Marshall Good Life Magazine - Spring 2020 by The Good Life Magazine

MARSHALL COUNTY

Before Robert O. shot picture one, J. Willie was ‘the’ photographer

The Barons have an interesting life – and an interesting home on the lake SPRING 2020 | COMPLIMENTARY

Most teens play video games; Libby hikes mountains and canyons

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A concert, school ball games, shopping with friends… wherever life takes you, our mobile app* means banking convenience is right there, too. Need to check your balance? Check. Deposit that birthday check you just found in your wallet? Snap, click, done. With the mobile app from Citizens Bank & Trust there’s no need to miss anything. From the latest technology to friendly bankers, you can count on Citizens Bank & Trust to be there in a big way.

Here when you need us. Even with the best in mobile banking, we hope you’ll stop in to say hello. Our Guntersville headquarters and other Marshall County offices are conveniently located and ready to serve.

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“I love the quality of Nissan,” says General Manager Greg Harden. “We have some of the best products on the road.” His staff of 38 ensure you get service to equate with Nissan quality. “We have a remarkable record of tenure,” Greg says. Some employees have worked 30+ years there. His managers have 100+ years of combined experience – in the same building. “That means you see the same faces when you buy your car, bring it in for service and trade it in.” And it’s why Greg guarantees you the “Best Deal on Sand Mountain.” And beyond.

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Welcome Spring always seems to surprise me, and it’s not really the calendar’s fault

t’s not like it’s top secret. But somehow spring always seems to sneak up on me. It’s never failed to materialize, yet this particular season always takes me by surprise again. Why? Spring rolls around annually like cosmic clockwork. It’s advertised on all of the calendars … hey, wait a minute. My planner shows spring 2020 starting March 20. Confusing matters, The Farmer’s Almanac shows spring, astronomically speaking, starting March 19 – 10:50 p.m. central time, to be exact. This timing corresponds to the spring equinox, when the slow tilting of the Earth brings us closer to the sun and evens the length of our days and nights. There’s another confusion about spring. Meteorologically speaking, it starts March 1 and lasts through May 31. The time frame was set up by weather scientists who divide the year into even quarters to make statistical comparisons easier to handle. The longest spring I ever experienced was in 1981. That year, a buddy and I hiked the length of the Appalachian Trail. Leaving in early April, dogwoods were starting to bloom in the lowlands. But 3,0006,000 feet up on the spine of the Appalachians where the trail is stretched out, it was still winter. During those first six or eight weeks of our sixmonth hike we watched with fascination and wonder as the greening of spring crept up the mountain sides, finally engulfing us as we hiked through the rugged forests. I’m thinking as I write, and the more I write the more I think ... It’s not the actual turning of the calendar page to the season of spring that sneaks up and catches me off guard. Instead, I’m always surprised by the sense of wonder that spring brings to the world. It’s so all fresh and new again, renewed from the bleak beauty of winter. Life is back. I am surprised, fascinated, filled again with fresh wonder of this planet we call home. And I hope the surprise never ends.

Mo Mc PUBLISHING LLC Proudly printed in Marshall County by BPI Media of Boaz 6

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2020

Contributors Sisters Karissa and Kiah Ingham of Grant stay busy when they are not rock climbing. Kiah substitute teaches with the Marshall County School System. Karissa is finishing her veterinary technician degree. Each also volunteers over 840 hours annually to Christian ministry in Marshall County. Former Cullman bookstore owner Deb Laslie – Good Reads – is not the only one enjoying her retirement. “My dogs are pleased with it, too ... more and longer walks, plenty of room on the couch for all of us as we enjoy yet another great book, and whatever is in the crock pot smells fantastic! I am so blessed!”

David Myers of Guntersville and his wife Rose sample local eateries for stories for Cullman and Marshall County GLMs. The “heavy” task has led David to consider an exercise regimen. Rest assured, he says he will do what’s necessary to continue his dedicated service to both counties. “Bon appétit!”

Regular contributor Steve Maze of the New Canaan community wishes he had a time machine in which he could travel back to different eras. As it is, he offers glimpses of the past by writing about southern life, from hardships to the often as not hilarious ways of our ancestors.

Family marriages are big doings. So when Sheila McAnear was invited to her brother’s son’s wedding – oh, and five days in St. Augustine in February – she said sure! It was in the midst of production crunch for GLM, and she is the ad/art director. But somehow she got it all done – and made it look easy.

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Sonya’s she shed is … well, absolutely Superior That insurance commercial showing “Sheila’s” she shed burning grabbed Sonya Duke. A she shed? “I didn’t know what I was missing,” Sonya says. “I had to start looking for a she shed.” When she and James moved near Cullman in 2013, she used a vinyl-sided, manufactured shed for her potting and Christmas decorations. But it was shot.

The Dukes bought Superior’s 32x14-foot shed and provided Sonya options, such as sprayed foam insulation, window sills, finished walls, shutters and carriage house door and garage door. Ask Superior what they can do for your barn, shed … or, yes, she-shed. Sonya got 9,000 views on Facebook the week she posted the picture of her she shed, shown at top of the page.

A fair-minded and pragmatic barber and farmer, James built barns wherever they’d lived and knows they’re useful. And, he laughs, 57 years of marriage to Sonya saved him from writing a lot of alimony checks. Sure, he said, let’s find a she shed. Looking everywhere, it was soon obvious – Superior Custom Barns, built by Mennonites over the years in western Cullman County, was tops. “By far the best quality,” says James, builder of a dozen barns himself. “They have a better grade of materials and workmanship. They seal tight.” Sonya loved the options. In fact, every week she had James at Superior adding something else to her she shed.

Sonya is retired from IBM. James still cuts hair part time at Dukes Barber Shop in Good Hope.

“I got a lot of brownie points,” James says. “He’s pretty well paid up now,” Sonya says. “But he owed me for 57 years.”

David Moore’s wife, Diane, tries to look after him. For instance, when he tears into his month-long, quarterly computer binges, writing and laying out both Good Life Magazines, she no longer allows him to stay up all night every night. She wisely limits such fun to only every other night. David F. Moore Publisher/editor | 256-293-0888 david.goodlifemagazine@gmail.com

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

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

As for anyone looking for a shed, she or otherwise, she adds, “I would highly recommend them.”

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16 | Good People

RSVP volunteers give views on their activities and new building

20 | Good Reads

John Grisham’s latest novel needs a new word to describe it ...

23 | Good Cooking

John Lowery shares his recipes and a lunchroom ladies’ cookbook

32 | Good Getaways

Ascend to new heights with this wall challenge in Chattanooga

36 | A Balinese flair

Bob and Phylis Baron offer a look at their unique Buck Island home

46 | Good Eats

Eating at Mimi’s in Grant is like visiting your Grandma’s house

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48 | Outhouses

They were once a necessity ... and sometimes prank targets

50 | J. Willie

Before Robert O. photographed Sand Mountain, there was his dad

56 | Love in the Country Tim Hays lets loose his mind and pen with his own jukebox musical

62 | What video games? Libby Chance tackles hikes of the Grand Canyon, 14K mountains

68 | Out ‘n’ About

Spring around here brings more snowy white than winter does On the cover | Stimulated by warming weather, a cherry tree puts forth a budding display for spring. Photo by David Moore This page | J.Willie Johnson captured this gasp-moment during the 1911 county fair in Albertville. See “high diver” on page 53. 8

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2020

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• Now – tickets for Hydrofest 2020 Buy your tickets for the return of Hydrofest number three on Lake Guntersville, June 27-28. Qualifying on Friday, racing on Saturday and Sunday with the big, unlimited boats hitting upwards of 200 mph on the straightaways of the 2-½-mile oval course.

Takeoff each morning for the 2020 Bassmaster Classic will be at Civitan Park. At the 2014 Classic, pictured here, the pros left from Guntersville City Harbor.

‘Big G,’ of course, to host Classic’s big 50th anniversary M

The crowd – most of it – watches the pros leave on morning two in 2014. GLM file photos. 10

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2020

any pro anglers respectfully – if not fondly – refer to Lake Guntersville as “Big G.” And Big G is a fitting location to hold the big 50th Anniversary Bassmaster Classic March 6-8. After all, B.A.S.S. started in Alabama more than 50 years ago. Twice previously — in 1976 and 2014 — the Classic has been fished on Lake Guntersville, which has become synonymous with daily limit records. As in 2014, daily weigh-ins and the Classic Outdoors Expo for the Classic will be held in the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex. Other events, see box, sponsored by the Marshall County Convention and Visitors Bureau will be held at Civitan Park. First held at Lake Mead, Nevada, in 1971, the Classic was the brainchild

Boat launch is at 7 a.m. daily at Guntersville’s Civitan Park. For details and planned activities, visit: www. marshallcountycvb.com and pull down “On the Lake” at the top of the page. of B.A.S.S. founder Ray Scott of Montgomery, who wanted a way to determine an ultimate champion at the end of the bass tournament season. It has since been held in Alabama 12 times, eight of those in Birmingham. For the first time in 50 years, three Canadians are in the field, and their numbers will be matched by an unusually low number of Alabama residents – three – none of them, this year, from Guntersville.

Good Fun • Now- Feb. 29 – “I Dream To Be…” Celebrate the art created by the children of the Crain Court Youth Center in conjunction with members of the Mountain Valley Arts Council. New every year, the exhibit focuses on what each child imagines their future self as. The MVAC Gallery is open 1-5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturdays; 300 Gunter Ave., Guntersville. For more information: 256-571-7199. • Now-March 29 – Alabama Art: Inside Out Guntersville Museum is hosting this exhibit that originated as an artistic endeavor by the internationally acclaimed artist Nall to reveal to the world the work of fellow Alabama artists who embodied the spirit and style of his home state. The exhibit includes works by William Christenberry, Frank Fleming, Charlie Lucas, Mose T., Steve Skidmore and Kathryn Tucker Windham. Works by the artist are shown alongside their portrait by Nall – formerly of Arab – which provide

Weekend passes are $20 adults, $10 kids 6-12 and free for 5 and under. Daily passes are $5 less. Military $10 weekend passes are $10, and ultimate weekend passes that include pit visits and more are $30. For details as well as club-level access, tent space and corporate blocks and online purchases, visit: www.marshallcountycvb.com.

Wake up ... hibernation is over

Nall portraits of, from left, Mose T., Jimmy Lee Sudduth and Frank Flemming. visitors with a deeper understanding of these creative visionaries. The special exhibit is on loan from the Troy University International Arts Center. The exhibit is open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and 1-4 p.m. weekends. Admittance is free. For more info: 256-571-7597. • Feb. 29 – FISHART deadline This exhibit is open to anyone who creates art that is rather, well … fishy. The only requirement is that your work – in whatever medium other than live fish – ties to the fish

theme. It’s MVAC’s way of joining in the local support for the 50th Anniversary Bassmaster Classic to be fished on Lake Guntersville March 6 - 8, 2020. Call MVAC to let them know that you plan to participate and bring your art by 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Feb. 29. A reception for the artists – and any of their fish stories – will be 5-7 p.m., March 5, at the MVAC Gallery. The gallery is open 1-5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturdays; 300 Gunter Ave., Guntersville. For more information: 256-571-7199. FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2020

meals, airfare from Birmingham, transfers and lodging. Rates start at $1999 and you don’t have to be a member of GoldCare to participate. For more info: 256-571-8025 or 256753-8025.

