been hard, she says, but it seemed whenever her spirits darkened, someone would stop by her office, smile and say, “I believe!” “That become our catch phrase, just like in the beloved story of Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie,” she says. Quoting from the work, she continues: To fly you must believe you can. The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease forever to be able to do it. So come with me, where dreams are born and time is never planned. Just think of happy things and your heart will fly on wings. “Because of the I-believe attitude” Jean Ann says, “our dream of a new building is being born – not on our timetable, perhaps, because ‘time is never planned,’ but I’m happy things are taking wing.”
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Can you explain the need for the new building and how it will be used? RSVP volunteers have never had a permanent home. Due to asbestos issues, 17 years ago the group was displaced from its location in the old Guntersville hospital where Regions is now. We moved into leased space behind Mike’s Merchandise in Guntersville. We have 5,000 square feet here. Besides offices and storage, we have two activity rooms and a computer lab that house a maximum of only 70 people total. Our knitting, quilting and summer programs are fragmented in seven other locations. We have always thought of this as temporary and have been slowly working toward a new gathering place for the growing number of healthy, active seniors and retirees. Since our founding in 1972, Marshall County’s population has grown 72 percent. Nearly four out of 10 people are 55 or older, and many boomers are just now reaching retirement age. By 2035 Marshall County’s number of seniors 60 18
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Want to help with new RSVP building project?
Marshall County Retired and Senior Program has two-thirds of the funding secured for its new $3 million facility on Lake Guntersville. It has a capital campaign underway to raise the rest. All tax-deductible gifts will help make the building a reality, impacting countless lives – young and old. Checks can be mailed to: RSVP 1805 Gunter Ave. Guntersville, AL 35976 Opportunities also remain to name rooms in memory or honor of a person, business or group. For more information: RSVP, 256-571-7734.
and older is expected to double. Realizing the population shift to active seniors and having no place to provide them resources to stay healthy, in 2007 the RSVP board purchased four acres of land next to the Marshall County Park Number One to build a gathering place that would provide access to the lake and be surrounded by, and incorporated into the mountain-lake green space. This $3 million project to build a facility in Marshall County – RSVP’s Bridge to the Future – will serve as a resource and training center for the county to connect education, economic development, civic entrepreneurship and quality of life for county residents. In recent months site work has finally gotten underway, which is very exciting. RSVP’s new 20,000-square-foot facility will have five activity rooms, a computer lab and a multipurpose room, with a stage, that will seat 350 people and allow us to accommodate our growing community with exhibition, performance and classroom/studio space. We have a long tradition of sharing our space with other local organizations. And our new, expanded space will offer a separate entrance and parking so more community members can hold recitals, exhibitions – such as photographic, quilt and art displays – meetings, small
conferences, programs, access to nature for outdoor art activities for children and adults, etc. The goal of our new building is to enhance the quality of life in Marshall County and promote healthy aging. The facility will provide a permanent home for traditions and celebrations that bring us together, with space large enough to sustain our community for generations to come.
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What are Marshall County RSVP’s most popular and successful programs? Three of our most popular signature programs were created during that three-year period before I received “new director” training. Reading Buddies came out of my joy of reading, which I received from my dad and wanted to share that with others. Currently 69 percent of our fourth graders are not reading at grade level. Many of them have parents who didn’t have or make time to read to them at home, or didn’t value reading and story telling. Reading Buddies volunteers work one-on-one with children in kindergarten through second grade who have difficulty reading or need a caring adult in their life for socialization skills. Volunteers choose the school, day of the week and time, and give about 30 minutes a week to help a child. Water Watch was created with the help of TVA and Alabama Water Watch to gather baseline water quality data for Marshall County streams and the five major creeks that flowed into the Tennessee River. Volunteers are trained in EPA protocol and sample their assigned creeks once a month. With help from their data, two stream segments have been removed from the impaired waterways list, an industry was stopped from dumping wash water into a creek and chicken farmers have become more responsible for waste washing into the creeks during heavy rainfalls. With the help of Water Watch awareness, loggers no longer clear-cut near streams, citizens have become
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aware of contamination of ground water by flushing unused medicines down the toilet or putting them in the trash that goes to landfills, businesses and individuals are recycling their printer cartridges with RSVP to keep oil out of landfills, and building sites are more aware of using silt fences to keep sediment and pollution out of our streams. RSVP’s free income tax and electronic filing program serves about 3,000 people annually. With the help of grants from the IRS and United Way, over 50 trained volunteers work at five sites in Marshall and Jackson counties helping taxpayers file for free. They target low- to moderateincome families who can use the money they save by not having their taxes done by a paid preparer, for family needs such as food and shelter. Volunteers alert taxpayers to credits they may be eligible to receive and will go back three years to help them correct returns inaccurately prepared by someone else. We also give people financial tips on saving documentation for their next year’s return and help them plan estimated taxes, if needed.
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One often hears how much RSVP benefits the community through its myriad service programs. The agency, however, has a dual purpose, the other being to enrich the lives of volunteers. Can you tell us about that? That’s true. Residents retiring here join RSVP to engage in the quality of life in their new community. Research shows volunteers live longer, healthier lives, report lower rates of depression, fewer physical limitations and higher levels of well-being. I watched a man with cancer – who got up and got dressed every Monday – come to help in the computer lab because it gave meaning to his life, which was ebbing. We had an Army veteran who later lost a leg to diabetes. He struggled with learning to walk with his prosthesis because he wanted to get back to his volunteer post at the courthouse information desk. 20
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Volunteers welcome
In 2016, 813 RSVP volunteers donated nearly 100,000 hours of service through 54 county agencies, schools, non-profits and law enforcement. Based on $23.56 – Alabama’s established value of a volunteer hour of service – RSVP volunteers provided $2.5 million dollars of free help impacting communities across Marshall County. Executive director Jean Ann Moon says RSVP has the potential to serve the rural county’s total population of 93,019 through the arts, free tax preparation, schools, water quality monitoring, hospital and the courthouse. RSVP had 683 active members last year, but more are always welcome. For more on its programs or to volunteer: RSVP, 256-571-7734; or visit: www.mcrsvp.org.
Widows and widowers find that giving to others helps them through their grief as they connect with others who share their experience of living alone. RSVP has been a matchmaker for several new couples. That’s been one of the fun things about this job! We had a lady who had to quit school when she was young after her father died. She had to help her mother with the farm and the younger children. Finally, in her late 60s, she took her first RSVP computer class and, with success there, was inspired with the confidence to get her GED. She’s one of the oldest GED graduates in Marshall County. Volunteers become like an RSVP family and a support system. They help each other through illness, death, family crises and celebrate happy moments. We see that a lot. Our mountain dulcimer group of 36 people is like a huge support system. They always look after their members and their extended families. They bring in garden veggies or flowers to show they care for each other. Sometimes volunteers never know the impact they have on the lives of those they serve. This spring one of our Reading Buddies went to see her
grandson’s induction into the eighth grade honor society. One of the female inductees on the stage with him looked very familiar. After the program the young lady came up and introduced herself as being a below-grade-level reader in primary school. She explained how encouragement from our Reading Buddies program had helped her want to succeed, and now, as a result, she was in the honor society.
4.
Are RSVP programs changing over time? And does the demand and need for new programs tie into the new building? As our baby boomers retire, many look for volunteer opportunities that give them learning experience and enrich their lives. They want a challenge, but they want it to fit into their time frame and, in some cases, be of short duration. Some try one type of volunteer opportunity and then change to another. RSVP is trying to meet the needs of this new group of volunteers by offering a diversity of volunteer opportunities. Our new facility will allow us to have more breakout rooms to offer more training and experiences to meet the changing needs of volunteers. The lakeside lot gives us access to nature and the potential for many new RSVP programs – outdoor art classes, environment field trips for school children to meet education standards, music under the trees, grandfather tales where people tell stories of their Native American or southern folk backgrounds. Looking for a way to promote healthy aging, RSVP developed a wellness model: “Bridge to the Future.” And our new facility will provide a place for the growing senior population to stay healthy in mind, body and spirit through the variety of arts and cultural classes that will be offered. Computer, tax and other training classes will keep the mind active; movement, tai chi and dance classes will keep the body strong; and art and music classes and performance groups will keep the spirit engaged in wellness. Added benefits of having a
gathering place will be opportunities for socialization to prevent marginalization of seniors as they age. Research demonstrates strong links between participation in the arts and health. For over 20 years RSVP has provided this link through its creation of the Academy of Lifelong Learning. The new building will allow us to expand these quarterly classes big time. We hope to hold small group classes there to broaden the appeal to the general public with volunteers teaching skills to adults of all ages, from mountain dulcimer practice groups to financial literacy, and from computer classes to art and Appalachian craft classes, heritage skills, nature and photography … over 40 classes yearly.
to draw attention to ecosystems and conservation needs. You and Earl “ET” Talley were one of our Water Watch teams, and I asked you guys to fly with me and pilot Hume Davenport so we could see – and you could shoot pictures – of the silt and pollution our creeks were washing into the lake. It was a great day – for a while. But you kept getting the pilot to fly in tight, banking circles so you could shoot your pictures out the window. That’s when the trouble started. I got very airsick and filled up the little baggy thing in the back seat. You guys had to fly me back to the airport and leave me on solid ground while you went up again to finish shooting pictures. Another thing ... Growing up in Guntersville surrounded by water, naturally I was a swimmer. I was a lifeguard and on the water ballet team. Like many people in the early ‘60s, I was fascinated with Jacques Cousteau and his documentaries that were opening up the undersea world. I just knew I had to go to grad school and become a marine biologist.
