Friday, November 8, 2019

Grantchester Comes to Alabama

Well, the English village of Grantchester didn't actually come to Alabama, but in the TV series by that name one of its two major characters did at the start of season 4. Let me explain.

I've been down this road before on this blog--connections between a British TV show and Alabama. In March I posted about an entire episode of the series Dr. Who set in Montgomery in 1955. This time a group of civil rights activists from "Richmond", Alabama, visit Grantchester. They mention that a young man has been lynched there recently for offering a soda to a white girl. This season is set in 1956.

As often happens in this show, a murder occurs, and the two main characters, Detective Inspector Geordie Keating and the Anglican vicar Sidney Chambers are on the case. After all, this show does run under the banner of PBS' "Masterpiece Mystery" program. 

Grantchester premiered on the British ITV network in 2014. The source is The Grantchester Mysteries series of short story collections by James Runcie. So far six collections have appeared between 2012 and 2017. Four seasons of the show have been released in Great Britain and the U.S. and a fifth is planned.

Geordie is married with kids and is a good but prickly cop. Sidney is single, a jazz buff who drinks too much and has periodic crises of faith. Oh, and he's a lady magnet, which means his life as a vicar pretty much stays in turmoil about one thing or another. Geordie, the vicarage's housekeeper Mrs. Sylvia Maguire, and the gay curate Leonard Finch have to help him out between crime solving episodes. Sidney does prove invaluable to Geordie in that area

This first episode of season 4 has the usual mix of story lines involving Geordie and Sidney's personal lives and the murder that occurs. An additional element is the presence of the American civil rights workers, one of whom is the Reverend Nathaniel Todd. Sidney attends his lecture and meets his daughter, Violet Todd. The presence of the civil rights workers ignites prejudice in Grantchester, and at first the murder seems related. 

I'll leave the story there and not spoil the crime's solution. However, in all this turmoil, Sidney and Violet have become attracted to one another. Sidney had already resigned his post at the end of season 3, so he decides to leave England and go to Alabama with Violet. He helps Geordie solve one more case in episode 2, and then the character departs the show. In the first episode we've already met the Reverend Will Davenport, who will be chosen as the new vicar and Geordie's new partner in crime solving. 

I enjoyed season 4 of this show as well as the first three, although James Norton as Sidney is missed in the later episodes. Yet Tom Brittany as Reverend Will is a worthy successor. 

You can read a detailed recap of Episode 1 here.

As did the Dr. Who entry mentioned above, this episode does a good job of working real history into a fictional narrative. I haven't read James Runcie's stories, so I have no idea if this tale is told in any of those. 






Actors Tom Brittany, Robson Green and James Norton

Source: TV Insider




Sidney walks with his new love Violet Todd, played by Simona Brown

Source: Paidoo News













Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Remembering Charles Hubbert

Retired Alabama archaeologist and raconteur Charles Hubbert died in March of this year. I met Charles a few times at archaeology functions I attended with my dad, Amos J. Wright, Jr. I also remember stories about and fond memories of Charles from dad and my younger brother Richard Wright, who also knew him well. You can read Charles' obituary near the bottom of this post.

I have collected some recollections of Charles from people who knew him well. You can read them below.  


The annual meeting of the Southeastern Archaeological Conference is being held November 6-9 in Jackson, Mississippi. The program will include a symposium of papers in honor of Charles. Carey Oakley will present a paper prepared by Charles, "On Paleoindian and Early Archaic Settlement Locations on the Lowlands of the Middle Tennessee Valley: A Discussion."                     



*********



REMEMBERING CHARLES HUBBERT

I can’t remember the time when I didn’t know Charles Hubbert.  I do know that it was at least 50 years ago when Stanfield-Whorley Bluff Shelter, an early-man site, was being investigated by the University of Alabama field school and the Alabama Archaeological Research Association.

When I think of Charles Hubbert, I think of a muscular, bald, heavy-set guy who you felt safe with no matter if you were walking in dense woods or down a dark alley after a late-night drinking spree.  Yes, Charles Hubbert was a friend of mine.