You could be here exploring “America’s “Venice” on the San Antonio trip sponsored by Marshall GoldCare 55+ • Feb. 29 – Bassmaster Cleanup Challenge This will be good, clean and even a little fun. Volunteers are asked to join the Lake Guntersville Chamber of Commerce 8 a.m.-noon at the Jackson Park boat launch to pick up litter in preparation for the 50th

Annual Bassmaster Classic, to be fished here March 6-8. For more info: 256- 582-3612. • March 11 – San Antonio, Texas trip deadline This is the deadline for the May 24-28 trip to “America’s Venice.” Stay

in a River Walk hotel, take a float tour of River Walk, enjoy the Spanish architecture and enjoy a (tourguided) visit of the Alamo, Mission San Jose, the LBJ Ranch, San Antonio Botanical Gardens and more. Sponsored by Marshall GoldCare 55+, cost includes five days, five

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• March 31-May 1 – Eric Entrekin Mountain Valley Arts Council will show the pen and ink work of this selftrained artist who lives in Gadsden. Eric discovered his talent and love for pen and ink back in junior high school. His subject matter ranges from military and wildlife to portraits. “I especially enjoy creating pieces for veterans,” he says. “I am convinced that I’ve been given a special talent from the Lord. I want to be a positive influence and to show people that if you can combine talent and hard work, your potential for success is limitless.” A reception for the artist will be 5-7 p.m., April 9, at the MVAC Gallery. The gallery is open 1-5 p.m. Tuesday-

Friday and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturdays; 300 Gunter Ave., Guntersville. For more information: 256-571-7199. • April 5 – History of Churches in Guntersville This exhibit at The Guntersville Museum explores the beginnings of Guntersville’s oldest churches. The exhibit will include photos, artifacts and art renderings. Guntersville Museum is open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and 1-4 p.m. weekends. Admittance is free. For more info: 256-571-7597. • April 18-19 – Art on the Lake The 59th annual edition of Marshall County’s – and one of the state’s – longest running art shows will feature more than 120 booths showcasing 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.-5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-5

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• March 21 – Casino Night Join the big rollers – with play money fun and real prizes – as the Lake Guntersville Rotary Club helps raise money – real money – for Every Child’s Playground. The “casino” will be open 6-10 p.m. at Guntersville Town Hall. Your ticket gets you catered food by Rock House, two drink tickets and play money to bet at poker, Texas hold ‘em, craps, the roulette wheel and a prize wheel. Donated prizes range from an autographed Chris Lane jersey to bicycles and more. Enjoy the DJ and music. Buy extra play money if you lose it all. Take home a photo booth memento. The fundraiser is Rotary’s way of funding scholarships and other community needs, including the inclusive playground project started

by the Guntersville Ladies Civitan Club. Tickets are $60 through Feb. 29; $75 afterward and are available from Rotary members, online at Eventbrite or by calling Rotarians Penny Morrow (256-506-1404) or Janna Carrol (256-505-2972). Tickets also available at the door.

AGENT

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Photo by Taylor Beck/Sand Mountain Reporter

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2020

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Arab’s Historic Village – nine buildings including this old country store – hosts Back When Days. GLM file photos.

p.m. Sunday inside the Guntersville Recreational Center at 1500 Sunset Drive. Admission is $2 for 13 years and older. Sorry, no animals allowed. Exhibitor applications – deadline April 1 – are available online: www. artonthelake-guntersville.com; or by contacting show chair Julie Patton: julespp@aol.com. Vendor applications are online, too; deadline is March 1. The show is sponsored by the Twenty-First Century Club of Guntersville to promote the arts and benefit its scholarship.

Sarah Rhodes of Scottsboro painted the official logo for this year’s Art on the Lake. You’ll see it on posters and t-shirts.

We offer embroidery, monogramming, vinyl, sublimation, and screen printing!

• April 18-19; 25-26 – learn to sail Sailing 101 will be taught through Browns Creek Sailing Association. Certified instructor Susan Wilson of Guntersville and other volunteers will teach in the classroom and onboard 22-foot keel boats. Classes are April 13-14 and 27-28; 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturdays, 1-3 p.m. Sundays. On

Saturday afternoons students crew on race boats for experience. Classes are held at BCSA Marina, 128 Browns Creek Rd, Guntersville, located off Ala. 69 just west of Boat Mart. Cost is $180 and includes 2019 membership in the BCSA. For more information visit: brownscreeksailingassociation.org and pull down on the “classes” tab. • April 25 – Back When Days This annual event at the Arab Historic Village has been around long enough to be historic. Come visit the village as it pays tribute to the pioneering people who settled North Alabama and built it into what it is today. The buildings are open, there will be live music and lots of demonstrations of life “back when.” The village is located at Arab City Park. The event is 9-3 p.m. and free to the public.

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FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2020

Good People

5volunteers Story and photos by David Moore

020 promises to be a milestone year for the Marshall County Retired and Senior Volunteer Program. After operating 22 years in an aging warehouse, waiting 13 years after buying property and another three years in construction, RSVP will finally move into its new $4.2 million facility. Located on U.S. 431 just north of the Tennessee River, with an enviable view of Lake Guntersville, the building sits on a 4.2-acre site that will be the center of activity for some 550 volunteers. In 2018 these people – mostly retirees – provided 69,617 hours of service to the residents and agencies in Marshall County, all under the guidance of RSVP’s long-time director, Jean Ann Moon. The building’s actual grand opening, however, remains unknown. Clean-up and punch-list work is expected to wrap up in late spring. Already, parts of the new building are being used, and when complete it is expected to be a boon to RSVP and the county. David Dodd of Boaz has served on the RSVP board the past four years, during which time the new building has been its main focus. Its large auditorium has a stage, an open wall of glass to the lake and will accommodate up to 400 people. It will be a perfect venue for weddings, reunions and such, David says.

SVP volunteer Carolyn Rains thinks the new building will led to even more people joining. “Marshall County draws lots of people from other parts of the United States,” she says. “And having a central facility like this will make senior adults more aware about how they can help their community.” “Being active is one of my things,” 16

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RSVP hits milestone Volunteers see many positives as opening finally nears for their long-awaited center says Michelle Graves of Grant, a specialty exercise teacher. “I think RSVP serves the community in ways it should embrace. Seniors need a place where they can feel needed and valued. It would be a shame not to tap into their knowledge and experience.” Pat Henry of Arab is a coordinator and trainer with RSVP’s tax return teams. She was thrilled to be able to use the building’s new training room in December to update some 65 tax volunteers on new software and tax code changes. As program coordinator in 20152016, Jennifer Phillips of Georgia Mountain was stunned at what she learned at a state RSVP conference in Montgomery. “Our program is much bigger than all those represented in Montgomery,” she says. “For a volunteer organization, this is not normal. My eyes were opened at that conference.” Here’s a look at these five RSVP volunteers mentioned above and the programs through which they donate their time and talents …

Jennifer Phillips Jennifer Phillips’ involvement with RSVP is not a twin to her career, but it’s a second or third cousin. She spent 30 years as a band director in Georgia. Today she’s plays ukulele in the RSVP Ukesters. “Once a musician, always a musician,” Jennifer laughs. Her career included directing music in elementary, middle and high school bands. Keeping it in the family, so to speak, her husband Ted was a band director for 31 years. They moved to Georgia Mountain in 2012 at the urging of her college roommate, Betty Bates. A retired Scottsboro band director, Betty lives here and thought her friends would love it, too.

Through Betty, Jennifer joined the RSVP Chorus and later helped start the Ukesters. She’s the band’s director and has 25 volunteers on roll, 18 or so who perform. “It’s developed into a really fun group,” Jennifer says. “Our repertoire includes patriotic, sacred and folk music, and oldies from the ’50s through the ’80s. They are not ukulele purists – which expands the fun. If needed, they sing and use other instruments. Betty has played steel drum, melodica and harmonica. Ted usually plays bass ukulele but sometimes adds percussion or trombone. “It depends on what we are playing,” Jennifer says. “All of the members jump in with ideas and we go with it. It’s a contributing group. We’ll try anything once. Maybe not a second time, but once.” The Ukesters performed about 17 times last year at nursing homes and senior centers from Boaz to Cullman and Scottsboro, at Marshall Medical Centers Senior Health Fair and even a gig at Crawmama’s in Guntersville. And they have fun doing it. The Ukesters are one of three RSVP performing musical groups. The others are: • RSVP Jammers, led by Debby Roe, an expansion of a former dulcimer group that now includes harp, fiddle, bells, wash tub thump bass, autoharp and about 40 musicians; • RSVP Chorus, led by Joey Evans, which performs with 20-25 voices. Jennifer sang in the chorus for five years. All three groups invite new members. “All of our directors are welcoming individuals who love music,” she says. No ukulele or dulcimer? One can be found for you to use to see if you like it. “It’s never too late to learn,” Jennifer

Jennifer Phillips of Georgia Mountain in back of the new RSVP center.

Pat Henry of Arab got to use the new building’s new training room for 2020 tax preparers.

Michelle Graves of Grant in the new RSVP auditorium.

RSVP board member David Dodd of Boaz keeps an eye on water quality.

Reading Buddy Carolyn Rains found children’s books in one of RSVP’s new offices. FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2020

says. “Julia Casey, a retired basketball coach from Brindlee Mountain High School, joined us, and she had never touched a ukulele. And she brought along a friend who’s a really good singer.”

Interested?

For details on all RSVP programs and classes … Call: 256-571-7734 Visit: www.mcrsvp.org

Carolyn Rains Carolyn Rains had trouble with phonics and reading as a fifth grader in Salt Lake City, Utah. She got help through a special school program and went on to become, you guessed it, a teacher. She was in Huntsville when she met and married former Albertville High basketball star Thomas Rains, then a NASA contractor. They lived in Albertville 1974-81 before moving to Pulaski, Tenn., where she taught and later worked in a medical clinic. In 2013, they returned home, Thomas to retire from Rains Tax Service and Carolyn to begin volunteering. She became a Reading Buddy for their son Scott’s wife, also named Carolyn, who taught fourth grade at Albertville Elementary. “I didn’t know about the RSVP Reading Buddies then,” Carolyn says. Among other youngsters, she worked with Nancy, a bright, young Guatemalan. “I read and talked with her,” Carolyn recalls. “She was very, very smart. She just did not know English.” Four years later, at middle school awards day, Carolyn recognized Nancy when she was acknowledged for making honor society in math and science. Nancy later represented Alabama at an FFA conference in Washington, D.C. “I cried over her, I was so proud,” Carolyn says. Though doing Reading Buddies outside of RSVP, she first learned about the volunteer program through dulcimer lessons. Without knowing Carolyn’s background in teaching, RSVP Director Jean Ann Moon approached her about volunteering with the countywide Reading Buddies program. Click! In 2014, Carolyn began working 30 minutes weekly with each of two students over the course of a year at what’s now Albertville Kindergarten and Pre-K. She loves the one-on-one interaction. 18

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One student this year reads already, but Carolyn challenges her to advance even further. Her other student is learning English and they work on colors, numbers and the alphabet with flash cards. “One girl a couple years ago would get distracted, but she loved science,” Carolyn says. “So we dealt in science to build up her confidence. “One little boy just needed to feel good about himself. He had a chaotic home life, but he knew that once a week he had someone who would read and play games with him.” At the end of one session, a smart young girl asked if she could check out not one but two books from the library. Carolyn said of course. “You just make me happy,” the girl told her. “You just make me happy, too,” Carolyn responded. She says she understands the girl’s new-found joy of reading. “I was one of those children growing up,” Carolyn says. “Someone took me under their wing, and now I am taking someone under my wing. Somebody helped me. I am paying it forward.”

Michelle Graves Life is a matter of balance, literally, says Michelle Graves of Grant; especially as people get older. “One in three older Americans will fall this year,” she says. “Most falls are preventable. Many people think falling is a natural part of aging. It is not. “It’s essential that we as a culture learn to continue to move and keep our bodies strong.” Developing muscle use is the key to good balance, she says, and toward this end she teaches Balance for Life as part of RSVP’s Lifelong Learning Academy. The hour-long classes are held two days a week and limited to 20 people.