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What’s something most people don’t know about Jean Ann Moon? You are part of one story (referring to writer David Moore when he was editor of The Arab Tribune). It was back in the 1990s when RSVP got a grant to engage Southwings, a non-profit group that provides flights and volunteer pilots
We Are Your
In college, I did become a certified scuba diver and went on many dive trips around the Caribbean. But, much to my dismay, the Eustachian tubes in my ears were not correctly formed, and I could not clear my ears while diving. So my plans to be on Jacques Cousteau’s team came to an end. Two years ago, I decided that I wanted to share the beauty of the undersea world with my 40-year-old daughter. But, due to my arthritis, I no longer can tolerate cold water. So I bought a wetsuit made for short, fluffy, gray-haired ladies. Since I have had a total knee replacement, I had to order special split fins that didn’t put pressure on my new knee. Then my nearsighted eyes wanted to be able to see all the details, so I had to order a prescription dive mask. With all of that, this past year my daughter and I made several snorkeling trips to swim with the turtles and watch the colorful fish play. My Jacques Cousteau dream was still alive … only modified to my age and condition. I hope the take away from all this is to dream, believe and be surprised by joy. Good Life Magazine
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Good Reads
‘Code Girls’ broke codes and broke briefly into man’s world
DeMille pens an action novel in Afghan vet’s Cuban tangle
n the non-fiction novel “Code Girls,” Liza Mundy reveals an important WWII endeavor that has been hidden nearly 70 years. With U-boats mercilessly sinking Allied merchant ships, women became vital to break enemy military codes. With most men in the military, women were sought who were proficient “In the event of total war in languages, math and women will be needed for science and willing to this work, and they locate to Washington, D.C. Over 10,000 women can do it probably were eventually recruited. better than men.” Most were accepted into the military as WACs and WAVES. All were warned that they could tell no one what they were doing. Taught cryptanalysis, codes and ciphers, the young women quickly learned to run cumbersome computers, translate documents and form teams that shared tidbits of information. Their primary focus was on the messages of enemy ships in the Pacific. Despite hardships and disappointments, they finally broke the code, and nearly every Japanese supply ship was sunk. After the war the women were thanked for their service, expected to give up their jobs, go home and become housewives and mothers. If ever asked what they did during the war they were expected to say that they had served as “secretaries.” Many of the surviving twenty women interviewed by the author had never revealed their wartime contribution, even to their families. – Annette Haislip
ith his usual wit and sense of adventure, Nelson DeMille in “The Cuban Affair” presents an authentic picture of Cuba after decades of being ruled by the Castros and their repressive socialistic government where the income for most residents is $20 a month. Mac, who has “A journey of a hundred returned from service in Afghanistan physically miles to Havana begins and mentally wounded, with a single misstep.” retreats to laid back Key West and buys a fishing boat he can ill afford. After the “thaw” between Cuba and the U.S., Cuban exiles from Miami approach him with an offer he cannot refuse. In a plot involving “by land and by sea” he agrees to travel to Havana with a beautiful Cuban- American woman to recover $6 million carefully hidden in a remote cave by her grandfather before he fled to Miami. She carries with her his hand-drawn treasure map. Iconic first mate Jack pilots the boat on a 10-day fishing trip to Havana with the ultimate goal of recovering the two after their caper. Meanwhile, Mac accompanies Sara on a stateapproved tour as a cover for their covert mission. Despite the usual spies, bribes and constant danger, they escape the group and travel across the island hoping to recover the treasure and meet the boat. During the harrowing voyage toward U.S. waters, the Cuban navy violently intervenes. Without giving away too much, Mac and Sara end up with a treasure that can’t be measured in dollars. – Annette Haislip
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Good Cooking By Nancy Stewart from the introduction of her book “Feeding the Body and the Soul”
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‘When was the last time your family sat down together ...?’ company because they’re too busy checking their phones. How do our children learn social interaction and good etiquette for that matter if they don’t see it modeled at home?
hen was the last time you and your family sat down together for an uninterrupted meal? Keep in mind “uninterrupted” includes no calls, no texts, no e-mails, no visitors – in other words no outside intrusion. OK, I know that’s a hard one to answer because you may not be able to remember the last time you enjoyed such a meal. I’m on a mission to bring back family dinnertime. Today when you say, “Let’s eat,” everyone gets in the car – what’s up with that? I’ve heard all the excuses … Our schedules just won’t allow it. I don’t have time to cook. My family wouldn’t know what to say to each other. (What? How sad. All the more reason to do it!) Growing up we had one hard fast rule in our household – we ate dinner Nancy Stewart with a cake she baked for together, uninterrupted, at the table and a church meeting. How can you have a we discussed our day. I must confess it was when I felt most important, meeting without cake, she insists. because everyone was interested in what happened in my world that day. We all shared experiences, both good and bad, and we learned a lot about each other. friend of mine once placed a You can’t tell me that doesn’t open the gallon jar by the back door where everyone lines of communication – I know it does. was instructed to leave their phones while Today in our tech-savvy world you they were visiting – she said she got tired can’t even go to a restaurant and observe of seeing nothing but the tops of their people eating and enjoying each other’s heads. How true.
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I feel so passionate about this I’m writing a book to help families get back on track at dinnertime. It will have a daily topic that is newsworthy to discuss along with some very simple yet delicious recipes for an easy dinner. And for those people who say they don’t have time I ask you to think of it this way – it’s an investment in your family’s future. And besides, I’ve found people make time for what they really want to. The plan is simple – start out slow with a commitment to eat together as a family two nights a week. Today our kids are pulled in twenty directions sports practice, dance class, piano lessons, study prep, etc., and I think you will find this is a welcome change for them.
I
n a recent study conducted by a group of architects who were searching for just what the youth of churches want in their designated space at the church they found overwhelmingly the answer was “a place to just hang out and do nothing with people we like.” Wow! Sorta’ sounds like we’re raising some stressed out individuals! OK, who’s with me on this? Just two nights a week to start – an uninterrupted meal with a very simple one-dish dinner and a salad. Trust me … this may be the best investment you make in your family’s state of mind and their future. Good Life Magazine
Nancy Stewart’s busy life necessitated some quick recipes Story and photos by David Moore
N
ancy A. Stewart didn’t learn to cook while growing up on her parents’ Armilda and Leon Adcock’s farm in McMinnville, Tenn. But she did learn some about writing at her high school paper and later at Middle Tennessee State University. She met Tommy Stewart after college while he was working at a horse farm in nearby Shelbyville owned by Joe V. Clayton, from Tommy’s
hometown of Arab. They married in 1983 and moved to Arab a year later. “I learned a lot about cooking from Tommy’s mother, Granny Edna Stewart,” Nancy says. “She was one of the best cooks in Arab. And I learned from my mother later on in life.” In Tennessee, she had been director of the chamber of commerce in Warren County, working with a staff of three. With that background, in Arab it was like, “Tag, you’re it,” she says. She was hired as the first professional director of the Arab FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2018
25
Chamber of Commerce, which had been staffed by volunteers since it started in 1963. “That’s when I learned I loved industrial recruiting,” Nancy says. “I also learned about promoting Arab as a bedroom community with a great quality of life.”
I
n 1985, the same day AmSouth took over First National Bank of Guntersville, Nancy started a new job there as administrative assistant to the president and board secretary. She later went to the University of South Alabama and the Graduate School of Banking at LSU. In 1994, she became AmSouth’s Marshall County president. After the merger with Regions in 2006, she was made market president over Marshall, Jackson, DeKalb and, for a time, Cullman County. She retired in 2016 thinking she’d
learn to play piano, do photography and write. She’s made serious headway in the third arena. Already speaking at women’s conferences, she began a blog at faith-ngrace.com. An editor at Christian Faith Publishing of Meadville, Pa., read her blog and asked if she’d like to be published. This lead to the publishing last August of “Feeding the Body and the Soul: A Collection of Devotionals and Recipes to Feed the Hungry.” “The Perils of Positively Perfect Penelope,” a children’s book, is expected out this year, and she’s outlined a third book, “First Things First.” Over the years Nancy served as a volunteer and board president of Lake Guntersville Chamber of Commerce; vice chairman of Marshall County Healthcare Authority; co-chair Marshall Cancer Care Center’s capital campaign; is on the Arab First United Methodist Church council;
and this year is serving her fourth term as chair of the Marshall County Economic Development Council.
N
ancy and Tommy live in Arab. Their daughter, Jordan, works at TVA’s Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant. Oh … Nancy loves cooking, but of necessity the quick and easy way. “Food is such a common denominator with people,” she says. “The first thing I always did on a new job was bake a cake and take it. Or if I got new people on staff, I’d make lunch for them. “Every time I did that people said, ‘You ought to put those recipes in a book.’” She did just that with her first book. “Don’t worry,” she laughs. “I don’t do gourmet. I make it easy. I don’t want to labor over it all day long.” Here are some of her recipes … RANCH RED POTATO SALAD 1 5-pound bag new red potatoes (small size) 1 green bell pepper, chopped 1 red bell pepper, chopped 1 bunch green onions, chopped 1 8-ounce can sliced black olives, drained 1 Tbsp. salt 1/2 Tbsp. black pepper 10 strips thick cut bacon, fried and chopped in 1/2-inch pieces 1 16-ounce bottle ranch salad dressing
CROWD PLEASING COLE SLAW Slaw 2 bags angel hair slaw 2 Granny Smith green apples, peeled, cored and chopped 2 cucumbers, peeled and chopped 2 green bell peppers, chopped 2 bunches green onions, chopped 1/4 cup dried parsley flakes Salt and pepper to taste Dressing 1/4 cup white vinegar 1/4 cup sugar 26
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1/2 cup mayonnaise Combine vinegar and sugar blending until dissolved. Add mayonnaise and blend completely. Combine all ingredients together and toss thoroughly with dressing. Chill at least 4 hours. Before serving, toss again. Optional – To add a different, festive twist add a small bag of tiny marshmallows to the slaw before serving.