When I think of Charles Hubbert, I think of archaeology.  Not only the garden variety archaeology that we nowadays call “cultural resources management,” but a special time and space known to us as Paleo-Indian.  Charles was especially good at interpreting this period.  In fact, so good that when he poked his finger in your chest, tilted his head upward, fluttered his eye lashes, and very carefully cogitated for at least forty seconds before uttering a sound, you had no choice except to listen intently to what he was telling you.  Charles would, miraculously, transport you to the banks of the Tennessee River where you could see a band of Early Americans knapping out fluted spear points, readying themselves for their next hunt.  Yes, Charles Hubbert was a friend of mine and I will always treasure his taking me along on many of his trips into the past.

When I think of Charles Hubbert, I think of a natural storyteller who could spin a yarn at the drop of a hat.  One story in particular comes to mind.  Way back when Charles was a graduate student at the University, David DeJarnette asked Charles if he would mind checking out some “Indian Writing” as reportedly contained within a cave near Opp, Alabama.  Obviously, any one of us would kill to stay in the good graces of DeJarnette, and going on a little field trip for him was one way of doing so.  Charles made it down to a cattle ranch which was owned and operated by a woman not unlike Barbara Stanwyck of “The Big Valley” fame . . . except she was older, considerably less attractive, and a whole lot meaner.  After introductions were made, she told Charles to get in the back of her rickety old farm truck as she got in, and she took off down a logging trail through the woods.  At this point, Charles wondered why he had to ride in the back and not up front with her, but quickly found himself focused on hanging on for dear life since she was driving at a high rate of speed over ruts, down gullies, and around boulders the size of your head.  By some miracle, they made it down to a small open glade, and there by a small stream was a rock outcrop.  The old woman indicated there was a cave opening within the outcrop that led to the “Indian Writing.”  Charles had enough foresight to bring along an old flashlight, but that was about it for his spelunking gear.  The cave opening was very small, just barely big enough for a large dog to get through.  This presented a challenge for Charles, so he hunkered down on all fours.  After he made it a few feet within the cave, through the twilight zone into the truly dark recesses of the cave, he had to drop to his belly to get through.  As he turned on his flashlight, he could see—maybe three to four feet away—a series of ledges or rock crevices.  And nestled within the cracks and crannies were sets of eyeballs looking back at him.  Charles thought this was a strange place for frogs, then noticed the long bodies wiggling around.  With instant terror, he realized that he had crawled into a den of rattlesnakes!  Scraping skin from his head, back, and knees as he ejected himself out of the cave, Charles exclaimed to the old woman waiting outside “There’s rattlesnakes in there!!!”  Her immediate response was “Of course there is, young man.  I didn’t know you were afraid of snakes!”  Neither Charles, DeJarnette, nor anyone else for that matter, knows for sure about “Indian Writing” within that cave.  Charles Hubbert’s stories were so full of life and detail that they were stored in our memories like personal experiences.

When I think of Charles Hubbert, I think of a man who was a friend to animals, especially dogs—particularly Beagles.  On numerous occasions, we would talk about dogs and how they would sound hot on a trail.  On one occasion, he related that while he was on one of his country drives, he stopped at an area where people had dumped some garbage.  And there, standing by the woods, was a rather unkempt dog watching him.  As I recall Charles recounting the event, it seemed like the two of them were fellow travelers on different trails.  Charles, being the kind person he was and assuming this fellow could be hungry, reached into his truck and pulled out and unwrapped a McDonald’s hamburger.  Laying it on the ground before the dog, his assumption was correct as he watched the dog eat every morsel before turning to leave.  For some reason, unknown even to Charles, he felt compelled to return the next day, and the day after for about a week.  Each time, the dog would be there, seemingly grateful as he accepted and ate another hamburger.  Then one day, the dog did not appear.  Charles had to assume that it was time for the dog to continue its journey.  To me, this is reminiscent of Charles’ favorite Robert Frost poem “The Road Not Taken.”

Charles Hubbert and I traveled down many roads together.  Even though our paths have separated, I know that he is still out there every time the wind blows and the Beagles bark.  Look ahead and you may see him just around the bend.  I know I will.