For frailer folk, Michelle teaches fall prevention classes. And this spring she is starting an arthritis walking program. Balance for Life participants exercise, but not in traditional ways. They exercise in chairs. “Some people are not comfortable on their feet,” Michelle says. “As we get older we start to lose our balance. We don’t pick up our feet like we used to.” So she works on cognitive therapy, engaging the mind while walking. “Most of us take that for granted but those are skills we lose as we age, and you don’t really notice it either,” Michelle says. “It creeps up on you.’” She works on strengthening legs, core muscles and hips; readjusting participants’ posture for more mobility. “I’ve had students as young as 27,” Michelle says. “The oldest is 95, and she is truly amazing – driving and living alone. She has been active all her life and now is continuing that.” Nearly 60, Michelle was a swimmer and runner in high school. Her father was in the Air Force, and she grew up on the East Coast and West Coasts. She met Chris in California. They married in 1998 and have two grown sons. With a degree in communications and advertising, Michelle did special events and publicity, eventually ending up doing trade shows. An engineer with Boeing, Chris’s job brought them to Huntsville. They bought a second house on Lake Guntersville and moved there in late 2014. “When I retired and found myself with too much time on my hands, I got involved with teaching,” Michelle says. She saw a newspaper story about RSVP wanting to start a balance program, talked to Jean Ann Moon about it, trained and started it. “We are changing people’s lives and giving them back joy they haven’t known for some time,” Michelle says. “It just takes a little effort. Plus, I make it fun.”

Pat Henry RSVP volunteers will prepare and electronically file your federal and state income tax forms for free. Five IRScertified teams work through early April in the rec centers at Albertville, Arab,

Guntersville and Scottsboro and the public safety building in Boaz. Pat Henry has been a part of Arab’s 12-volunteer tax team for 18 years. They draw clients from Scottsboro, Blountsville, Somerville, Cullman, a few from Birmingham and one from Tennessee. They served 3,272 taxpayers in 2018. “We teach our clients what to look for, what records to keep, give them a list of what to bring in,” says Pat, the group’s site coordinator and an RSVP trainer. “We help out when someone comes in whose spouse has died. We also make some home visits. “Our tax group in Arab is great,” she adds. “We have a great time.” But it’s a lot of work. They all have to pass tests for IRS certification. Teams have to learn IRS computers and software paid for by the federal agency and Marshall County United Way. Study starts each year in October, learning about the ever-changing tax laws. Part of the new RSVP building was opened in December for annual training classes for the program’s total of about 65 volunteers. “January is a constant change because of last-minute enactments,” she adds. It varies from site to site, but teams don’t take new clients after either April 7, 9 or 10. Still, the volunteers’ work does not end then or on April 15. Some people have to file extensions. And maybe audits? “We have never been audited,” Pat says. “But record keeping is up to the clients.” Interestingly, she never prepared her own taxes until she started the program. An Athens native, Pat moved to Arab in 1970 and by the next year, as a 10th grader, started dating her next door neighbor, Bruce Henry. They have two daughters, now grown and married, and two grandkids. With an education from David Libscomb College, she taught a few years before getting her MA from UAB. She had a 25-year career at Arab Junior High, specializing in math and prealgebra while teaching everything but social studies and PE. Definitely an anti-recliner type, Pat

RSVP board

Members of the RSVP board of directors are: Tim Jolley, chair Brad Kitchens, vice-chair Patrick Smith, treasurer Tim Bollinger Tom Carnes Bonnie Click David Dodd Georgianne Graves Alma Kennamer Glenn McNeal Angie Moore Randall White Grover Williams John Young

retired in 2001 and volunteered first as a “pink lady” at Marshall Medical Center North, then driving CASA clients for appointments and errands and later keeping Arab police records. She jumped into the RSVP tax program in January 2002 and loves it. “Working with numbers, taxes and people, people sometimes call us crazy. ‘You do this for free? What do you get out of this?’” She replies, “We made a friend of you, didn’t we?”

David Dodd It’s a pleasant winter day and David Dodd is in his element on the sandy banks of Clear Creek, under Flat’s Ford Bridge off Mt. Hebron Road. He’s not a troll. The Boaz retiree is a volunteer in RSVP’s Water Watch program. Under program director Phil Mayer, 63 volunteers, generally in two-member teams, conduct monthly tests on 52 stream sites – most flowing into Lake Guntersville or the Tennessee River – and five embayment sites for TVA. Currently without a partner, David works RSVP’s only tributaries of the Locust Fork of the Black Warrior River. His three sites, all in the southern-most part of the county, also include Big Mud Creek and the upper reaches of the Locust Fork itself.

David allocates three hours for travel and testing at the three sites. Carrying a case with his TVA-funded instruments and chemicals, he and others in the program check and keep running reports on the water’s turbidity, pH level, hardness, alkalinity, dissolved oxygen levels and temperature. “We do visual sightings for anything unusual in clarity, or if there’s trash or a dead cow in the water,” he says. They also note any unusual odors. Son of an Army chaplain, David grew up in five states, graduating high school in New Jersey. His parents, Keith and Iris, are from Boaz, and after Keith retired they moved back to live south of town at the old family homestead, the Dodd Place. David attended Samford University, spent six years in the Navy, then graduated in 1982 from The University of Alabama where he got his MA in English the next year. In 1983 he earned a MA in math at Jacksonville State University. David taught a year at DAR High School then 20 years of math at Hillcrest High in Tuscaloosa County, where he met his wife, Vicki, an art teacher. When she retired in 2004, they moved to Boaz. He taught four years at Guntersville High before retiring at age 51. Vicki has a passion for travel and gardening. David, not so much. His Uncle Edward Dodd has a swimming hole on the upper Locust Fork and became concerned about pollution. So he joined RSVP Water Watch and talked David into it, too, in 2006. Besides that, David also joined RSVP’s tax program 12 years ago. For the past four years he’s also served on the RSVP board But it’s Water Watch that gets him outdoors, which he loves. He takes his camera to his sites to photograph butterflies and dragonflies for online state and regional sites. David did not plan on retiring to volunteer, but he’s glad he does. “I was going to catch up on all of my reading,” he laughs. “But RSVP offers different opportunities to serve. You feel useful and help folks. I get a blessing out of that.” Good Life Magazine FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2020

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ara Donati’s newest historical trilogy begins with “The Gilded Hour,” a novel about cousins Anna and Sophie Savard. It captured me from the opening line. Set in the late 1880s, Anna and Sophie are graduates of the Women’s Medical School in New York Early on a March morning City. Strong of mind and character, their on the cusp of spring, different backgrounds Anna Savard came in and experiences bring an from the garden to find authenticity to the book. a young woman with a Anna lost everything message that would test but has managed to her patience, disrupt her build a life for herself as a doctor. When four day, and send her off on immigrant orphans cross an unexpected journey: her path, she is faced a harbinger of change with holding onto her wearing the nursing habit well-ordered routine or of the Sisters of Charity, opening her life to love. standing in the middle Sophie, an obstetrician, assists a desperate young of the kitchen. mother and becomes acquainted with the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice. The cousins soon find themselves in the midst of some rather grisly murders that may be connected. Enter Jack Mezzanotti, NYPD detective. Gift yourself with marvelous historical drama, part love story, part mystery thriller and a celebration of humanity. – Deb Laslie

ohn Grisham has again, written an unputdownable novel. “The Guardians” follows Cullen Post, lawyer, Episcopal Priest and defender of those wrongfully incarcerated on death row. He and a small staff with an even smaller Since gas is slightly budget investigate cases of those who were in cheaper than cheap the wrong place at the motels, I spend a lot time wrong time and locked driving lonely roads at away simply because dark hours. As always, it was less trouble than I tell myself that I will finding the real culprit. sleep later, as if a long And then there are those who were never hibernation is waiting just in the wrong place at around the corner. The all; they had only the truth is that I nap a lot misfortune of being but rarely sleep and this known to the corrupt. is unlikely to change. I There are bad judges have saddled myself with and bad policemen and “witnesses” who the burdens of innocent witness nothing but people rotting away in whose testimony can prison while rapists and be purchased. There murderers roam free. are “experts” who are anything but, but who are portrayed as experts. Through it all, there is hope because of Cullen Post and the Guardians. Unputdownable. – Deb Laslie

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n educator for 33 years, John Lowery loves teaching history at Boaz High School. He also loves to cook. Those two “ingredients” in the recipe of his life led him to compile and write a unique cookbook – “The Hands That Fed Us.” He hopes to have it completed and printed this summer. It’s a salute to the “lunchroom ladies” who have worked in Boaz schools, many going back 80 years. John got several submissions from the family of the first lunchroom lady, which dates back to the 1920s. The title came from the caption of a photo of the lunchroom crew in the 1960 Boaz High annual. “There is quite a heritage here,” he says. The idea was cooked up by John and Brandy Tavin, today’s BHS lunchroom nutritionists. Serving together on a Boaz committee working on Alabama’s bicentennial last year, they got to brainstorming and hit on the cookbook as a way to recognize the generally underappreciated lunchroom workers over the years. Doing research they discovered lots of recipes the USDA sent to schools back in the 1940s. John was surprised by the restrictive regulations the agency had even then, like the ratio of fatback and salt pork to add to dry beans before cooking. “The cooks could choose from them and mess around with the ingredients,” he says. “We have some recipes they changed up for cooking at home.” One he wants to try is for strawberry cake using strawberry juice. “I can imagine a cook getting up at

History teacher at Boaz High and designated cook at home, John Lowery still enjoys painting and drawing. “It’s relaxation from teaching and cooking,” he says. His wife, Jovina, doesn’t teach, but she does work at Albertville Aviation College, a division of Snead State. They have three children: Isaiah, who works at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center; Lydia, who’s studying musical therapy at Mississippi University for Women; and Claudia, a junior at Boaz High who’s in the culinary program there. “She can feed herself,” John beams. 5 o’clock to squeeze juice out of fresh strawberries,” John says.

on of Virginia and the late John Felton Lowery, John graduated from Boaz in 1981, figuring to pursue another love in his life – art. His young talents landed him an art scholarship to Snead State Community College. Influenced by “phenomenal” teachers at Snead, however, John felt himself leaning to a more practical career in education. “I thought I’d leave Alabama and go to

Greenwich Village and never see daylight again,” he laughs. “Then I decided I like to eat better than starving. “But I truly believe God led me to be a teacher … there were too many obstacles in the other directions.” With a double major in English and history from Jacksonville State, John went to DAR School in 1988 as a special ed teacher, though he also taught the subjects in which he’d majored. Joe Teal, “best principal I ever had,” not only hired John but invited him to Grant First Baptist, FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2020

IN JOHN’S CABINET ... Common seasonings and ingredients I keep on hand in the kitchen are: • Knorr powdered beef, chicken and tomato bullion • Meat tenderizer • Garlic salt • Onion powder and garlic powder • Black peppercorns • Pink salt and sea salt • Extra virgin olive oil • 100% butter • Onions • Low-sodium soy sauce • Tajin Classic Seasoning (chililime) • Butter flavor cooking spray TIP: As a general cooking practice, I allow meat to come to room temperature prior to cooking. VARIATION OF BILL’S GREEN BEANS (Thanks to Bill Garland) 2 cans green beans, cut and undrained 1 Tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce 1 Tbsp. Knorr powdered beef bouillon Mix the ingredients in a pot of sufficient size, bring to a strong boil, where he met Jovina Rice. They married and lived in Grant. In 1997, John transferred to Boaz where he taught some of almost everything. For the past 10 years, however, he’s been teaching just American history. A self-confessed “archivist,” John’s classroom holds part of his extensive collection of artifacts and facsimiles from travels across the country. He uses them to personify his history lessons. He doesn’t use textbooks, but he does sometimes cook for his students.

t home, John is the DC – designated cook. “I usually love cooking more than teaching, but it depends,” he laughs. “Some days I despise cooking.” Growing up, his culinary interest was influenced by both parents. “Usually, moms do all the cooking, but that was not the case in our house,” he says. “Dad cooked as much as Mom.” 24

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2020

and cook until almost all the liquid has cooked off. Commercial canned green beans will taste like those “cooked all day fresh green beans.” NOTE: Bill Garland is a great person

and the best friend anyone could ask for. He is also a great cook. This is a variation of Bill’s recipe for green beans. He adds a spoonful of artificial sweetener to a Crock-Pot full of beans.

