Ala. 69 Revisited
One last drive down that highway of two- and four-lane memories that spans Marshall and Cullman Story and photos By David Moore
S
now wasn’t just sticking on Ala. 69. It was piling up at an eyebrow-raising rate. You might remember that surprise, Alabamalevel blizzard that hit one afternoon in February 2015. To me, it was a sudden opportunity to shoot a seasonal cover photo for the 2015 winter issue of Cullman County Good Life Magazine, to come out 10 months later in November. I already had the shot in mind: Welti Falls in the snow. David Russell – our “VP, distribution,” who’s joined me for photo shoots before – and I left Arab on the spontaneous expedition. By the time we reached the Holly Pond turnoff, however, snow had turned Ala. 69 dicey, if not icy. If we even reached Welti Falls, the return trip promised to be worse. Plus dark. Reluctantly, we turned around. But I still needed a wintery shot. As we crept back, the historic Normal Industrial and Collegiate Institute in Joppa came bleakly into view through the falling snow. Ah-ha. We stopped. I shot. That October, while working on the winter issue, the white-onwhite monochromatic image of the old school looked wintry enough but lacked “pop” for a cover. Coming to the rescue, my business partner, Sheila McAnear, digitally wrapped two corners of the cover in bright red ribbon and a bow – winter and Christmas. That’s but one of my Good Life memories of Ala. 69.
I
n 2013, when leaving my long-time paycheck and newspaper job in Arab to start Marshall County and Cullman County Good Life Magazines, much of my future was obscured in a haze of unknowns. But one thing was certain – working in these two counties, I’d spend lots of time traveling Ala. 69. With my wife, Diane, I live in Arab on the west side of Marshall County. From my driveway, it’s a block and half to a T-intersection with Ala. 69. If I go nearly anywhere in Marshall County – Guntersville, Grant, Albertville or Boaz – I turn left on 69. If I turn right, the highway jogs me through downtown then westward toward the Cullman County line, four more miles away. Ala. 69 is the only major thoroughfare directly connecting the neighboring counties that Sheila and I have been privileged to showcase in our magazines for more than nine years. This being our last issue, I invite you on a farewell drive along the road that’s grown into a trove of memories. With a nod to Bob Dylan, call it “Ala. 69, revisited.” Pile in. I’ve got a tank of gas. 68
NOV. | DEC. | JAN. 2022-23
Technically a north-south highway (hence its odd number), Ala. 69 stretches 280 miles from its northern terminus at its intersection with U.S. 431/Blount Avenue in Guntersville, to the town of Jackson in southwest Alabama. Our trip today – the stretch of asphalt that might still hold microscopic traces of my tires – cuts a generally southwest trajectory 70 miles from Guntersville to the Cullman/ Walker County line at the Sipsey River. Starting at Blount Avenue, Ala. 69 takes us across a gap in Division Ridge then down to the causeway across the Browns Creek arm of Lake Guntersville. The causeway is 1.5 miles long. For a “creek,” it’s a huge expanse of water, and I seldom cross it without a sense of calm settling over me by the time I reach the far shore.