Wash potatoes but do not peel. In large soup pot cover potatoes in hot water and boil for 20 minutes or until tender. While potatoes are boiling, in large mixing bowl mix the peppers, onions, olives, salt and pepper. When potatoes are done drain them and pour into mixing bowl with other ingredients. Slowly add dressing, mixing as you go. Add enough dressing to your particular taste. (I prefer my potato salad to be heavy on the dressing because once it chills it has a tendency to dry out.) Once you have the dressing added, toss in the bacon. Do NOT use bacon bits, only real bacon. This potato salad can actually be served hot or cold. If you want to serve it cold, chill for at least three hours.
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FRUITY CHICKEN SALAD 3 13-ounce cans all white meat chicken, drained & shredded 1 cup green seedless grapes, washed and cut in half 2 Granny Smith green apples, peeled and chopped 4 stalks celery, washed and chopped 1 medium white onion, peeled and BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE GREEN BEANS 4 16-ounce cans Allen’s Italian Cut Green Beans, drained 1 small yellow onion, cut in strips 1 bottle Ken’s Steak House Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing 6 strips thick sliced bacon, cooked crispy and cut into 1-inch pieces Mix green beans, dressing and onions in large saucepan. Cook on medium for 30 minutes, adding water if necessary. Drain beans and toss with bacon just prior to serving. For color you can also garnish with pimento. 28
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chopped 1/2 cup chopped pecans 1/2 cup dried cranberries 1 Tbsp. celery salt 1/4 cup dry parsley flakes 1/2 cup mayonnaise In large mixing bowl mix all
ingredients thoroughly, adding more mayo to your taste if needed. Cover and chill for at least two hours. Serve on a bed of lettuce with a baked potato and bread sticks for a delicious meal. Of course you also can spread it on crackers, make sandwiches or sliders.
CALICO BEAN CASSEROLE 1 pound ground chuck 1 yellow onion, minced 1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. black pepper 1 16-ounce light red kidney beans, drained 1 16-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained 1 16-ounce chili beans, drained 1/3 cup pancake syrup 1/4 cup yellow mustard 1/4 cup ketchup 2 Tbsp. A-1 Steak Sauce
1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend Brown ground beef, onion, salt and pepper until done. Drain. In large mixing bowl mix all other ingredients then add meat. Spray a 3-quart baking dish with non-stick spray. Pour mixture into dish, cover and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Before serving top with shredded Mexican cheese blend.
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EASY OVEN-BAKED SPAGHETTI 2 pounds ground chuck 2 medium onions, chopped 1 large can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes 3/4 cup green bell peppers, chopped 1 cup water 2 small cans sliced mushrooms, drained
2 tsp. salt 1 tsp. chili powder 1 package (7 ounces) thin spaghetti, broken into 2 inch pieces 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese 1 tsp. ground oregano Brown ground chuck with onions and green pepper, drain. Stir
in tomatoes with liquid and the remaining ingredients except cheese. Pour mixture into a 9 x 13-inch baking pan. Cover and bake at 375 degrees, stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese and cook uncovered for another 5 minutes. Served with a green salad, this makes a complete hearty meal.
FAMILY FAVORITE MEXICAN CASSEROLE 1-1/2 pounds ground chuck 1/2 cup chopped onion 1 packet dry taco seasoning 2 packets beef flavor ramen noodles 2 12-ounce cans whole kernel corn, drained 2 12-ounce cans black beans, rinsed and drained 2 4-ounce cans chopped green chilies 2 12-ounce cans petite diced tomatoes, drained 30
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2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese, divided in half In skillet brown ground chuck and onions. When brown, stir in taco seasoning and then drain. In large soup kettle bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add ramen noodle seasoning packets and stir to dissolve. Once the water boils again add the noodles and cook for 3 minutes. In a large bowl stir together all
remaining ingredients, reserving 1 cup of cheese. In soup kettle add meat mixture and all ingredients combined in bowl. Stir thoroughly. Spray large (4-quart) casserole with non-stick spray. Spoon mixture into casserole dish and top with remaining cheese. Cover and cook in oven set at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Serve with salsa, tortilla chips and sour cream. This is a favorite at social events ‌ and it makes a lot!
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HUMMINGBIRD CAKE 3 cups sifted flour 1 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. cinnamon 2 cups sugar 1 tsp. salt 1-1/2 cups cooking oil 1 8-ounce can crushed pineapple with juice 1-1/2 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs 2 cups diced bananas (should be very ripe) Measure dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and sugar, then sift them together). Dice bananas, measure and add to dry ingredients, along with oil, vanilla, eggs and crushed
pineapple with its juice. Stir the mixture to blend. Pour into greased 9-inch tube pan and bake for about 1 hour and 20 minutes at 350 degrees. (Can take less time depending on your oven – watch it closely after 40 minutes). Set aside to cool on a rack without removing from the pan. SIMPLY DELICIOUS FRUIT COBBLER 1 cup self-rising flour 1 cup sugar 3/4 cup milk 2 sticks butter 2 cans pie filling of your choice (apple, cherry, peach, blueberry, which is pictured at left, etc.) Preheat oven to 350. In a 9x13 baking pan sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. As the oven heats put one of the sticks of butter in the pan and put in the oven to melt. Mix with whisk the flour, sugar and milk; blend thoroughly. Pour the batter mixture in the pan. Spoon the pie filling on the batter evenly. Cut the second stick of butter into slices and place on top of the pie filling. Bake for 35 minutes or until the crust rises and browns.
SAUSAGE AND CHEESE CASSEROLE 10 oz. package egg noodles 2 Tbsp. chopped onion 1 Tbsp. butter 2 Tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce 1 Tbsp. flour 1 tsp. dry ground mustard 1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. black pepper 2-1/2 cups milk 2 cups shredded Velveeta Cheese 1 pound pork sausage, crumbled, fried and drained 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese 32
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In a large, deep skillet, sauté onion in butter. Add mustard, salt, pepper, flour, Worcestershire. Cook for two minutes. Reduce heat and gradually add milk and 1-1/2 cups Velveeta, stirring until it melts. Set aside. Cook noodles until tender per package directions. Spray 3-quart casserole dish with non-stick spray. Mix sausage, noodles and milk mixture until well blended and pour into baking dish. Sprinkle remaining Velveeta over top along with the
Parmesan cheese. Cover and refrigerate at least two hours. Cook covered at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. I serve this dish with a tossed salad and French bread – it makes a complete meal. Also, you can change it up by substituting other meats, such as ground chuck, diced ham, Polish sausage ... just be certain the meat is fully cooked before you add it to the casserole.
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Good Eats
Olivo pizza and Frios pops ... ‘gourmet’ is served in Boaz Story by Seth Terrell Photos by David Moore
G
ourmet.” It’s a word with a definition that seems to change depending on the user. But for Doug Sherrod and Kevin Brooks, owners of Olivo Gourmet Pizza in Boaz, the word has a clear meaning: fresh, authentic, selected ingredients prepared with a creative flair by a chef who is as much artist as cook. The dream of Olivo was born from a mutual interest, an interest in food, yes, but more an interest in people. “I enjoy being in the food business,” Doug says, “but that’s because I’m really a people person.” These are no empty words. Kevin, who served as a local pastor for several years, and Doug, who has been in the restaurant business for even longer, say the best part of their job is interacting with people, meeting new ones and reconnecting with people they’ve known for ages. Even the very layout of Olivo – which is joined with Kevin and Doug’s other restaurant, Frios, a gourmet, frozen pops stand – speaks to the people-first personalities of its owners. Beyond the newly enclosed main dining room, there is a common, outdoor area that fills with families in nice weather. Olivo has a backyard vibe with an Italian slant, making it feel as though you’ve stumbled upon a neighborhood cookout. There are corn-hole boards on the edge of the patio, checkerboards and picnic tables.
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he restaurant is a one-stop hub, even partnering with Doug’s bakery, Blissfully Sweet Bakery, to provide an atmosphere perfect for reserved parties – complete with pizza, Frios pops and birthday cake. The dining experience, emphasis on experience, begins with a state-of-the-art brick oven that cooks pizzas between 600-750 degrees. “Anyone who has eaten a brick oven pizza can tell you they’re different,” Kevin says. “There’s a flair there you don’t get in anything else.” 34
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And to the unique taste, Doug, Kevin and pizza chef John Babbino add an artistic spin. Quick, make a mental list of some of your favorite foods; now imagine them masterfully arranged on a 10-inch pizza crust. This seems to be the logic they used to create their menu. There’s Big Bad BBQ Brisket Pizza. Chicken Alfredo Pizza. And customer-favorite, Southern Soul pizza, complete with turnip greens, black-eyed peas and Conecuh sausage. Such tasteful concoctions are the result of deep research and hard work – if you can call pilgrimages to some of the nation’s finest brickoven pizza restaurants “work.” Either way, Doug traveled to nearly 30 such restaurants and was inspired by the best and most creative. With the help of John, the partners carved out a menu of the tastiest and most unique. But for those with a less adventurous palate, don’t worry. They stock plenty of premium pepperoni to cover your pizza, too.