She had been the family cook since age 11 when her mother died. “She swore if she ever had a daughter she would not make her cook. But,” John laughs, “she didn’t say anything about a son.” His dad set the example there’s nothing wrong with a man cooking. So John hung around the kitchen learning, among things, that no one used recipes. Maw-maw – his dad’s mother – was another direct influence on John, even though he was one of 30-something grandkids. “Dad was one of 11 kids, so food to them was very important,” John says. “It might be there or might not.” Perhaps that’s why his father later took his own family out so much and he loved trying different recipes and dishes.

enough,” he says. “They are as neutral as possible. I am heavily into seasoning. “You can’t really mess it up too much. You just cook it again and adjust. If you like it, chances are other people will too,” he adds. “Go by taste.” There is one old recipe he wishes he had, not for the new cookbook, not because of the history behind it, but because it tasted wonderful. “It was my wife’s grandmother’s recipe for dressing,” he says. “She took it to the grave with her.” The dressing was not baked, rather “it was just sort of thrown together.” It had a lot of liquid and was eaten from a bowl. Family members have tried to replicate it, including, of course, the history teacher who loves cooking. Beams John: “My wife and father-inlaw at least approved of my version.” Rather than take it to the grave, John shares his version of that recipes also with others on the following pages … Good Life Magazine

henever he finds a good recipe today, John changes something – not only to make it his own but to suit his taste. “A lot of recipes are not seasoned

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Cut potatoes into roughly 1-inch chunks and microwave about 8 minutes until they are just becoming tender. Melt butter over medium high heat in skillet; non-stick is handy. Add potatoes to hot butter and stir to coat; some olive oil may be added

Crumble cornbread into large bowl, add all ingredients except broth. Stir well. Add broth. Mix well. BACKSTORY: Shortly after my 26

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2020

wife and I married, we attended Thanksgiving at my parents’ home. On the way, Jovina said she did not like baked dressing. My response was, “Is there another kind … like the kind stuffed into a turkey?” She then explained that her family did not bake their dressing; that I would just have to wait to understand. It is a secret recipe that her great grandmother, Carrie Rice, passed to her daughter-in-law, Jovina’s

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to help with sautéing. Salt and pepper potatoes to taste, add garlic powder if desired. Continue to sauté until potatoes begin to brown and crisp on the edges and are tender when using a fork, increasing heat as needed to facilitate browning.

grandmother Mary Rice. Mary, unfortunately, did not pass exact measures to anyone. Since Mary’s passing there have been attempts to replicate the recipe. I tried, too. My version was considered really close to the original, though I did forget to add the salt and pepper. My father-in-law pronounced it good – after adding his own salt and pepper.

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Cook all the vegetables together in olive oil until desired tenderness. Add meat and drained noodles, stirring everything together with sweet and sour sauce. * Use as much chicken as desired, cut into pieces; alternately, you can use cooked, breaded chicken fingers or nuggets cut into pieces; or popcorn shrimp; or prepare without meat. ** More sweet and sour sauce may be needed if vegetable content is increased.

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STRAWBERRY DRESSING DESSERT One 10-in. angel food cake, store-bought and torn into pieces 1 quart fresh strawberries, chopped 1 small instant vanilla pudding mix, prepared 8 oz. container of sour cream 1 container strawberry yogurt, single serve In a large serving bowl, mix yogurt with cake and strawberries. Alternately add pudding and sour cream by spoonful. It should be stiff, holding its shape well. Chill until served.

LOWERY’S EASY LASAGNA 1-1½ lb. ground turkey, 85/15, browned and drained 2 tsp. Knorr powdered beef bouillon 15 oz. can Hunt’s tomato sauce (with Italian spices)* 4 oz. water 1 can cream of mushroom soup ¼ cup milk ½-1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese 6 uncooked lasagna noodles Mozzarella cheese for topping Mix the first four ingredients above and set meat mixture aside. Mix together soup, milk and cheese following for “cheese” layer: Using butter cooking spray, spray a casserole dish that best fits the noodles. Begin layering as follows: • ½ meat mixture • 3 uncooked noodles • All of the “cheese” mixture • 3 uncooked noodles • Remaining meat mixture Cover and bake in preheated oven at 350° for 40 minutes until noodles are tender. Remove from oven, uncover, and top with cheese as desired; return uncovered to the oven until cheese is melted. Remove and allow to stand for about 10 minutes so all liquid can be fully absorbed. Serve. *Alternately, you can use Italian flavored diced tomatoes, retaining all the liquid.

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Salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder to taste Optional: bell pepper, peas, etc. Season chicken to taste and roast at 375° until cooked through; chop into roughly ½-inch cubes. Prepare the ramen noodles according to directions, but don’t use the flavor packet yet.

In a large pan heated over medium high, add olive oil (butter as well, if you like) and all vegetables. Sauté until slightly tender. Add the chicken and continue until the vegetables are the desired tenderness. Add drained noodles to the chicken/ vegetable mixture and sprinkle on ramen flavor packet at this point. Stir well and serve.

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Whether you’re a beginner or a pro, High Point Climbing and Fitness in downtown Chattanooga lets you ...

Ascend to New Heights

Good Getaways Story by Kiah Ingham Photos by Karissa Ingham

igh Point Climbing and Fitness, located in downtown Chattanooga – an hour and a half from Guntersville – gives you the thrill of actual rock climbing but with the comforts of knowing you’re protected if you fall. If you don’t already have gear, High Point will completely equip you with what you need. Safety is very important at High Point. Before climbing, all are required to go through a safety orientation. Once that’s completed, you’re ready to flaunt your best climbing skills. In the High Point Kid Zone you find an array of walls – some mimic traditional rock walls and others just get the kids psyched about climbing. For those more advanced in years and climbing abilities, there are rooms to better suit you. The tallest wall inside – measuring 42 feet – can be found in “The Pit.” But if you’re looking for more of a scenic climb, head outside to the wall that peaks at 50 feet. Climbing walls are marked by color and difficulty. The toughest only a few can execute, but beginners have nothing to fear. High Point provides a variety of different paths to ensure each person, regardless of ability, has a great climbing experience. As you climb chalk dust tickles your nose because your fingers are covered with it as they curl around vividly colored rocks. Your foot finds a hold and you launch upward, one rock at a time. Sometimes reaching the top isn’t the hardest part ... it’s when you let go. A sense of anxiety comes over you, but only for a fleeting moment. Relief comes when your safety rope catches and you’re drifting down.

High Point Climbing offers both indoor and outdoor climbing facilities. The outdoor wall, in the High Point-provided photo at far right, also offers a great view of downtown Chattanooga as you climb. There are specific rooms for each style of climbing. Brittany McNew chalks up for the indoor auto belay wall. The bouldering room, on page 48, is for those who don’t want to be held back by ropes or harnesses. 32

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2020

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Children can have fun in the Kid Zone, above, while building skills to climb. After finishing one of the bouldering climbs Caroline Lemke, right, of Fort Payne says, “We came, we saw, we conquered!”

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Looking back up the wall you just conquered is like looking at a trophy with your name on it. “The beauty in climbing is that it’s personal,” explains Ethan Ibach, a High Point employee. “Everyone climbs for personal reasons, whether it’s for sport, fitness, or just to have fun. When you’ve finished climbing and recognize your stomach is empty, Bad Daddy’s Burger Bar is close and offers a menu that flatters each individuals’ taste buds. You can customize your own mile-high burgers, salads and milkshakes with an array of toppings. Good Life Magazine

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• High Point Climbing Gym: 1007 Appling Street, Chattanooga • High Point Climbing Gym: 219 Broad Street, Chattanooga Other new locations in Huntsville, Birmingham and Memphis High Point Day Pass: $17.50 ($15.50 children 10 and under/uniformed personnel/senior); rental gear package: $6 For more info: www.highpointclimbing.com Bad Daddy’s Burger Bar: 1924 Gunbarrel Road, Chattanooga

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A place of refuge with a Balinese flair

Before they ever agreed on a style for their lakefront home on Buck Island in Guntersville, Bob and Phylis Baronâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 5.5-acre wooded lot was devastated by one of the April 2011 tornadoes. Bob brought in a sawmill and cut tailings, beams and posts used in building the new house.

With its Balinese influences, water is a theme for Bob and Phylis’ house, and the large, lakefront property is just part of it. In several places, including the entrance, above, large stepping stones, placed several inches apart, appear to float on watercourses. The beams, posts and tailings here are some of the many cut from trees on the property lost to the tornado that hit in 2011. Story and photos By David Moore

tornado, as it’s wont to do, destroyed Bob and Phylis Baron’s initial plans for the beautifully wooded, 5.5acre property they bought in December 2010 for the dream home they planned to build on Lake Guntersville. Bob, of course, knew the destructive power of those tornados that razed Marshall County and the state April 27, 2011. He’d been the long-time chief meteorologist on TV in Huntsville, but that didn’t soften the blow. “We bought the property because we loved the beautiful old hardwoods and the stand of old pines that were probably 70 years old,” he says. “The tornado that hit Buck Island knocked them all down. There must have been a hundred of them. “It changed the complexion of what we were looking at. It took us a lot longer to decide what we wanted.” Phylis lobbied for a rugged 38

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2020

Adirondack look – lots of beautiful wood accented with stone and exposed timber beams. Bob pushed for expansive glass. “It took us a couple of years to stop arguing about what kind of house we wanted,” he laughs. “I, of course, had the proper idea of lots of glass.” Phylis settled it with a photo she found, perhaps in an Architectural Digest, of a house designed by Deborah De Leon and Robert John Graboski of Village Architects in Key Biscayne. The Barons loved it, referring to it as Balinese in style, with more or less connected pavilions surrounded by ponds on which walkways seemingly floated. It would, Bob gleefully realized, have lots of glass. Building a huge house in Guntersville with your architect in South Florida presented its own set of difficulties, but the result eventually justified the means. “They did a wonderful job for us,” Phylis says.

n 1996, the Barons had purchased an older, cinderblock lake house in the Waterfront area between Preston and Pine Islands. The late Kevin Linn, a local builder had “adopted” the Barons and built them a new residence on that lot in 2006. They loved the house … and Kevin, too, Phylis says. So they hired him to build their new house. The project took from early 2013 to late 2016. A first step was dealing with all of the downed trees. “I could not bring myself to burn them,” Bob says. “So we had them cut and piled.” Then he had a portable sawmill brought in and the hardwood cut into 6x8 timbers for tailings and 18-inch posts. The pine was cut into 2x6s for paneling above the tailings that jut out all around the house. A huge old beech tree was cut into a slab that became a unique dining room table.