Carey Oakley
Fellow Traveler


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Charles was still here when I came to OAR in 1995. I will always remember the way he’d say “Lemme tell ya…” with a few lip smacks and a tilt of his bald head. Then he’d be off on an hour long story about something: like the time Krause got punched out at the University Club by Dart Hayward (I think Carey, Bennett, and Eugene have all told me the exact same story), about how to find early sites and why they are where they are, about boats, alligators released by TVA into the Tennessee River to control beavers, and how not to get shot while driving a truck down the firing range as the Army was testing the Dragon missile (that was the only place you could speed on Redstone Arsenal).
The last time I spent time with him, his breathing was labored and he had a hard time getting in and out of the boat, but he sat down on a log at the mouth of Coffee Slough, smacked his lips a few times, tilted his head and said, “Lemme tell ya…” I will miss him too.



Matthew Gage RPA | Director
Office of Archaeological Research
The University of Alabama Museums

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I am very sad to hear this. I was on four different OAR archaeological projects with Charles: Little Bear Creek 1973, survey around Montgomery 1975, the Bay Springs Lake Ten-Tom survey in ‘76, and the truly amazing canoe-based survey and testing in R. L. Harris Reservoir in ‘77. In that last one, we had a heavy oak box fish trap made in early 20th century style by an elderly gent and we waded out in the Little Tallapoosa River to fit this thing into a stone fish weir. Got permission from AL Fish & Game to use it for one week. We ate fish every night. Recorded all the fish species and weights, then had to remove it. But it had taken up so much water, it must have weighed a 1000 pounds! Nearly killed us getting the darn contraption back out.
I worked with Charles under all sorts of conditions and circumstances. He was an excellent outdoorsman and a good story teller. Never a boring minute with Charles in the field--  Paleo points, moonshine, rabbit hunting, snake stories, ghosts, ginseng hunting, running rapids in canoes, weird country people, recording rural folkways now extinct, finding and  recording nearly every kind of archaeological site there is in Alabama – on and on.
One more anecdote that reveals his strong personality – in the 60s he wrote a letter to the Florence/Tuscumbia newspaper in support of school integration, which back then, required courage—the KKK called him that night and threaten him and his little boy.
Hadn’t spoken with Charles in about ten years. Now I wish I had…

John Blitz 

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Charles was a graduate student at the University in the early 1970s. He was a former employee at Reynolds Aluminum, then a high school football coach, before pursuing his dream of being an archaeologist. His never completed M.A. thesis dealt with Paleoindian settlement in the Western Middle Tennessee Valley. In one summer, he documented over 50 fluted point sites in his survey area. Not Paleoindian sites, but sites with at least one fluted point.

Charles was one of OAR’s first employees. He worked on the 1972 Bear Creek Survey and was a field supervisor for the 1973-1974 excavations in Little Bear Creek. John Blitz, a high school student at the time, was a crew member on those excavations. Charles stayed at OAR several more years. His larger projects included the 1976 survey of Bay Springs Lake on the upper Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, Tishomingo and Prentiss Counties, Mississippi, and the final season, 1977, of investigation of R. L. Harris Lake on the Little Tallapoosa River in Randolph County, Alabama. The Harris Lake project was originally intended to test additional recorded sites and to do some systematic survey to better understand the settlement pattern. The focus shifted, however, as low water revealed a number of previously known fish weirs in the river. The survey ultimately recorded and mapped 58 weirs within the proposed reservoir.

He returned to North Alabama and over the next few years produced a number of small survey reports as a private consultant. In 1985, he rejoined the staff of OAR. For the next several years, Charles was the first base archaeologist for Redstone Arsenal, Madison County, Alabama. Federal hiring practices limited his tenure at the arsenal, so he returned to campus and conducted a number of survey  projects in 1989-1997.

Charles was a coworker and an important part of the early history of OAR. More than that, he was a friend for many years. I will miss him.

Eugene Futato



*********


Charles was a wonderful story teller.  One of my favorites was this one. 