O
livo, the Italian word for olive-branch, was not so long ago a vacant lot in front of Kevin’s dry-cleaning business. Where many people saw only a corner lot facing U.S. 431, Doug saw more. He approached Kevin first with the idea for selling Frios, the frozen, gourmet pops. They soon went into partnership, and as the Frios business grew, they started thinking about how to maximize the space and the experience. Shortly after, they reached out to John with his authentic expertise in brick oven pies, born from 20 years of pizza experience. And it doesn’t hurt that John hails from the Bronx. Though John is the expert, Kevin and Doug dove right in. They learned to stretch dough, prepare pizzas just right and take a hands-on role in the business – one Doug and Kevin hope will be a fixture for the families of Boaz and Marshall County. “We believe in Boaz,” Kevin says. “We want to be a part of its growth and potential and offer authentic pizza along with a cool-looking aesthetic where people will want to hang out.” Sounds like Olivo Gourmet Pizza. Good Life Magazine
Clockwise from far left, Brandon Babbino, 7, likes his gourmet pizza with lots of cheese. The “Back up the Truck” pizza pretty much has everything good from the back of a truck loaded on it. All of the pizza at Olivo’s are baked in a brick oven for that special taste. The inviting-looking restaurant has a drive-thru for pickup orders and frozen Frios pops. Owners Doug Sherrod and Kevin Brooks, right, like pizza ... and making folks happy. Olivo’s John Babbino knows a thing or two about making pizza.
False Indigo, Baptisia austrailis – False Indigo is a fantastic perennial in our area. It usually blooms late spring into early summer and has a fairly lengthy bloom season. Its lavender color provides a nice splash in the landscape. This plant can thrive in partial to full sun settings. It’ll need some watering in the first year for establishment, but will thrive in the following years with minor care. It’s a moderate grower and can be used for color in the landscape and is a great plant for cut flower arrangements. False indigo is also a butterfly attractor.
Good ’n’ Green
Perennials: there to greet you every year Story by Hunter McBrayer
A
s spring gears up, many folks are looking at the selection of plants available at nurseries and local home and garden stores. Most everyone is familiar with impatiens, begonias and many of the other annuals that are available for planting. While many homeowners are interested in planting annuals in their ornamental beds, I would encourage readers to consider planting perennials in place of annuals. There are many benefits, saving money being the most popular. Unlike annuals, good for only one year, perennial plants grow back and flower for many seasons; even lifetimes. Be selective when buying plants for your landscape – choose healthy, vigorous ones for the most success. Remember that spring and fall are best for planting trees, shrubs and perennial plants. Lastly, consider choosing plants that are native to Alabama. These plants can provide food and shelter for our native pollinators, are largely resistant to many diseases and weather inconsistencies, and – maybe most importantly – they can bring happiness and beauty to your garden for years to come. Check out these five native perennials that are sure to add to your garden, and happy planting … 36
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Columbine, Aquilegia Canadensis – Columbines are wonderfully versatile and fit into virtually any kind of garden. Their origins in the western woodlands make them perfect for semi-shaded conditions beneath native tree canopies as well as under shade and street trees. Compatibility of hybrid columbines with natives makes them work well in wild garden and informal, naturalistic settings. Bright new colors are equally at home in cottage and country gardens. For small spaces and minimal yards, these flowers offer a lot with their delicate blooms, foliage and remarkably wiry stems – all best appreciated at close range.
Iris, Iris Cristata (Dwarf Crested Iris) – Another native to Alabama, this clumping-style iris gives the color and flower style that many are familiar with in other iris varieties. An excellent plant for early spring bloom in a shaded area of the rock garden, perennial border or woodland garden. Foliage forms a nice ground cover for woodland areas. May also be used as a seasonal ground cover or edger.
Hosta, Hosta sp. – Hostas are one of my favorite shade perennials. They come in various “flavors” of greens and variegation. Notwithstanding their often showy flowers, hostas are primarily grown in shade and woodland gardens for the ornamental excellence of their foliage. They’ve very effective when massed in groups and make good background plants. They tolerate some morning sun but thrive as understory plants.
Coneflower, Echinacea sp. – This summer-bloomer comes in nearly any color. Coneflowers have a clump-style growth habit and can range from 1-3 feet in height. They provide large blooms and continue flowering into the early fall providing a nice bloom season. The versatile Coneflower thrives in full sun and can be used in containers, rock plantings, cut flower gardens and also wildlife gardens. FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2018
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Just one look ...
And a town was sold, but it took a second look before tackling this historic Guntersville B&B
Story and photos by David Moore
J
ust one look. That’s all it took for Michelle Louze and Michael Snedden to fall in love with Guntersville. Lake Guntersville Bed and Breakfast, the historic Hooper House, however, required a second look before the Florida Panhandle couple bought it. Built in 1910 and listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks, the grand old house has wraparound verandas that offer views of Lake Guntersville from the steep hillside it’s built into on Scott Street, two blocks above town. On the downside, the old house was a looming, two-story restoration project of daunting proportions. To continue operating it as the bed and breakfast Michelle longed to own, major renovations were imperative. “The bed and breakfast was definitely my dream,” says Michelle. Ideally it would give them a home, a job and an enjoyable lifestyle to share. Late 2014 seemed a good time to pursue the dream. Michael, a lieutenant colonel and former Apache helicopter pilot in Iraq and Afghanistan, would soon retire after 22 years in the Army. With her daughter nearly out of high school, Michelle – who’d done catering for 10 years in addition to marketing and golf photography – was looking for something new … a bed and breakfast to be exact. “We found this place online,” Michelle says, sitting in their dining room. “We’d never been to Guntersville and decided to 38
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come visit and check it out. We fell in love with the town.” But they didn’t immediately pull the trigger on the old house.
I
n January 2015, they returned to Guntersville and revisited the B&B, which
Carol Dravis had been operating for some 20 years. “That trip pretty much sealed the deal,” Michael says. “It was a big gamble and we threw the dice,” Michelle says. “I had a vision of how it could be post-renovation and
Located at the corner Hill Avenue and Scott Street, Lake Guntersville Bed and Breakfast is just two blocks from several nice restaurants. The building itself is steeped in inviting old southern charm.
how to market it. I was excited about the possibilities.” “It was a measured risk more than a wild gamble,” Michael believes. The project got slow before it got crazy. Closing the sale took six month. Michelle moved into what is now the Hooper
Room in early August, staying there alone and working on the house until Michael retired at the end of September. Then the restoration/construction shifted into crazy. For six months straight, platoons of plumbers, electricians and Sheetrock hangers laid siege to the Hooper House.
Every wall that workers opened revealed something else that needed replacing. One good surprise they discovered was that between the house’s old flat tar roof and a new arched roof installed in 2011, was a raw 1,200 square feet of space with 12-15-foot ceilings. They considered FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2018
39
building owners’ quarters there but opted for more entertainment space and, as their first major project, built a media/ game room. Michelle and Michael installed and stained the floors and did the painting. Replumbing the house took a month in large part because the couple wanted each of the seven guest rooms to have a private bath. Michelle and Michael did all of the finish work themselves, including refinishing the heart-of-pine floors found under old carpet. “That was just as hard and took longer than the big part of the construction,” she says.
D
uring the height of sawdust and hammering, Michelle and Michael stayed in a house in the Waterfront community owned by their heating and air contractor, Allen Davis. Along with the new owners, everything else inside the Hooper House had to be moved out, too. “We ended up having a whole bunch of furniture, tools and personal items out on all of the porches,” Michael says. “We looked like the Clampetts coming to Hollywood,” Michelle laughs. “We had to take the risk of something going missing.” They later realized Guntersville police had made a point of patrolling the place. Even so, during the course of two months it appeared no theft was even attempted. “I think that’s a testament to what kind of town Guntersville is,” Michael says. Folks were curious about the big ongoing project at the historic house. It created a lot of general interest. The project also created some specific interest from its former aging owner, Carol Dravis (who passed away in April 2017). “She stopped by pretty often to say hi and see how things were going,” Michael says. He and Michelle sensed her understandable emotional investment in her old house and that she felt uneasy about some of the alterations. “But when we finished,” Michelle says, “we could see she was very pleased.” Continued on Page 44 40
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Clockwise from upper left: Michelle and Michael at the check-in counter. The dining room is visible through the French doors behind them. The front porch offers guests an inviting first impression. Michelle entertains friends from Albertville, from left, Brad Land, birthday girl Amanda Rowland, Phillip Camp and his sister, Teresa Camp. All were impressed by their first visit to the house. Coffee mugs and an antique grinder line a shelf in the dining room.
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The Lucinda Room is also known as the “honeymoon suite.� Michelle and Michael made it inviting with gas-log fireplaces in the main room and the large bathroom. The latter is complete with a claw-footed tub. The room is named for wife of Alexander Hooper, who built the house in 1910. He laid the heart-pine floors here and elsewhere in the house, which Michelle and Michael found while ripping out old carpeting. 42
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Alexander Hooper built the second floor of his house in 1910 as apartments. One unit is now the Alexander Suite. Its sitting room, above, has a small kitchen and exposed brick wall. The Aerie room, left, named in recognition of the North Alabama Birding Trail, is accessed through the second-floor communal kitchen. It is decorated with antiques, including a step-up fourposter bed and desk. FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2018
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Continued from page 40
In fact, Carol proudly led people through the newly remodeled bed and breakfast during the Guntersville Lady Civitans 2015 Holiday Tour of Homes.