“Bob’s room,” as it’s known, has ceilings 20+ feet tall that slant in from four sides to a windowed copula. The effect is that of a pavilion, part of their home’s Balinese flair. Over the hearth-less gas fireplace float two back-lit slabs of petrified Moroccan mahogany Bob bought one winter from a guy in New Jersey wearing combat boots and short pants. At left the Barons stand in Phylis’ tea room, another “pavilion,” this one angled to provide a tranquil view of the lake to one side and landscaping to the other. The Barons have two grown children: Elizabeth Baron, of Austin with one son; and Bob Jr. of Huntsville, his wife Amity, their three boys and a cousin’s child. FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2020

Phylis wanted a covered porch like she loved at their old lake house, and got her wish – times two. A long porch overlooks the infinity pool and extensive decking; it’s covered by a second porch that extends under the extended roof from the upstairs master and guest bedrooms. The only true, separate “pavilions” are the covered, outdoor bar-sitting-cooking area and Phylis’s “tea room,” a wing connected to the main part of the house by a glassed in covered walkway. “I take credit for making this place functional,” Bob says. “I made a block house where I wanted each room to be. The architects added the really creative touches, details I would have never dreamed of. We are very happy with it.”

The lake view is a main living room feature, along with a full bar off to the right of the top photo. Among many pieces of art collected in their travels are pictures of Angkor Wat, center. “We went to see the smiling Buddhas,” Phylis says. The kitchen, below, opens to the hand-crafted beech-tree dining table, set for 12, with, again, a continuing view of the lake. 40

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heir dream house was not even the vaguest of dreams when Bob was starting a career. His biggest dream then was being a rock ’n’ roll DJ. Born in 1944, he was a junior in high school in Alamogordo, N.M., in 1959 when he got his radio license and a job after school at what was then KRAC. AM radio was king of the airways. Rock was getting hot. And he loved them both. “Rock ‘n’ roll was my thing,” he says. “It was a good way to pick up money and maybe meet some girls.” With his dad in the Air Force, they moved a lot, and Bob got his first full-time job at WETU in Wetumpka. From there he went to Mobile, Montgomery and WYDE in Birmingham for the 7-midnight slot. Then he was off to Chattanooga, Shreveport and Knoxville … and there, in 1965, he fell in love with Phylis and the University of Tennessee. “I was born in Knoxville,” she says, opening a window into their quipping. “It’s only in the last two years that I got shoes on her,” he grins. “I’ve had these shoes for 52 years,” she deadpans back, holding out her feet. “We think this relationship might work.” A graduate of UT’s nursing program, Phylis and her roommate were moving into an apartment when Bob, living in the same complex, spotted her. He conveniently waited for them to carry in all of their furniture before introducing himself. They began dating, but their work shifts conflicted with free time together. “Our dates were me taking him strawberry pie and sitting in the studio,” she says. Bob, who was working his way through UT, graduated in ’68 with a communications degree with a business and marketing background – a combination that would serve him well. Back then he had no interest in the weather, other than the occasional reports he read on-air.

he Barons moved to Huntsville in 1975 when Bob became group program director for WAAY-AM and

A downstairs half-bath has two interesting, red-clad African figures standing guard in a half-bath near the home theater. Lighting underneath the counter top gives the room a different feel than most. Several rooms have high, pyramidal ceilings, their slatted sides giving them a Bali/Pacific Island feel. One of them can be found in the master bedroom, above. its sister station WNUE-AM in Ft. Walton Beach, Fla. It was a good job but mostly kept him off-air. The stations were part of Smith Broadcasting – headed by M.D. Smith III – which owned WAAY channel 31. The Smiths flew a lot in twin-engine planes, and part of Bob’s deal was that M.D. III would help him get his pilot license. “It was selfish,” Bob grins. “He just wanted a copilot when he flew.” (Bob loved to fly and later owned his own plane.) The station’s weather anchor secured a new contract giving him Sundays off. Since Bob had received advance FAA weather training, he was asked to fill in on those nights. “I had been in radio for years and signed autographs and had to be charming.

I enjoyed interacting with the public. But when I came here I was rarely on the radio. No one was bothering me for autographs ... “I loved that part,” Phylis injects. “… But the morning after that first TV appearance, I was at the old Holiday Inn talking to the manager about a radio promotion, and a guy pushing a cart with Coca-Colas went by the door. He stopped and backed up and said, ‘Were you on TV last night?’ I was hooked,” Bob says. By the next year he was wearing two hats – radio station programmer by day, TV weatherman by night. After nine months with no time off, Bob cried uncle. He’d gladly do either job, not both. The Smiths gave him the weather slot.

o further his weather knowledge, Bob took correspondence courses as well as courses at The University of Alabama

in Huntsville. In 1980 he received the American Meteorological Society Seal of Approval, and in 1982 he was elevated to professional member status in the AMS. At home one day in 2010 he received a call announcing that he’d been named as a distinguished AMS Fellow for his contributions to atmospheric sciences. “He came down from upstairs with tears in his eyes,” Phylis recalls. “I thought somebody had died or been in an accident. It meant a lot to him.” Bob was WAAY-TV’s chief meteorologist until April 1984 when he accepted a similar position at Tampa’s WFLA. Three years later, WAFF, Channel 48 lured him back into the Huntsville market. He and the community thought they were prepared for any severe weather event – until the deadly F4 tornado hit without FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2020

warning in 1989. No one in the Weather-First Responder community had the proper tools. Bob took it personally. Determined to change that, in 1990, with Phylis as his office manager, he founded what is now Baron Weather – Critical Weather Intelligence to advance severe weather technology. He and his company invented and ultimately earned many patents for its storm tracking equipment including FasTrac. This allowed on-air meteorologists to click on a dangerous storm on the projected radar view and draw out a ribbon defining its direction and speed. The computer then defined communities at risk and estimated time of storm arrival. They also perfected the “crawl” across the bottom of a TV screen that instantly announces storm warnings. It and the storm tracker are common today.

n 1993 Channel 48 disputed Bob’s contractual right to use Baron technology. He refused to back down. He felt he could contribute more to people through his business than he could by staying on TV. At the end of his nearly completed three-year contract he would leave. The week before his contract ended, Bob talked to M.D. Smith, told him about his life-saving technology and equipment, but said it looked like he was getting out of TV. M.D. offered to buy the equipment from Bob if he would do promotions for the station during his one-year non-compete period with 48, and if he promised to go on-air for two years after that. “The Smiths offered Bob a lot of opportunities,” says an appreciative Phylis. Several nights after announcing Bob’s return as chief meteorologist on April 15, 1993, severe weather hit the area. WAAY covered it using its new “31 Storm Tracker,” the name it gave Baron’s FasTrac. M.D. mentions that night in his online history of Smith Broadcasting, saying at the time the station’s new system “does a superb job tracking and predicting where storms will move. It is the only tracker on TV in the valley.” After working two years on-air with Gary Dobbs and fulfilling his contract at WAAY, Bob figured it was time to get out of TV and concentrate on his business. He’d had his fill of being Mr. TV Weatherman. “I didn’t resign,” he says. “I wasn’t fired. I didn’t retire. I just faded away.” Well, except for a brief reprise.

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When the weather’s bad, or Bob, Phylis, the “kids” and grandkids just feel like a movie, it’s easily arranged in the home theater with a starlight ceiling. A whimsical sculpture hangs in a hall near the bunk room. 42

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e said yes to a friend who was news director for ABC 33/40 in Birmingham, which was about to launch. So in 1996, Bob and his new equipment went to Birmingham. He even filled in as meteorologist until James Spann arrived. Life was soon like juggling in a tornado. The Barons kept their house and business office in Huntsville where Phylis worked as general manager at Baron. Also with the company in Huntsville was their son, Bob Jr., who’d agreed to give a year to help

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Outside is the place to be on a nice day ... two story porch, infinity pool, outside cooking and living area – and of course the lake. get Baron started. (He remains today as executive VP and chief products officer). And the company was exponentially signing on new stations for its services. Bob was provided an apartment in Birmingham, where Phylis sometimes joined him. He reported weather MondayFriday, driving home Friday nights for work at Baron Saturday. Sunday was family day. Monday morning was office work before driving to Birmingham for the 5 p.m. forecast. “I had a great time,” Bob laughs. “He has an incredible amount of energy and almost always worked on two things at once,” Phylis says. Since fulfilling that obligation, he’s been able to concentrate more on Baron. “I am doing more CEO-ing than president-ing these days,” he says. “Our talented executive team takes on most of the load. What they’ve created is amazing.” Besides TV stations across the country, other customers range from ABC and CBS, to the Department of Defense. Baron has 44

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become the major manufacturer of Doppler Weather Radar in the U.S. and competes internationally. In 2003, Baron partnered with XM Radio to broadcast rich weather data via satellite to airplanes. They also work with avionics companies such as Garman and Honeywell. The weather business is booming. Beyond the business aspect, Phylis adds, “Bob has saved many lives.”

t’s not really in his nature, but Bob is trying to slow down. He does, however, have one more project, the non-profit Baron Critical Weather Institute, whose goal is to provide world-class weather sensors, first in the Tennessee Valley then across the state. The system would provide both warnings and data for research. “It’s my last windmill to joust,” he says. “I quit believing that after 10 years with him,” Phylis says. But he’s trying. They do travel. Their most ambitious

trip was in 2017 for their 50th wedding anniversary. They took a 24-day, charter jet expedition with National Geographic around the world. “We have got to speed the bucket list up,” Phylis grins. Somewhere on that list is a permanent move to their house in Guntersville. They already spend about half their time there. “We have enjoyed the Guntersville area ever since we got here,” Bob says. “Phylis has said, and I think she’s right, that we use this place to get away from pressures of the business and office. We can close that off here and relax.” If the whole family’s not there, if no big party is brewing, you might find Bob down on his dock watching the skies, the direction of the wind on the water. And, when storms blow out of the south, there’s a good chance he and Phylis are sitting in the shelter of their upstairs covered porch, watching the weather roil the lake from their fine place of refuge. Good Life Magazine

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Plate lunches at Mimi’s on Gunter Mountain in Grant are, well, a lot like what your grandmother probably used to serve you. The muffins and cinnamon rolls could be considered works of art. Same could be said for the meringue pies, be they coconut or chocolate. Mimi’s is located on the main road through Grant, one block north of First Baptist Church. Hours are 10:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Thursdays and Sundays. The drivethru is open 5-10 a.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturdays.