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t was an early and astute business decision to install private bathrooms for each guest suite. “Not having their own bath is something which most people frown upon,” Michael says. He and Michelle hoped private baths would draw guests who usually prefer hotels. Along the same lines, after operating their bed and breakfast about a year, they took a breather and visited Chanticleer Inn Bed and Breakfast. Instead of the typical family-style breakfast at a big communal table, the Rock City B&B had small restaurant-style tables, close enough to talk to other guests if you desire while enjoying the privacy of your own space. Back home, they copied what they liked. “Some people may like the familystyle eating, but I would say 95 percent don’t,” Michelle says. “We’re appealing 44
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A veranda that wraps around most of the second-floor is made even more inviting by wicker furniture and a hammock. The attic was finished to create a media and game room for guests. to people who do not normally stay at bed and breakfasts.” “We get all kinds,” Michael adds. “We get a lot of youth you wouldn’t
normally think of as bed and breakfast types.” Another privacy plus is that all but two guest rooms at Lake Guntersville
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The east side of the upper veranda with its lake view offers an inviting place for morning coffee or an afternoon drink. Bed and Breakfast are accessed through individual outside doors opening from the porches. Two rooms have private access through a common kitchen area on the second floor. Contrasting with their changes for privacy, Michelle and Michael added happy hour every evening, serving free wine, beer or their own sangria outside if it’s nice; otherwise in the dining room. Highly popular, it’s the first thing many guests ask about upon arrival. “It’s fun to socialize and get to talk and tell stories,” Michael says. So much so that happy hour usually turns into happy hours.
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ooking and serving gourmet breakfast is the busiest part of Michelle and Michael’s daily business cycle/ lifestyle. She cooks, he serves. “So he gets to socialize more than me,” she laughs. “Occasionally,” he protests, “I do cook – and the guests say it’s spectacular!” Many of their guests are seeking a few days getaway, traveling from Marshall and surrounding counties or cities an hour away. They might stay 46
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a night, a weekend or longer. Some have come from Germany, England, Australia, Canada, even South Africa. Thanks to repeat guests and referrals, weekends often have a waiting list. Weeknights can get busy, too. Labor of love or not, it is a job. “When it’s busy 30-40 days without a day off, it starts to get to you,” Michelle says. “We almost have to close a day to get time off. I work harder than I’ve ever had to work, but it’s a good thing. We had hoped to be busy.” Demand for space has, literally, run her and Michael out of their living quarters on the main floor. They will convert the area into a large suite with a living room and two fireplaces. They bought a house three-doors down. After renovating the B&B, re-doing the roof, walls and floors of their new home was a relatively simple project of a couple of months. It gives them some separation from work, plus room for visiting kids and grandkids, plus a place for Maiya, their big pet huskie. In the latter cases, repeat guests often wonder where the four-legged social director went.
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ld charm. Warm hospitality. Socializing. Privacy. Business is strong enough that Michelle and Michael are considering expanding the dream B&B into another neighboring house. “We had no idea of the changes we would do that would make this successful,” Michelle says. “We have been very lucky and very blessed. We do a lot of volume, and it just gets busier and busier. “I didn’t anticipate that,” she says to Michael. “Did you?” He pauses, then laughs. “I am constantly surprised and proud for Michelle. I am more the realist and looking at the numbers. She has the vision. All these things she thought of and my first reaction was, ‘How much is that going to cost?’” Now she laughs. “And how much is that really going to cost,” he laughs with her. “No really. But it always turns out better than what she says. It’s all paid off.” A home, a job, an enjoyable lifestyle to share … it all started with just one look. Then lots of work. Good Life Magazine
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Queen in Arab, a table at the restaurant posted a sign reading: “Reserved for the Rices.” For years Cyrus and Doris were patrons of the popular establishment. In fact, the charming couple was as much a part of DQ as the restaurant fixtures themselves. The never-ending flow of employees and customers stopping by “their” table to visit with them testified to that. I could never resist stopping by the Rices’ table to chat. I hoped that Cyrus, always dressed in a coat and tie, would tell Cyrus and Doris Rice at “their” table at Milner’s Dairy Delight. me about an incident that he experienced in 1934. It was a story he retold many times, yet one I never grew tired of hearing – his face-to-face encounter with the notorious killers, robbers and yrus Rice died in 2003. Doris, his wife, died in 2011. But kidnappers Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. back in the day, when Milner’s Dairy Delight was still the Dairy
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The day Bonnie and Clyde stopped by the drug store in Arab Story by Steve A. Maze Photos from the author’s collection
attention to sweeping the mud from the walkway in front of the store.
he spring morning began routinely for the people nestled atop Brindley Mountain. Drops of April rain rhythmically pelted the metal roofs of homes as the familiar sound of crowing roosters roused residents from their sleep. Though grayish, the morning light washed away the darkness of the previous night, but it seemed nothing could wash away the darkness of The Great Depression. Newspapers were filled with the desperation of the era – photos of people standing in long soup lines and gangsters robbing and killing. Most people in Marshall County tried to scratch out a living by sharecropping or working their hardscrabble farms. Days were filled with hard work and little excitement. Arab’s citizenry followed fascinating newspaper and radio accounts of gangsters wreaking havoc across the country and the G-men who chased them. But people were content to leave such exploits in distant cities. Few if any imagined coming face to face with coldblooded killers. That would soon change for 21-yearold Cyrus Rice. He began his job at Griffith’s Drug
he morning stillness was abruptly broken when two people in a black automobile roared up South Main. The car’s engine was racing as exhaust backfired from the tailpipe. The driver spotted Cyrus sweeping the walkway and stomped the brake pedal. A spray of mud and gravel spattered the front window as the Model-B Ford slid past the store. Dr. Griffith heard the commotion and ran from his office. “What in the hell are they doing?” he barked. “We’re fixing to find out,” Cyrus replied, feeling a tinge of nervousness. The driver had slammed the car in reverse and backed up so that the passenger door paralleled the storefront. Cyrus tried to step inside the refuge of the drug store, but a short, blonde woman burst from the car and grabbed him by the shoulder. “You ain’t going nowhere,” she snapped, a cigar stub showing from the corner of her mouth as she anxiously glanced up and down the street. “I want six Red Dot cigars and a pack of condoms,” she said, herding Cyrus and Dr. Griffith into the store. Dr. Griffith sent Cyrus to get the cigars while he retrieved the contraceptives.
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Sweethearts, in their own way, Bonnie and Clyde were also killers. Store at 6 a.m. daily while the store’s owner, Dr. Walter Griffith, worked from his medical office next door. After opening, Cyrus began his routine by sweeping out the store. He was usually alone. Customers didn’t normally come in that early unless it was an emergency. As it had been for several days, it was still raining that morning, and Main Street was a quagmire. So Rice soon turned his
Cyrus cautiously walked between the soda fountain and cigar counter trying to keep an eye on the arrogantly blunt blonde. Strangers came through town frequently enough, but none so hyper as this woman. Her feet were never at rest, and she constantly glanced about as if expecting trouble. Cyrus retrieved the 25-cent pack of cigars and handed them to her. She spit the cigar stub from her mouth, mashing it out with her foot. Cyrus didn’t appreciate her messing up his freshly swept floor but said nothing. “How about mixing up a Coca-Cola for my friend in the car,” she said, more command than request.
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s he mixed the soda, Cyrus observed the woman from the corner of his eye. She wore a red tam hat that allowed her strawberry-blonde hair to slightly show. A red skirt extended to her ankles and something resembling an old purse was hidden underneath her white, long-sleeved blouse. A huge, light-colored handbag with pistol-shaped bulges distending from it completed her attire. But what the soda jerk noticed most was how dirty the woman was. Not in the normal sense, but filthy dirty. Her face, hands and clothes were almost as filthy as the profanity that occasionally spewed from her lips. Red lipstick matched the rouge on her cheeks, and she would have been pretty had she not been so dirty. Dr. Griffith appeared with the contraceptives just as Cyrus finished mixing the soda. “How much do I owe ya?” she asked. Dr. Griffith added up the bill and told her the sum. She reached into the bag and paid cash for the purchases. “You got curb service?” she snapped. “We do,” Cyrus replied while placing the soda on a tray as he attempted to walk past her toward the front door. The petite woman promptly shoved him against the soda fountain with an elbow. “Wait a minute!” she commanded. “I’ll tell you when you can go.” The woman proceeded to the front of the store with Cyrus now trailing behind her. She opened the door slightly, peeked through, and cautiously glanced up and down Main Street. Apparently satisfied that no one was around, she stepped through the door and directed Cyrus to follow her.
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yrus followed her to the driver’s side of the car and attempted to hook the tray on the door. “Don’t put anything on the car!” she screamed, giving him another elbow shove. She grabbed the Coca Cola and handed it to the man sitting behind the steering wheel of the idling automobile. He was racing the engine in a sporadic manner to keep it from going dead – the rain hampering its performance. He slouched down, didn’t look up, and never moved his firmly clasped hands from the steering wheel. The young man’s clothes were unkempt and he was as filthy as his companion. He wore a long-billed, brown hat pulled down over his eyes. It was hard to tell, but he may have been wearing sunglasses. He sported a tan coat and
Questions have been raised about Bonnie actually smoking small cigars, but she certainly did pose with them. Bottom, Clyde shows off part of their arsenal.