Good Eats Story by David Myers Photos by David Moore

hen Rose and I put on our restaurant reviewer hats and head to a local eatery, usually we ask questions to find out about the place. Sometimes the restaurant speaks for itself. That was the case with Mimi’s Country Kitchen & Bakery in Grant on a cold Sunday afternoon. Before we got seated, a diner came over with important information to share. “She could make dirt taste good,” said Laura Colomb, a transplant from Huntsville who eats at Mimi’s most every Sunday. Her husband, Ron, drives the point home. 46

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Mimi’s Country Kitchen & Bakery

Lunch here is like a visit to Grandma’s

“I’ve never had anything bad here,” he says. “Even when she starts to run out of food, it’s still good.” Surprisingly, this happens again. Another diner on her way out stops at our table to share her love of the restaurant she visits after church “as often as I can.” It quickly becomes clear that these rave reviews are as much about Mimi’s owner, Linda Burlbaugh, as they are of her acclaimed food. “She’s a sweet lady with a big heart,” says Gail Flanders, a local who highly recommends the strawberry pie. “I can’t believe all she does.”

hat Linda does is fill the bellies of the folks in Grant and surrounding areas with loaded plates of “meat and threes” plus delicious homemade desserts that take you back to your childhood. “I want people to leave full and happy,” Linda says. “I want them to feel like their grandmother just put her arms around them.” Mimi’s has been feeding and hugging folks for 19 years in the second oldest house in Grant, known as the old Kirkland home. Dora and John Kirkland raised five children there. He was a brick mason who

built the fireplace in the front room of the restaurant. One son, Sam, served as mayor of Grant. He and his brother J.W. like to visit with Linda in their former home where their mother Dora was always cooking the pies and fried chicken she was known for. The décor also harks back to a grandmother’s home. Tables and chairs are a hodgepodge of styles, as are the dishes. Just adds to the comfort, according to Linda. “Nothing matches because if you go to your grandmother’s house, nothing matches there,” she says. “Everything is real comfortable and loving. That’s exactly how I like it.”

ith a bachelor’s degree in food and nutrition, Linda had a career as a food service director in nursing homes and hospitals. She laughs at herself when she says she bought the restaurant for her

retirement. Just that morning, she was up at 1:30 a.m. baking yeast rolls, carrot cake and chocolate meringue pie for Sunday lunch. “I was here cooking so everything is fresh,” she says. “My passion is baking. I’m into desserts.” The selection for “meat and three” on the day we visited was baked ham, lemon pepper chicken quarters or meatloaf. There are usually 10-12 vegetable or salad choices. Always available are green beans, turnip greens and mashed potatoes with gravy. Linda proudly adds that she peels her own potatoes. “We serve big portions,” she says. “Nobody leaves hungry.” On weekdays, lunch fare tends toward sandwiches, soups and salads. Don’t get the idea this is a tea room. The club sandwiches are as tall as a coffee cup. The

hamburgers are handmade from scratch when they’re ordered. Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings feature homemade doughnuts, cinnamon rolls and specialty coffees through a drive-through window.

inda credits the success of her cozy little restaurant to the warm, welcoming people of Grant. In order to give back, she often sends food to the sick or to others who just can’t make it to her table. Fans even drive from Huntsville and Scottsboro to fill up on her old-fashioned food. “I have a very good loyal group of people that come,” she says. “They come from all over.” A self-proclaimed workaholic, Linda quips that she’ll never retire. “I just wouldn’t do well at home,” she laughs. Good Life Magazine FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2020

Steve Maze

than signs, symbols were often used to identify the correct facility during the past since many people could not read. A privy with a half-moon cut into the door indicated that it was a “men’s” facility. A star cut into the door symbolized it was a “women’s only” facility. Some rural homeowners decorated their outhouse with cut-out symbols, but they were for another reason. They allowed just enough moonlight inside the structure in the event a person needed to make a visit during the middle of the night. Most folks carried a kerosene lantern or other sources of light “down the path” with them after dark. As Dolly Parton put it, “Most people had three bedrooms and a bath, but we had a flashlight and a path.”

answers nature’s call to bare it all, from the symbols on the doors to tipping jokes gone awry, as he delves into our not too distant past to

n one corner of the typical outhouse would be an empty syrup bucket full of red and white corncobs. People would use two red cobs before using a white one to see if they needed to use another red cob. Paper products were also popular in the outhouse. A Sears & Roebuck catalog was frequently put to use, but those slick pages with sharp corners were far less desirable than an old newspaper. The privy on my grandparent’s farm was located just far enough from the house to avoid the odor. It didn’t seem that far away, but it seemed to take forever to reach it on cold winter days. The frigid wind whistling through the cracks in the walls and up under the seat made for a quick visit. The messiest and least favorite chore on a farm was cleaning out the privy with a shovel. The smelly job consisted of scooping everything under the hole in the outhouse into a pair of foot tubs and scattering it across a nearby field. Lime would then be shoveled under the opening in the back of the outhouse to keep the odor down in future use. Outhouses were frequent targets of practical jokes. Youngster often tipped over many of the structures as a Halloween prank, and some were even set on fire.

report on ...

The

Outhouse (And maybe Dolly will write a song) Story by Steve A. Maze Photo from the author’s collection

friend recently related a story to me of a near catastrophic event that took place many years ago when he was a youngster. He and his two brothers accidentally started a fire in their bathroom while sneaking around to smoke a pack of cigarettes. They frantically ran to the well and dipped numerous buckets of water to extinguish the flames. The damage to their bathroom was held to a minimum since the flames never got within 50 yards of their house. Yep. You got it. The most recognizable building on any farm used to be the outhouse. The structures were small, usually made of rough lumber with a tin roof, and always had plenty of poke salat surrounding them during the spring. Churches usually had two outhouses – one for men and one for women. Rather 48

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Even today, there are a lot of people who’ve probably encountered an outhouse somewhere in the past, if not in their backyard.

utdoor privies were almost out of style when a friend and I decided to tip over the one in a neighbor’s yard. What made this prank so unusual was the neighbor lived in the city. We often played baseball in my friend’s backyard, but were constantly knocking the ball over the neighbor’s fence and into his yard. The retired gentleman began confiscating the baseballs and would not give them back to us.

To get even, we decided to roll his yard with toilet paper. We purchased every roll in stock at the grocery store and proudly gloated as we saw the man picking up his yard the following morning. The neighbor lived in a barn that he had remodeled into a nice home. What we didn’t know was that he had moved an old outhouse under a side shed attached to his house. The man was known for his thriftiness, and we soon realized he was using the free toilet paper to stock his outhouse. That made us even madder. There was only one thing left to do – tip over the privy. We flipped a coin to decide which one of us would do the deed. Naturally, I lost the coin toss. My friend climbed atop the fence that separated the properties to serve as lookout. He was to whistle if he saw the old man headed in my direction.

ith our plans laid, I sneaked into the side shed and began shoving the heavy outhouse with all my might. I rocked it back and forth until it was leaning enough to tip over. All of a sudden I heard someone scream, “Hey, boy! What are you doing in here?” I jerked my head around and spotted the old man standing right behind me. My hair stood on end from fright as I let go of the outhouse. I began running faster than I ever had on a baseball field. I then heard a loud boom echo behind me. I thought I had been blasted by a shotgun, but a quick glance over my shoulder affirmed that my venture had been successful. The outhouse hit the dirt floor with a tremendous crash, and what seemed like tons of dust exploded from the front of the shed with the force of a nuclear bomb. I did a perfect swan dive over the fence into my friend’s back yard. My buddy was perched on top of the wood fence like a chicken on a roosting pole. My fright turned to anger as I spotted him doubled over in laughter. “Why didn’t you whistle when you saw him coming?” I snapped. Between laughs, he managed to whisper, “I got tickled when I saw him walking toward the shed, and I couldn’t whistle.” The neighbor managed to get his outhouse back into an upright position, and a few days later my friend’s dad retrieved the baseballs for us. Dolly should write a song about it, maybe title it “Joke of Many Colors.” Good Life Magazine

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it seems only proper to start in this issue with J. Willie. So now you are that viewer 100 years in future …

Four men and a fifth in the shadows pose for photographer J. Willie in front of the Walter Shipp Pharmacy in Albertville. A Boy Scout appears to be at the far left. The well-dressed man at the left, says Dennis Burgess, is store owner Walter Shipp. Next to him in the hat is Bob Amos, who after moving to town became police chief for 36 years. He was first in a line of four lawmen. His son, Pierce, was killed one night during a wreck while answering a call. Bob’s grandson, Randy Amos, served 10 years as Albertville police chief and later served as Marshall County chief deputy under Sheriff Scott Walls. Today, Randy’s son John is the patrol major and training coordinator for the Albertville PD. First of a two-part story

J. Willie: Photographer Story by David Moore Photos provided by Dennis Burgess

uppose 100 years from now someone happens to flip through a brittle old Good Life Magazine or tap into what we today call the internet, and comes across some old, 21st century photographs of Marshall County. What would that viewer think? “Strange clothes. And look at those old-fashioned environmental units … wow. But the county certainly was beautiful back then.” Would the viewer be glad we 50

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Some facts are lost to the passing of time, but his sharp focus still offers windows

into the people and places of yesteryear

preserved that beauty … or lament that we failed? Would the viewer be curious about me, the photographer? Wonder what sort of antiquated equipment I used? I fell into wondering about these things recently after Dennis Burgess of Albertville showed me what was initially supposed to be his collection of old photographs by the late Robert O. Johnson. Robert O., as he was known across Sand Mountain and beyond, shot weddings, events and news from 1948 until 1990 for his studio and the old Albertville Herald.

Dennis not only shared the photos with me but knew interesting tidbits about many of the people in them. His memory is pretty amazing. But it turns out Dennis had an extra bonus in his collection. The oldest photos he has were shot by Robert O.’s father, J. Willie Johnson. Guess what? He went by J. Willie. I borrowed far more pictures from Dennis than I could possibly use in one magazine spread, so I invented Plan B – separation. I now plan to share Robert O. with you in the summer issue of GLM. But

t was April 24, 1908, when the infamous – and infamously misnamed – “cyclone” hit Albertville. The powerful tornado killed 25 people in the area, 15 of them in Albertville, and injured 380 more. It was an utter catastrophe. I cannot find the exact date that J. Willie Johnson arrived in Albertville, but it was the same month and year as the deadly storm. Some sources say he came from Hamilton, Alabama, others say 40 miles to the south in Fayette. In fact, any information on him has been hard to come by. One thing seems certain – J. Willie loved photography. He loved it so much he taught school in northwest Alabama and worked at a dry goods store to save money to study photography. That’s according to a story written by Albertville High student Becky Curtis for the commemorative edition The Sand Mountain Reporter published May 23, 1991, for the city’s centennial earlier that year. It was 1887 before J. Willie was able to actually study the techniques of photography and 1898 before he opened a studio in Fayette, the story says. Arriving in Albertville within a week of the tornado, he was confronted with mountains of debris heaped throughout the town. That’s odd timing to move into a new town. I asked Dennis if he knew why J. Willie came here in the first place, and he had never heard. In fact, neither he nor anyone else I talked to knew when J. Willie was born and died. “But I know where his grave is at Memory Hill,” Dennis told me. So off we went to the graveyard.

Willie Johnson was born Jan. 1, 1875, according to his in-ground marker. He died April 5, 1958, making him 78 years old. A 1930 caricature newspaper ad, at left, says he was born in St. Clair County. At the cemetery, Dennis and I learned J. Willie’s wife was Jessie Lee Humber, born April 13, 1883, died July 25, 1951. Continued on page 54

J. Willie Johnson shot this photo of the old Bank of Albertville – later Albertville National Bank – and had it printed for postcards. Just as J. Willie probably did, his son Robert O. sold some of the old cards at his studio. J. Willie Johnson’s caricature appeared in The Sand Mountain Banner about 1930. It was one of at least 16 such drawings by Jack Douglas that appeared in a “weekly cartoon and business review” in the paper. Dennis Burgess has copies of them on a DVD. The end of J. Willie’s ad copy urges readers to remember: “Photographs live forever.” FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2020

Local historian Dennis Burgess is interviewed for The Weather Channel’s 2014 feature on the 1908 tornado that destroyed most of Albertville and killed 15 of the town’s 1,500 people. The show focuses on reports of ghosts of some of those victims. Dennis says the feature airs annually around Halloween. He is a nephew of Elizabeth Burgess , 98, of the Sand Mountain Community of Poplar Springs. She was featured in the spring 2019 issue of GLM. • Former ag school in Albertville The Alabama Legislature in 1893 passed an act calling for the construction of agricultural schools in each of the state’s congressional districts. Albertville was chosen for the seventh district and the following year the large school shown here was built. Sadly, the grand structure burned down Jan. 12, 1912. A three-story brick Classical Revival style building that replaced it evolved into Albertville High School, a replica of that classical façade can be readily seen in the new high school. • War bond kids Students dressed up for this 1936 war bond drive, photographed by J. Willie. Judging by the architecture, Dennis figures the kids are lined up in the old sanctuary building of what is now Albertville First Baptist. • War bond drive J. Willie shot this picture in front of the old Albertville Post Office (now the city school board) to promote a war bond drive, Dennis Burgess says. Front and center – and nicely dressed – is Dewey Wells, who used to run a clothing store in town, later operated by his sons George and Jack Wells. Front row, third from left, wearing a bow tie, is former Mayor Mack Kilcrease. Also in the photo are Mayor A.B. Hooper Jr., fourth from left, back row; W.S. Hewett of Hewett Drugs, far right, back row; and, in front of him, J.J. Benford, who ran The Albertville Herald. • High diver (please see the table of contents photo on page 8) It’s hard to make out the name written on this postcard, but it appears to be “Prof. Cowan” or “Gowan.” Had you attended the 1911 Marshall County Fair in Albertville, you would probably know the name. Dennis Burgess says J. Willie Johnson shot the photo and that the high-diving stuntman landed in a vat of water that cannot be made out in the photo. The good professor no doubt made a memorial splash of some sort. The platform appears to be some 60 feet tall. 52

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2020

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Get a horse … or four. All wearing overalls and standing on their horse-drawn wagons are Jim Masters, Jim Woodell, Bud Frazier and Brad Carroll. J. Willie shot the photo in 1914 at a water trough at the intersection of Simpson and Main Street in Albertville. At the time, Dennis says, motorized vehicles were beginning to share the roads with horses. The town council passed an ordinance requiring the new-fangled vehicles pull over, give the right of way to the horses and, if asked by the horse handler, turn off his engine. Continued from page 51 Their markers share a tombstone that simply reads “Johnson.” Adding a bit of mystery, there’s a third marker in the Johnson grouping which appears to read: Florine Judson Johnson, April 14, 1904-Dec. (?), 1959. Daughter (possibly) with a middle name Judson? Robert O. is not buried here. Was Florine the reason J. Willie moved to Albertville? I don’t know. Dennis says the Johnsons perhaps had four or five children, but there is no immediate record of that. Whatever his reasons, J. Willie opened a photography studio on North Broad, looking to build his business as the city itself rebuilt. Obviously, he needed to make a buck, but I think that someone who loved photography as much as he apparently did, probably took numerous pictures purely to hone his skills and entertain himself.

I’

ve pored over his photo of the high-diving stunt man. J. Willie caught the instant the “professor” leaped off the tall ladder. 54

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I know that feeling when you click on a special moment. When I get lucky and catch one of those shots, I can immediately check the view screen on my digital camera and see how it turned out (though I always know more when I see it later on the computer). In J. Willie’s case, he had to go back to the studio and develop film and make prints. It could take a few hours, much longer if he had to finish shooting the roll of film first. Robert O. once told Dennis the process J. Willie went through in the early years just to print a picture. First, sunlight was essential. Every day he needed to print he first had to break an egg and use the white to sensitize the photographic paper. That was just the first of seven steps to get the finished print. “No sun,” Dennis says, “no photo.” When Robert O. was old enough, J. Willie had him down at the studio sweeping floors, washing photo pans, cleaning up chemicals and such. But apparently neither the grunt work nor the technical work turned his son off to the profession. “He was strongly influenced by his father,” Dennis says.

After high school and serving in the Navy during World War II, Robert O. attended photography school in Chattanooga. He returned to Albertville to work with his father in 1948. Another sibling also worked with J. Willie, since his 1930 ad refers to J. Willie Johnson and Son Studio.

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nd so a second generation was exposed to the photography business in Albertville. Perhaps the “cyclone” and later the Great Depression were factors, but at the time of the Reporter’s centennial edition, the Johnsons’ photo studio had emerged as Albertville’s oldest business. It’s probably safe to say that, from J. Willie’s opening in 1908 until Robert O. retired in 2009, the father-son tandem captured more slices of life on Sand Mountain than anyone before or since. They left lots of images to look back on and ponder. One more thing … under J. Willie’s name on his simple in-ground burial marker is etched this single word: Photographer. To be continued in the summer issue

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Tim Hays pens his own jukebox musical, “Love in the Country,” bringing to the WBS stage a washed-thin marriage, a washed-out band, “Redneck Women,” lots of laughs and country music ’til the cows moo home ... yep (“And I say, ‘Hey, y’all’ and ‘yee haw!’”) Story and photos By David Moore

im Hays met Cheryl Marcum, his wife to be, a “few” years back when they were students at Jacksonville State University. “She told me she needed help with chemistry. I said, ‘Baby, I know all about chemistry.’ Turns out she was actually talking about the class.” OK, Tim continues. Here’s the true story … “My roommate told me that Cheryl was stopping by with a friend. I knew she was a ‘looker,’ so I wasn’t going to let this opportunity go to waste. I’d been working a jack hammer all summer on a construction crew, and I was golden tan and in the best shape of my life. “When I saw her car pull up to the curb,” he continues, “I whipped off my shirt, grabbed my guitar and was leaned up against my Camaro singing, ‘Love Me Tender’ when she walked by. She was hooked ... but reeling her in took some work.” OK, this one’s true, too. Well, in a sense. Spawned from the same mind, it’s a synopsis of “Love in the Country,” the jukebox country musical comedy Tim wrote for production in April by the acclaimed Whole Backstage in Guntersville … Dallas Frazier, a washed-up country music singer from Marshall County, gets a new infusion of fame when he learns that his group, the Pine Mountain Boys, is about to be inducted into the Alabama Country Music Hall of Fame. Everything is going great, until he finds out that Ellie, his ex-to-be, has 56

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2020

agreed to marry “some Yankee with enough money to burn a wet mule.” But before she can get married, Ellie has to get Dallas – who still loves her and wants to win her back – to sign the D-I-VO-R-C-E papers. The wedding is to take place at Ellie’s new home in Atlanta. Hatching what passes for a plan, Dallas rents the house next door and rallies the Pine Mountain Boys to help him win Ellie back. He also solicits help from Ellie’s nemesis, Charlotte Johnson, the biggest floozy in Guntersville. Declares Dallas in Act I, Scene 6, “I’m afraid this mess is bigger than Dolly Parton’s, uh … hairdo.”

“L

ove in the Country” is the first musical/play Tim’s written solo. But he’s co-written two other jukebox musicals, both performed at The Whole Backstage. He and Dr. David Chupp (he and his wife Shirley were featured in the previous issue of GLM) wrote “Lovin’ the 60s,” which was performed to standing-roomonly crowds in 2010. The story is of four couples who time travel back to their 1960 senior prom at Marshall County High School. Set to tunes of the day, they discover how they actually all got together, a truth much different than what they remembered. “David and I had been in several of Johnny Brewer’s popular musical reviews, and we just got together one day and said wouldn’t it be funny if we came up with a story that tied all the songs together,” says Tim. “David came up with a hilarious hook about going back in time.” It was based upon an actual 40-year class reunion.

“You’ve got to write about what you know,” Tim says. They also co-wrote “The Things We Do for Love” in 2015. Featuring music from the 1970s, it, too, was a big hit. While he wrote “Love in the Country,” Tim wanted someone else to direct it. He asked WBS veteran Diane Dubois to take the lead. “She’s just a very talented director,” he says. “She is better at casting, staging, lighting and all the other things that make up a great production. She asked me to be co-director so that my vision of the story would not be lost.”

ountry music is as central to Tim’s musical as broken hearts, cheatin’ hearts and tears in beers. “This is an ode to my love of country music,” says the playwright. “I want to pay tribute to the greats, and you’ll hear some original snippets from Johnny Cash and Hank Williams in the show.” Guntersville First Baptist Church is home to the “FBC Pickers,” a bluegrass group that includes Tim on dobro. He’ll play the part of Dallas Frazier in the show. The Pickers are led by Ken Patterson, who plays the part of Merle, one of the Pine Mountain Boys. The other Boys in the band are Willie and Hank, so you see where that’s going. The play includes all or parts of 25 country songs from various artists, including Vince Gill, Lorrie Morgan, George Strait, Alabama, Toby Keith, Taylor Swift, Dixie Chicks, Shania Twain, Brad Paisley, The Oak Ridge Boys and more. The latter – Tim’s favorite as a teen – are his inspiration for the Pine Mountain Boys. Other musical ties in the play are

Tim Hays has his script in hand and cowboy boots on. All he needed at this point last November was a cast, tech crew and maybe a few folks in the Dot Moore Auditorium. In all fairness to Tim, the show is not until April 17-26. Tickets sales start March 23. For more info, please see page 60.

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2020

less obvious; for instance, the real Dallas Frazier wrote “Elvira.” “There are a lot of country music references hidden in the script,” says Tim. “I tried to put as much country music in it as I could.” Tim considered “thousands” of country songs, always seeking lyrics that matched the dialog at different points in the story. Toward that end, Tim got plenty of advice from his daughter and son-in-law, Lindsey and Alex Ruggles, to whom the play is dedicated (along with Tim’s grandson, James). They know country music like Merle Haggard knew divorce lawyers. Because it fit so well, they urged him to use an obscure song, “What I Didn’t Do” by Hank Warner, for Tim/Dallas to sing at the end of the play. “Another Try” by Josh Turner is another relatively unknown – but perfect fit – Tim used. “You don’t write something like this in a vacuum,” Tim says. “You have people give you great ideas.”

ebruary 2018 found Tim cast in the minor role of Elle’s father in the WBS production of “Legally Blonde.” “All I did was come out on a golf cart and sing a song to her,” he says. “Other than that, I was in the wings sitting in my golf cart for the rest of the play. I had my laptop, so I began writing ‘Love in the Country.’ I already had the idea in my head.” He had recently re-watched “High Society,” the 1956 romantic musical comedy starring Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly and Frank Sinatra. It made him think, “Wouldn’t it be funny if a country boy moved in next door to his wife to stop her wedding?” Tim is always on the prowl for jukebox musical ideas and has started many a script. He confesses that Hallmark movies inspired some of them. “I love Hallmark movies. I guess I’m one of the few guys who does,” he laughs. “And romantic comedies.” He likes the comfort of knowing something bad won’t happen – the dog doesn’t die; folks get back together again; there are no evil people. “Love in the Country” is of the same ilk. “Even the guy who tries to steal Ellie isn’t all bad,” Tim says. “He’s just a Yankee.” 58

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2020

The first of two nights of auditions at the end of January included some line dancing steps. Hannah Miller, top left, is the choreographer and leading the way. Continuing from left are Tim Hays, Emily Giles, Valerie Clemons and Lori Boatfield. Above left, director Diane Dubois goes over parts with those at the auditions.

Above left, Telina Wilson tries out for a part with Tim Hays. She got the part of Dimples, one of the four exes of Pine Mountain band member Willie. Tim plays band leader Dallas Frazier in the production. In the three photos at right, Ken Patterson reads the part of Pine Mountain band member Merle, which he got. Reading the parts for Merle’s wife are, from top, Valerie Clemons (who plays Charlotte Johnson), Patty Collins (who plays one of Willie’s exes) and Lori Boatfield, who got the part. FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2020

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or all of his humor and romantic notions, Tim takes his writing seriously. His characters are more than cardboard cutout silhouettes. “This is real to me – the characters are real people,” he says. “I can tell you what they think about something. They all have backstories in my head.” As much as anything, the playwright hopes audiences will enjoy his story. “It’s cool to stand on the side of the stage and hear people laugh at your jokes,” he says. “Sometimes they go crazy on throw-away lines. Sometimes they don’t laugh at the obvious jokes. “Since I am the author, the codirector and I’m playing the lead, if it fails, it’s all on me,” Tim adds. “If it’s great, it’s a team effort. Fortunately for me, we’ve assembled a superb cast and a talented technical team.” There is no dress code for “Love in the Country.” But if you own a pair of cowboy boots, it’d sure be a good time to wear them. Good Life Magazine 60

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2020

Going to the show? “Love in the Country” will be performed at the Dot Moore Auditorium at the Whole Backstage Theatre. It’s located at 1120 Rayburn Avenue/ Dot Moore Way, Guntersville, AL 35976. Dates: April 17-19 and 21, 22-26; 7 p.m. nightly; Sunday only at 2 p.m. Ticket sales start March 23: $12 students, $18 seniors, $20 adults. For more information on this show or any WBS event call: 256-5827469: or visit: www.wholebackstage.com.