This didn’t happen during Bonnie and Clyde’s brief visit to Arab in 1934. Rather it happened later that year, south of Gibsland, La., when lawmen ambushed and killed the notorious bandits. trousers, unbuttoned white shirt with no tie. “Son, is there any money in that old bank?” he asked while pointing toward the Bank of Arab. The bank – still closed at that early hour – was doing better than many banks during The Great Depression. But sensing something was amiss, Cyrus laughed and replied, “No, that bank’s been busted for years.” “‘Told you so,” the young woman sneered at her partner. “What’s the quickest way to Birmingham?” the man then asked. “Well, you can go back the way you came, or turn beside the bank and go through Cullman.” The man nodded as Cyrus followed the woman around to the passenger side of the car where he noticed a sawed-off shotgun lying on the floorboard. The young blonde climbed into the front seat and slid the 12-gauge between her feet. 50
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is new vantage point offered Cyrus a better look at the car. While appearing new, it was muddy and dirty. The interior looked as if it had been lived in and was filthy. Rifle-shaped objects bulged from underneath a tarp on the back seat. Without saying another word the driver spun the car around in the middle of Main Street. Again, the tires spewed a mixture of mud and gravel toward the drug store before speeding by the bank on its way toward Cullman. Cyrus and Dr. Griffith discussed the couple’s strange actions, but forgot about them when the delivery truck arrived from Gadsden, and they unbundled the latest issues of detective magazines. “Oh my God!” Dr. Griffith exclaimed. “There they are!” There on the front cover of one of the magazines was the strawberry-blonde moll and her male companion.
“We had better lock up and go home in case they come back,” the doctor quickly added. Their fear subsided after 30 minutes, however, and the store was reopened. A few days later, the FBI visited Arab to inquire about a couple suspected of robbing a bank in Alabama. The agents pulled out photographs of the pair in question and showed them to Cyrus and Dr. Griffith, who identified them as the couple that had been to the store the day after the bank robbery. The FBI related that they had chased the desperados up Highway 231 toward Oneonta before losing them. The gangsters had apparently spent the night in their car while parked behind the Brooksville Post Office and eluded capture when lawmen were forced to temporarily call off the search. Not only had rain made the muddy roads virtually impassable, bloodhounds had lost the scent of the bank robbers’ trail as well.
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rea residents were shocked to learn the faces shown on the magazine cover were Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. Radio and newspaper accounts of the couple’s deadly activities had struck fear into citizens across the U.S. at the time. The citizens of Arab were no different. On April 29, 1934, the outlaws stole their last car, a gray Ford V-8, from a roofing contractor in Topeka, Kansas. They drove 7,500 miles over the next 24 days. On May 23, 1934, Bonnie and Clyde
were killed in a hail of lawmen’s bullets near Gibsland, La. According to some accounts, their car was riddled with as many as 184 bullet holes. The coroner’s report states that Clyde had 26 entrance wounds; Bonnie had 17. Embalming was problematic. Bonnie and Clyde’s reign of terror was over. They lived ruthlessly and died the same way. Word of the their demise spread quickly and the death scene was overrun with souvenir seekers. The unruly mob grabbed
items from the car and personal items from the blood-soaked bodies of the criminals. Some attempted to cut locks of Bonnie’s golden hair, and one man brought a jar of alcohol with him in which to put Clyde’s trigger finger as he attempted to sever it with a knife. Cyrus Rice didn’t get a souvenir when he met the infamous duo. Instead, he came away with something many never lived to tell about – a face-to-face encounter with Bonnie and Clyde. Good Life Magazine
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Melanie Webb and friends ride part of the eight-mile horse trail loop on TVA property at Murphy Hill. “It’s easy terrain,” she says. “If we have beginners we take them there. It’s like riding on a road, but it’s more beautiful.” At left, the photographer’s horse shows a little spirit on the trail.
‘I’d rather be horseback riding’ Story by David Moore Photos by Patrick Oden
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all Melanie Webb’s cell phone and chances are good you’ll hear this message: “I’m probably riding a horse. If you leave your name and number I’ll get back with you.” OK, maybe she’s not out riding a horse at the moment. Maybe she’s brushing one – she has 26 or so. Or maybe she’s training one for somebody. Or busy buying and selling horses. Lots of that going around. Then again, maybe she’s cleaning out the barn on her and husband Keith’s 36-acre horse farm east of Albertville.
At any rate, you get the picture. Melanie is all about horses. This particular morning she’s not out riding, rather she’s sitting at her dinner table with Terri Nichols talking to a visitor about riding horses … more specifically, about backcountry trail riding. The two friends are part of a riding group that loves few activities more than heading into the woods on horseback. “Actually, I met Mel through riding,” says Terri, who lives in Oneonta. “We have a lot of fun,” Melanie says. They discuss a ride late last spring at Murphy Hill. Located in South Sauty, it’s a popular trail riding location, the
land made interesting by pockets of Lake Guntersville strewn with Cyprus trees and lily pads. Locally, they also enjoy the 20plus miles of Town Creek trails at Guntersville State Park and the 16-mile round trip from Guntersville Dam to the old Cooley Cemetery at Manchester and back. (A hike of that trail was featured in the 2015 fall issue of GLM.) “We take the horses bareback swimming there,” Terri says. “Pretty much all of them like the water.”
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elanie and Terri are members of the Northeast Alabama Chapter of Back Country Horsemen of America. FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2018
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Sometimes they and their saddle about 45 minutes north in Lucedale. She says. “He loves to fish, so it’s the best cohorts ride with other chapters at, had a horse, Lady, at her grandmother’s of both worlds for us.” say, Oak Mountain State Park South of farm until she was 14. That first Christmas, Keith bought a Birmingham, or over at horse for their youngest the Sipsey Wilderness in daughter, Katelyn. Bankhead National Forest. “I didn’t know, but he At the latter, they like to bought me one, too,” says pack gear and stay over Melanie. So it was that, at one of the primitive at age 40, she saddled up campgrounds. Smoky and galloped into Talladega National the “horse people” phase Forest has good trails, too. of her life. What, the visitor asks, “It was cool that I is their longest ride? could actually control an “On purpose?” Terri animal that size,” she says. laughs. “Then Keith wanted to “We never get lost,” ride, too. Melanie insists. “We just “We started collecting get temporally misplaced.” horses. We blinked our For instance, that day eyes and had about eight. on a backcountry trail at Then we decided we Mammoth Cave National wanted to breed horses.” Park in Kentucky … they (Melanie, for the record, weren’t lost, not really. also raises standard They had a map. They poodles.) just didn’t have their reading glasses. Concern e it a trot around eventually set in. the rink or a 20-mile “We were praying,” trail, riding horses is not Melanie says. for everyone. Melanie And then, all of a understands that, though sudden, they spotted a she’d be overjoyed if pair of slightly broken one of her daughters or reading glasses someone grandkids got crazy about had dropped on the trial. horses, too. Each of them used a single “You have to be lens to try to read the map. outdoorsy,” she says. “You Out of their travel trailers after a relatively short haul across They were saved by an can’t be afraid to get your Marshall County, the horses seem ready to hit the trail. entertained group of trail jeans dirty and your boots riders who showed them muddy. Kids either love the way back. them or they don’t. If they “Most of the time we don’t care Melanie was a student at Mississippi are scared of them, they don’t.” where we are,” Terri says. Gulf Coast Junior College when a Accidents can happen. A horse once On purpose, Melanie’s longest counselor at Keith’s church introduced rolled on Keith and broke his hip. Terri day of trail riding was 35 miles of the them. They married in 1986. lost the tip of a thumb to a rope that 212 miles of trails at Big South Fork After some years in management got hung up as a horse left a trailer. National River and Recreation area in with State Farm, Keith longed for the Melanie, thanks to a horse not fully Oneida, Tenn. It was after dark by the freedom of being an agent. In 2002, trained, got her ankle broken last year. time she reached camp, sore, tired and that opportunity opened in Albertville, But none of their accidents killed wildly in love with horseback riding. and the Webbs moved near the airport, their love of horses. In fact, the very across town from the farm they moved day her doctor released her, Melanie left eith Webb, who has a State Farm to in 2005. town on an overnight ride. Insurance agency in Albertville, shares At that point, the three youngest of Actually she started training horses his wife’s love of horses. But in their their four daughters rode horses some, because she wants them safe and wellearly years, neither he nor Melanie were and Melanie, though horseless, went on matched to their riders. what one might call “horse people.” a few trail rides and enjoyed herself. “Mel wants everybody to match up,” Keith grew up in Ocean Springs “It’s a beautiful area to have horses Terri says during their talk at the table. on the Mississippi coast. She grew up and a beautiful place to fish,” Melanie “That is how she does it. And she won’t
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Lake Guntersville and surrounding inlets and backwater add to the joy of trail riding at Murphy Hill. Fishermen try their luck behind Melanie and her horse. In addition to horses, her husband, Keith, especially loves fishing. She says that makes Marshall County a great place for them both to live. FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2018
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This low-key ride included four members of the Northeast Alabama Chapter of Back Country Horsemen of America. From left are Melanie Webb on Charger, Debi Houston on Sam, Terri Nichols on Showboat, and Coy Graben on Whiskey. Some of their local chapter events draw 50 or more riders. Below, trail mix means different things to different creatures. sell a horse if she thinks it won’t jive with the buyer.” Horses have their personalities. So do owners, and some of them, Melanie says, simply don’t need a horse if they can’t commit to the time necessary to bond and properly train with a horse. “They are big animals,” she says. “If they don’t respect your space, they knock you down, push into you and won’t go where you want them to go. “A horse is like a kid,” she adds. “If you don’t take charge of it, it will take charge of you.”