Meet the cast of ‘Love in the Country’ • Male cast Dallas – Tim Hays Merle – Ken Patterson Willie – Greg Leach Hank – NA at press time Hobart – Stan Witherow Bishop/Pastor – Jim Bear Harris Announcer – Michael Beith • Female cast Ellie – Lynn Fulenwider Loretta, Merle’s wife – Lori Boatfield Eileen, Willie’s ex – Andrea Witherow Dimples, Willie’s ex – Telina Wilson Allison, Willie’s ex – Claire Richards

Rosanna, Willie’s ex – Patty Collins Jolene, Hank’s Wife – Rachel Brown Charlotte Johnson – Valerie Clemons Samantha – Kennedy Pickard • Company/dancers Josh Barksdale, Emily Giles, Liz Lincks, Miranda McDowell, Hannah Miller, Faith Payne, Sara Woodard Phillips, Caroline Smith, Hannah Taylor, Dana Thomas, Kalen Upton and Hannah Yost • Back-up singers with band Lori, Telina, and Andrea Witherow

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Dressed in their country music best ... oh, wait. Dressed in their more usual garb for performing, the Lake City Jazz Band will carry the music load in “Love in the Country” (which poses them no problem). They are John Ferderico, bass, Norman Jenkins, keyboard, John Harvey, drums, and David Daniels, guitar, who also plays for the FBC Pickers. But they are not the only musicians in the show. Playwright Tim Hays points out that some of the actors will also perform on stage. Photo by Monica Martin.

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FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2020

Libby longs for adventure Forget playing video games, this 14-year-old

would rather conquer mountains and the Grand Canyon Story by David Moore Photos provided by Matthew Chance, D. Min.

t first take, Libby Chance seems like a fairly typical 14-year-old: attends Arab Middle School, enjoys competitive gymnastics, takes piano lessons. But then she says, “I don’t really like video games.” Say what? “They’re not bad … it’s just not something I love to do,” she explains. “I like to hike and go to national parks. I feel like I would miss a lot if I sat in a room all day.” Her young adventure resumé speaks for itself. At the ripe age of 12, Libby hiked Mt. LeConte. At 6,593 feet, it’s the third highest peak in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Last summer she celebrated the Fourth of July in the thin air of Colorado’s Mt. Elbert, at 14,439 feet the second highest peak in the lower 48 states. You can see forever and there’s no Xbox in sight. Over fall break last year Libby hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. It’s a seven-mile trail with a drop of 4,780 feet. And the return is all uphill. Libby takes it all in stride, so to speak. Her dad, Dr. Matthew Chance, an Arab representative of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, is gung-ho supportive and made the Grand Canyon and Elbert hikes with Libby. Her brother, Sam, a senior at Arab High, made those hikes, too. But it’s Pa-Paw who lights the fire under her hiking boots. Bob Nelson of Winnsboro, Louisiana, is the father of Libby’s mom, Debbie Chance. Libby grew up hearing Pa-paw’s tales of hiking in Colorado, of hunting in Alaska and New Zealand. Now in his mid-70s, Pa-paw’s driven to take his nine grandkids adventuring. Libby is all in. Who needs video games?

Libby Chance hiked up Mt. Elbert July , 2019. It’s one of Colorado’s soaring and rugged “fourteeners.” 62

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2020

he got her first taste of adventure back in the third grade when Pa-paw organized an extended family excursion to the Four Corners: southwest Colorado, northwest New Mexico, northeast Arizona and southeast Utah. On the trip, Pa-paw led a group up Huron Peak, another of Colorado’s imposing “fourteeners.” Libby gave it a young shot but didn’t reach the top. “We were really close, but I was not very motivated,” she recalls. In early 2018, Matt, who had climbed fourteeners

Libby, center on the steps, spent a rocking night in a storm at LeConte Lodge with Papaw, her aunt Rosemary Elrod of Franklin Tenn., cousins Noelle and Susanna Brink and Anna Claire Riggs, the daughter of Debbie Chance’s cousin. On the trail up LeConte, the group got a passing hiker to shoot their photo with clouds rolling in over the multiple summits of LeConte in the background. FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2020

“You can look up at the mountain from the road, and it’s just a mountain,” she says. “Then you climb the trail. From up there we saw the cars below. They were just little specks. It feels small standing up there.” Maybe so, but she had conquered Elbert. It felt like hers.

with Bob before, went with him and the family to the Grand Canyon where the two men hiked 26.5 miles, rim to rim. “They looked really cold and had really big backpacks, so I was happy to stay at the top,” Libby says. “I heard tales when they came back and that made me want to do it.” That summer Pa-paw took Libby, three of her young cousins and his own sister on a warm-up hike up LeConte, visible from Gatlinburg. They took the scenic Alum Cave Trail and spent the night at rustic LeConte Lodge. The isolated lodge is accessible only by foot, its restaurant supplied by pack trains of lamas. That night the hikers were rocked by a storm. “I thought the cabin was going to fly off the mountain,” Libby says, now able to grin about it. They descended the next day via the 14.9mile Trillum Gap Trail, dropping 3,200 feet in elevation. “LeConte was in a cloud. We couldn’t see much, but it was cool being up high,” Libby reports. “It was hard at the moment but not compared to everything else I have done.”

o give her last comment and Mt. Elbert some perspective, consider this – the trail up LeConte gained 2,763 feet in 5.5 miles. The trail up Elbert gained 4,700 feet in 4.75. Undaunted, last summer Pa-paw led a family expedition of 13, including Matt, Sam and Libby. She was determined to make it. One of the hard parts about Mt. Elbert – physically and mentally – is its several false peaks; they tease that you’re almost to the summit only to top a ridge line and see the actual peak looming hundreds of feet above. “I got above timberline and that first false peak and wondered if I would make it,” Libby says. “But I wasn’t planning on quitting.” She takes pride in beating Pa-paw to the top. “I was usually ahead of him and saw him when he reached the summit,” she grins. Matt had climbed Elbert before but forgotten how steep and slippery the trail got near the summit. There was some snow and sliding rock scrambles to navigate. “LeConte wasn’t bad, but on Elbert it’s hard to breath because the air is really thin,” Libby adds. Being the Fourth of July, there were a number of other people on their own adventure. They saw some of them scooting down scrambles and asking for Band-aids, Libby says. But the adventure was exhilarating. 64

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2020

Before descending into the massive Grand Canyon, Libby pauses for a photo on at the far left and right. On the trail down, Libby gives the right of way to as any gymnast would with a handstand split and, as any teen would do,

the south rim with Sam, center, Pa-paw and her cousins Kaleb and Sarah Nelson mules coming up. At the bottom she celebrates on the banks of the Colorado cutting up with her brother on one of the two footbridges across the river.

n addition to immersing one’s self into eons of geological time, hiking into the Grand Canyon is like hiking a huge mountain in reverse. You start at the top, hike down, then fight gravity climbing back out. On their trip last fall, Libby, her dad, brother and Pa-paw hiked the 7-mile South Kaibab Trail into the canyon. The 4,780 foot descent took about five hours. They had hired a pack mule to carry their gear and supplies for two nights, including freeze-dried chicken and rice (“It wasn’t that good, but it wasn’t bad”), a propane cooker and sleeping bags. They pitched camp near Phantom Ranch on the banks of the Colorado River. Two days later, they took the Bright Angle Trail out, which ascends 4,380 feet in 9.5 miles. “The last couple of miles were really tough,” Libby says. “It was a bunch of steep switchbacks.” They might have caused pain and sweat but did nothing to sour the adventure. “My favorite part was camping at the bottom,” Libby says. “It’s really peaceful and there was a lot of fun stuff.” She slipped on her Crocs, splashed in a creek. Explored a short way up the north rim trail. Guzzled wonderful lemonade at the Phantom Ranch. And slept under the desert stars, a first for Libby. “I got some good sleep at the bottom,” she says. “I wrapped up in a sleeping bag and it was really warm. I could hear the creek and the river. It just puts you to sleep.” The moon and stars were surprisingly bright, casting the canyon with ethereal light. Accenting the cosmic display, the International Space Station sailed overhead.

t’s not caused by video games, but sometimes Libby’s mind drifts off in class under the influence of wistful daydreams. “I wish I was back at the bottom the Grand Canyon,” she confesses. Or she thinks of the sense of accomplishment and ownership she earned from summiting Mt. Elbert. Afterward, she would look at the towering peak and think, “I hiked that.” FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2020

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Libby and Pa-paw make their way up the lower parts of the trail up Mt. Elbert. At higher elevations, here on the way down, there were areas of snow that were a bit tricky to navigate. It was all worth it to kick back on top of the world, to soak up the reality and sense of her own accomplishment . 66

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2020

So, where to next? Well, actually, Sam is graduating, so he got to pick the next destination – Washington, D.C. That’s cool, but Libby longs for adventure. Rim to rim at the Grand Canyon sounds good, she says. So does exploring more of Utah. And she’d love to hike in Glacier National Park. “I’d like to climb the highest mountain in the continental U.S.,” she says after a brief thought. That would be Mt. Whitney at 14,505 feet in California’s Sierra Nevada range. “I’d like to hike something in Alaska,” she adds. “Oh, I’d really like to hike Machu Picchu in Peru.” Libby figures she’ll one day have a regular job, but it would be nice to retire and become a park ranger … preferably at the Grand Canyon. “I like challenge and doing something cool that not a lot of people get to do,” she says. “I like getting to see things I don’t get to see every day in Arab or Alabama. “I’ve told my friends they should come hike Elbert with me some day,” she grins. “But they don’t sound like they want to do that.” Good Life Magazine

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FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2020

Out ‘n’ About It seems less of the white snowy stuff has changed the landscape of Marshall County in recent years. In fact, lots more snowy white changes the landscape come springtime. Among the trees showing out are Yoshino cherry, dogwood and crabapple. Even Bradford pears give invasive plants a good – and outright beautiful –name this time of year. And though early spring can be chilly, you don’t have to put on heavy clothes to enjoy the snowy show. Photos by Sheila McAnear and David Moore.

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Postcards

Old postcards are sometimes unintentionally revealing. Many folks today would agree that the view from Grant is incredible. But if it’s “famed,” as the card above reads, then why say it’s “near Guntersville”? One of the old “Florida Short Routes” went down Main Street in Arab, and the Arabian was a good stop-over. Why not pick up the board in the foreground before shooting the photo?

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FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2020

Care. It’s part of our name for a reason. At Marshall Cancer Care Center, we place a premium on the human side of healthcare. What’s in a name? When it was time to give a title to Marshall County’s own cancer center, including the word care was a given. Convenience counts, and so does the latest technology. But knowing that your doctors, nurses and technicians put the emphasis on patient comfort can make all the difference. Our name is a reminder that even the best treatment is more effective when it’s delivered with care and caring. We‘re located on US Highway 431, just south of Cracker Barrel in Guntersville.

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