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n the flip side, trust and freedom are the love of a horse in the backcountry. “It’s so relaxing if the horse is broke,” Melanie says. “It’s a feeling you can’t describe to be out riding one. Horse people love to get out and see God’s beautiful creation. You can see things from a horse’s 56
FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2018
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Terri Nichols, to the rear, helps Melanie Webb groom one of her horses. Terri and her family like horses to the point that they moved from Clay to a 78-acre farm in Oneonta. In addition to about 26 horses, Melanie and husband Keith have four grown daughters: Sonya (and Brent) Pell of Albertville; Ashley (and Sean) McGinnis of Slidell, La.; Bethany (and Turner) McLemore of Birmingham; Katlyn (and Matthew) Palmer of Huntsville; and 10 grandkids. eye-view that you would never see otherwise. “Some hikers know this. You see things you never get to see if you’re in a car,” she continues. “The same with horseback riding – but you get to cross rivers you can never walk across because they are too deep or too wide.” Having such experiences saddled atop a big, beautiful creature creates strong bonds with other horse people. “They are easy to get along with when you meet them because you have something in common,” Terri says. “You are always learning. You can always ask one for help, and they’ve been through it and will tell you what you want to know. “Most of the time,” she laughs, “that’s Mel.” There is no bad time to hit the backcountry on a horse, the friends 58
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insist, but summer is their least favorite, what with bugs, snakes, spiders and riders and horses overheating. “We don’t stop riding any time of the year unless it’s snowing and you can’t drive,” Melanie says. “Spring and fall, before it’s too hot and too cold, are our favorites.” Melanie says she and Keith try to take one trail-riding trip per month. If need be, they have living quarters in their big horse trailer.
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ere’s another indication of how much Melanie and Keith – and other horse people – truly enjoy a lifestyle built in a big part around backcountry trail riding … In February, Melanie plans a girls’ trip to the Southern Equine Expo in Murfreesboro, Tenn. She and Keith head back to Tennessee in April for the
Big Guns trail ride in Jamestown, then she travels to Livingston, Ky., in May for a girls’ ride at Red Hill Horse Camp. June holds the promise of a trail trip for them both to Arkansas. And in September, they head out somewhere completely new: Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area outside of Las Vegas. “It will be my first time out west,” Melanie says. “I know it’s beautiful out there.” In October the Webbs plan their traditional trip to Bandy Creek at Big South Fork in Tennessee. And in December they usually go camping with horses in Florida. “There’s probably a bumper sticker somewhere that says, ‘I would rather be horseback riding,’” Melanie laughs. “I just haven’t found it yet.” Good Life Magazine
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The Aggie Band stepped out at 8:36 a.m. Pacific Time in front of hundreds of thousands of people along the route. Story by David Moore Photos by Martin Visuals; martinvisuals.net
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Albertville sends its band a-marching 60
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t’s a story about a small-town band making it to Pasadena to march New Year’s Day in the granddaddy of ‘em all: the Rose Parade. But it’s also a story of the community that made that possible. So says Chris Lindley, who ought to know. He, along with assistants Taylor Cash, Missy Lindley and Jill DeGaetano, directs the Albertville High School Aggie Band, which marched in the 2018 parade. It all starts with being chosen, which can take multiple applications. Chris applied in 2016 for January’s parade, and the Aggies were chosen in the first round from among 1,000 applications, something worthy of horn-tooting. But first a lot of money needed to be raised. Chris ended up taking 270 band members at a cost of $2,049 each. Those with means made trip payments as the band began a parade of fundraisers. “We chiseled that cost down with fundraisers,” Chris says, which started about November 2016.
It took the band nearly two hours of solid marching and playing to complete the route, just over six miles long. By the following September, he knew 42 students would be unable to raise the money or pay their way. But it was unthinkable they’d be left behind. All had earned the right to perform in the Rose Parade. Though $50,000 more was needed from a community that had been donating for almost a year, efforts redoubled to raise big band bucks. Amazingly, the band and community achieved their goal by December.
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nother 176 parents and family members signed on for the band trip, anteing up their own fares. Bottom line? The community deemed the honor of the Aggie Band marching in the Rose Parade worth the cost of just over $1 million. As Albertville band fans proclaim of their 92-year history, “The Tradition Continues.” The logistics of transporting 446 student musicians, adults and others on Dec. 28 to Southern California were every bit as complicated as the marching formations the Aggie Band performed at halftime last football season. Continued on Page 64
A ‘Rosy’ perspective …
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he 2018 Rose Parade featured 21 of the nation’s top marching bands, eight from high schools, with Albertville representing Alabama and the Southeast. Also in the six-mile parade were 44 extravagant, rose-bedecked floats and 20 equestrian groups with some 400 horses. Actor Gary Sinise was grand marshal. Hundreds of thousands of people, in grandstands and on foot, lined the Pasadena boulevards to experience the 129th annual extravaganza. Millions more watched on TV nationally and worldwide. The Rose Parade – aka The Tournament of Roses – was first held Jan.1, 1890, to show off the warm, blooming paradise Pasadena residents enjoyed while much of the nation shivered in the New Year. For the record, it is not the Rose Bowl Parade. The famed postseason gridiron game was an afterthought started in 1902 … to help cover the cost of the lavish parade. FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2018
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It took a lot of work to the get the band to Pasadena, then it took a lot more to get them lined up for a group photo, above. Below from left: flute players Christina Jacinto and Tomas Jimenez match pitch; Ansley Free, Haley Lindley and Ben Thompson line up for the group picture; performing during pass and review at Bandfest are Joshua Malone on cymbals and bass drummer Ben Thompson. “Making a Difference” (“with music” added to Ben’s drum) was the theme of the 2018 Rose Parade. FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2018
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Tuba player Charlie Witherow, left, shows how the band felt about the trip. At right, AHS band director Chris Lindley delivers sporting goods to students in the Challengers Boys and Girls Club of Los Angeles as the Aggie Band prepares to perform. Below, danceline member Anna Kate Wilkerson models the Tournament of Roses logo on her uniform. Continued from page 61
It required four flights, one each from Birmingham and Atlanta that morning and that afternoon. The morning “turn and burn” flights to and from Los Angeles Airport were repeated that afternoon with second planeloads of Albertville folks. “It would have cost more to bus us out there,” Chris says. As it was, the 4,000-plus-mile round trip tickets were $815 per person. The sizable entourage spent five nights at the Westin LAX. In preparation for the trip, during November and December Chris and his staff had put the band through conditioning rehearsals, each requiring the students to march several miles for several hours around the high school neighborhood with a police escort. He had good reason.
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he Jan. 1 Rose Parade started at 8 a.m. Pacific Time. The Aggies, number 18 in the parade lineup, stepped out at 64
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8:36 a.m. and marched just over two continuous hours covering the parade’s six-plus-mile course. “It’s a long parade,” Chris says from experience. He and his wife, Missy, the band director at the middle school, came to Albertville together in 2001 from Anniston. As an assistant band director under former Aggie director Curtis Burttram, Chris was with the band at the 2003 Hollywood Christmas Parade.
Inspired by that trip, he became director in 2009 and almost immediately applied for the Aggies to march in the 2011 Rose Parade. They, too, were accepted on the first application, and the experience proved invaluable. Chris knew the parade’s physical demands required preparation, hence the band’s long marches late last year. “But the biggest difference in the 2011 parade and this one is that I wasn’t scared to death,” Chris laughs. “We (he and two of the other assistant directors on the first trip) were able to really enjoy this
parade.” Wanting his band to enjoy the experience to the max, he gave a pep talk early New Year’s morning before the parade, reminding the students of their 14 months of work. “I wanted them to remember it,” Chris says. “They would make that (route) turn surrounded by a sea of people. They would never experience that again in their lives. I wanted them
to take it all in and understand the scope of what they accomplished.”
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nd so the Aggie Band from Albertville stepped out in unison into the throng-lined roads of Pasadena on New Year’s morning. They played Justin Timberlake’s “Can’t Stop the Feeling” as they marched down Orange Grove Boulevard, making the landmark right turn before the TV cameras onto Colorado Boulevard. After that, they alternated playing Timberlake’s song and “Celebration” by Cool and the Gang for the rest of the parade. Which was anything but short. From the big turn, it was a 5.5-mile straight march down the constantly
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waving and clapping crowd-lined street. Then the parade turned left on Sierra Madre Boulevard and finally disbanded at Liberty Park. “There was not a section without a ton of people cheering them on,” Chris says. Notch another one for the Albertville High School Aggie Band. “When you are accepted for the Rose Parade, that’s the granddaddy of them all,” he adds. “Our community rallied around us, and every kid got to go. That’s great right there. “I’ve never seen a community support a band like Albertville. Not one.”
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uccess breeds expectations. So it’s
no surprise that shortly after the Rose Parade Chris started hearing: “Where’s the band going next?” “Let me get over this trip,” he laughs. “Right now I’m worried about how to get middle school kids into high school uniforms next year.” Already huge by local standards, the band faces a tidal wave of new members moving up from the middle school that could swell the Aggies’ ranks to 350-400 members by the 2020 football season. At a cost of $500 per uniform, that’s a lot of money. “On to the next adventure of ‘Continuing the Tradition,’ as we like to say,” Chris laughs. “Growing pains are the cost of success.” Good Life Magazine
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Landscapes through the eye and camera lens of John Sharp Story by David Moore Photos by John Sharp
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aken on their own, John Sharp’s photographs are amazing. What’s even more amazing is that he only bought his first decent camera nearly eight years ago and did not really get serious about photography until 2012. In that short time, however, he’s captured an array of stunning photos, whether from his figurative backyard or long jet flights away. While not on a National Geographic travel budget and clock, John has invested time and expense in photo treks to Iceland – twice. 66
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The first trip was in November 2014, hardly the balmy season there. His wife, Ginger, went with him. John got online and found them package flights out of Boston for $1,600 total. It was a great travel deal but still a much larger chunk of change than most folks invest to shoot pictures. “We had never been to Boston,” John says. “So we spent two nights and three days there, then took a five-hour flight to Iceland for five days and four nights.” “It was,” Ginger says, “hard, hard, freezing cold.” But for one who loves shooting landscapes, what a stunning opportunity. John met up with members of a loosely
affiliated photography group from across the U.S. who come together for conferences, workshops and travel through improvephotography.com. John had previously gone on another “meet-up” photography trip with the group, that one to the Smoky Mountains National Park. And he would later attend meet-up shoots along the southern coast of Oregon and in Glacier National Park.
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o put food on the table, pay bills and those fun things, John is an assistant production manager in the Tundra V8 engine department at the Toyota Motor Manufacturing plant in Huntsville. From his
The light on Iceland’s Vik Church (Víkurkirkja) and the dramatic sky behind the hill were just right, but it’s the wild lupine in the foreground that captivated John’s attention. Opposite page, he took this chilly selfie at Town Creek Falls in Marshall County.
house in the Waterfront community off Ala. 79 north of Guntersville, it’s a one-hour commute each way. The ride provided John radio time back in spring 2010 when he bought his first digital SLR (single lens reflex) camera, a Canon Rebel. But the radio would be silenced. “It was always in the automatic mode,” John says. He used it that way about a year. While better than average, the results left him wanting. “I thought if I got a professional camera, I would get better pictures. I was wrong. I just didn’t know what I was doing. I had no idea how to use the camera, but I was determined to learn.”
So it was that John stumbled upon the improvephotography.com website. It included instructional podcasts. “My son had to tell me what a podcast is,” he laughs. In an “Aha! moment,” John went from radio entertainment to 40-60-minute podcasts while commuting. “Listening to the podcasts I finally learned about the exposure triangle (the relationship between aperture, shutter speed and ISO),” he says. “I would get home and do exactly what they said. It took me a good two years to get it down where I understood it.” Too, he began taking landscape
photography workshops, and his obvious growing knowledge and talent began to shine through.
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ohn grew up in Centre in Cherokee County, mountain biking, hiking and messing around, in and on Weiss Lake. He did show some early interest in photography, so his mom bought him a Polaroid Camera. It proved expensive at $10 for a 10-pack of film. A few years later he cut grass to buy a Canon AE-1 film camera. It worked fine, though he never learned to shoot outside of automatic mode. Interest faded like a cheap Continued on Page 71 FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2018
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“Iceland is so dramatic,� John says. Kirkjufell Mountain, here, juts 1,519 feet high, adding a visual exclamation the 26-foot drop of the lowertier of Kirkjufellsfoss Falls. John made this second trip to Iceland in the summer, when the sun never sets. He shot this photo during the midnight dusk, further adding to the drama and epic feel of his image.
Godafoss Falls, top, in central Iceland are stunning, John says. They are about 100 feet wide with a fall of nearly 40 feet. He confesses he must feel some sort of photographic attraction to water. And, especially when shooting slow shutter speeds, sometimes using a neutral density filter, the satiny blur of moving water adds an interesting element to any photo, John says. He shot Bruafoss, the falls at the right, in southeast Iceland. Ancient grass-roofed huts, mostly used for sheep these days, dot Iceland’s landscape, they’re just sometimes hard to see. 70
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Flood lights and interior lights bring Prince of Wales Hotel to life at dusk at Waterton Lakes National Park. The park, just north of the U.S.’Canadian line, is the other half of the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park. John digitally added the moon to his image. “Composites,” he says, “are all part of fine art photography.”
Continued from page 67 photo in the sun, and the camera was eventually relegated to his closet. Not aiming too high, John’s ambition was to grow up and be “employed.” “I had no idea, no inclination,” he laughs. “I started to go into radiology, but I was not smart enough and didn’t deal well with blood and gooey stuff.” So he studied business management at Jacksonville State, paying his way working as assistant manager at fast food joints. Graduating in 1990, he jumped up the ladder – not too high – to manager at Arby’s in Gadsden, despising the ferocious hours. At Unclaimed Baggage he did make one big life leap – he met Ginger. They married in 1994. She knew there was a gogetter inside John. What’s more, he readily accepted her daughter and son. “I’m goal-oriented,” he laughs on dangerous ground. “That wasn’t the goal. But I’ve always been up to a challenge …”
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t Hercules Tire and Rubber in Guntersville John advanced to plant manger before leaving 15 years ago for
Toyota. He started there as a team leader and continued to move up. But cameras were out of his depth of field.
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is son, Dallas, provided impetus to John’s photography when he got into tumbling, gymnastics and all-star cheerleading. After several years of pointand-shoot shots of Dallas, Dad decided he wanted better pictures and bought his Canon Rebel. Though mostly shooting automatic, John’s action shots now had parents asking to buy photos of their kids. “I wasn’t doing it to sell them, but they asked for them,” he says. “Of course that motivated me to get better.” Those action shots spawned a neighbor’s request to photograph her son playing rec league basketball in Grant. After that first game, John edited some action shots on his computer, posted them on Facebook and went to bed. “The next morning people started calling me wanting me to do photos of their kids,” John says. “Then the coach called and wanted team pictures.” Pleased, but knowing he could do
better, John invested in a pro camera. He bought portrait lighting. Along with grandkids, Ginger’s daycare business at home provided cute young faces for John to hone his growing skill at shooting portraits. And as he listened to podcasts, the world of landscapes came into what one could call Sharp focus.
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ohn’s first real foray into landscape photography came on a 2014 family vacation in Gatlinburg. It almost proved fatal, so to speak. He pulled off the main park road at the Chimney Rock trailhead to shoot some small waterfalls in a nearby creek. Just be a couple of minutes, he told Ginger ... “I got hooked,” he says. “I was in the middle of the stream, jumping from rock to rock and having a good time. Everywhere I set my tripod it was a different picture.” Two hours later he returned to the car. “I have never been so mad,” Ginger says. “He never came back, and I had to use the bathroom so-o-o-o bad.” “I heard about that the rest of the day,” FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2018
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he laughs at what, for the moment, had been clear and present danger. After his meet-ups with the online photo group, John’s love of landscapes continued sending him and a progression of better camera equipment packing. He returned to Iceland, to Oregon and Montana. He enjoyed shooting pictures in Hawaii, though it was designated a family vacation. So was a trip to the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone. 72
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Sure, Ginger ended up waiting on him in Wyoming, but it was different this time. “I had a nice condo to stay in when he left,” she laughs.
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ohn has plans for the end of February to visit a friend in San Francisco and go out to Yosemite to shoot winter landscapes. Other than that, though, he has no travel shoots booked. While he’s not opposed to camping in a
vehicle, airplane tickets and car rentals add up. “I’m trying to spend less money on photography this year,” John says. He yearns to visit Denmark’s stunning Faroe Islands. But not including the considerable journey out to the small chain islands from Oslo, that first leg of the trip would entail two days of flying. “I want to go photograph it bad,” he says. “And I want to go to Norway.
John Sharp likes to photograph Welti Falls in Cullman County on early mornings in February and March because he usually can count on the sun’s angle to backlight the seasonally heavy mist from the falls. I have it on the list, too. It’s a massive world, too much to see and so little time, especially for a photographer who works for Toyota.” Actually, it’s amazing he finds time for photography at all while working long weeks on shifts that, every two weeks, have him either going to or coming home from work at 4 a.m. Still he makes time for classes he started teaching over a year ago. There’s
a demand, he says, for teaching people to edit landscape photos on the computer or using lights for portraits.
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ithout spending a bundle on travel, it’s easy enough for John to find photo inspirational landscapes close to home. His shots of a marina on Browns Creek and the overlook at Buck’s Pocket each won best in show awards in My Marshall photography contests co-
sponsored by Good Life Magazine the past two summers. One each of his top winners was published in the fall 2016 and fall 2017 issues of GLM. The pure beauty of both drew comments of awe from readers. Makes you wonder what John Sharp will be producing in another eight years … you know, after he gets the hang of this landscape photography thing. Good Life Magazine FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2018
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Out ’n’ About If you are out ‘n’ about on April 28, you’d probably enjoy stopping by Arab Historic Village for the Arab Historical Society’s annual Back When Days. (See page 12 for more details.) If you attended last year, you might have seen, clockwise from upper left: historical society member Jerry Waters taking a minute away from watching the Smith General Store to straighten up the checkerboard; Johnny and Rebecca Williams of Morgan City visiting the Ruth Homemakers Clubhouse, where Patsy Betterton Carter was working on a star-patterned quilt; Society VP Janet Calhoun “playing” with Victoria and Olivia Keller of Guntersville and Gracie Ballew of Arab in the old Hunt School; The Girls, a pair of mules owned by the late Dr. Sonny Baker; and Joe Creel, Mychael John Thomas and other members of The Ukulele Band of Alabama perform the Woody Guthrie classic “This Land is Your Land” on the porch of the Elvin Light Museum. Photos by David Moore. 74
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