                          "Mountain Man"

The scene in the painting is at the upper end of Bailey Cove Drive, where the upper end of Bailey Cove Drive swings back to the West across that wide flat bottomland covered with lush grass. In the background are the 
hardwood slopes of the Huntsville mountains.  By automobile the scene 
shown in the painting is about four miles north and about one mile west 
from where Louie Lovre'ce engraved his name in 1735.
I know this is the painting I remember, although it is not exactly as I 
remember it.  In my mind the man was moving downstream along the creek(as 
he is here)but his horse was moving from left-to-right across the picture, and trailing behind him were three loaded packhorses.  The place 
is just a short distance from where I lived in Huntsville.  
Still.......I love this painting.  About 4 miles south of this place on 
a forested mountainside looking north across the Tennessee River is a 
spring.  About 3 feet from the spring, clearly engraved into a big 
boulder is "Louie 'Lovre'ce   1735".  I have always thought that he was 
a French soldier from Canada who had accompanied an Iroquois war party 
down the Mississippi River to attack frontier settlers and the Chickasaw 
tribe.  I have also imagined that he was an Indian trader come to 
conduct business with the Chickasaw beyond the frontier. It is not 
very often that we get to connect a historical name with real 
archaeological remains. Last time I tried to go there I could'nt make it.
I'm going to try to get a good print so I can frame this little painting for my little computer room.  It is the kind of painting that can usher me away into imaginary adventures in a time and place......maybe.......I 
never was.  But after all such a dream is as good as a book.......


Annette Otts

*********





My brother Richard worked with Charles on this fish weir project.








Source: Florence Times-Daily 4 April 2019


FLORENCE — Charles McConnell Hubbert, 83, of Florence, Alabama, passed away peacefully on Thursday, March 28, 2019 at North Alabama Medical Center.

Charles was born May 26, 1935 in Cordova, Alabama to Paul Kaley and Esther Elmore Hubbert. He was educated in the Birmingham, Alabama school system, Copiah-Lincoln Junior College, Florence State University, and the University of Alabama. Charles was an offensive lineman, a left guard, on the Florence State football team. In 1989, he married the former Delores “Dee” Johnson in Huntsville, AL. Charles was employed as an archaeologist at the University of Alabama, retiring in 1999. His passion for archaeology never wavered and he continued his studies and search for information about Paleo-Indian peoples until shortly before his passing. A committed environmentalist, he spent years working with organizations protecting natural spaces, like the Bankhead National Forest. He was an avid hunter and spent many happy days in the woods, enjoying nature. He filled most of his weekends looking for Indian sites, searching for flowers, and cheering on the Crimson Tide. A man of diverse interests, he was a lifetime member of the Alabama Archaeological Society, the American Daffodil Society, and MENSA. He also enjoyed reading, travelling and spending time with his children, grandchildren, and friends.
Charles is survived by his wife, Delores; his three children, Paul Hubbert and his wife, Cheryl, of Muscle Shoals, Valla Brown and her husband, Craig, of Florence, and Jonathon Hubbert and his wife, Tamara, of Huntsville; his former wife and mother of his children, Carole Ann Halcombe; six grandchildren, Kaley Shaffer, Trevor Davidson, Jonathon Hubbert, Benjamin Hubbert, Garland Brown, and Alec Brown; his brothers, Thomas and Langdon Hubbert; and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, Paul and Esther, and a wife, the former Mary Ann Brice.
Memorials can be made to your favorite charity or the Michael J. Fox Foundation, P.O. Box 5014, Hagerstown, MD 21741-5014. You may sign the guest register at sprywilliams.com


Office of Archaeological Research
University of Alabama Museums


Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Alabama History & Culture News: November 5 edition



Here's the latest batch of links to just-published Alabama history and culture articles. Most of these articles are from newspapers, with others from magazines and TV and radio station websites. Enjoy!



Review: William Christenberry explores Alabama's relationship with past and present at the Ogden
Only a deeply empathetic artist can convey how the region's history of racial strife intermingles with the soulfulness of its land and people. The late ...


On this day in Alabama history: Lena Brock 'Mom' Speer was born
Lena Brock “Mom” Speer of the Singing Speer Family, a popular gospel group that made more than 60 recordings, was born in Cullman County.

Marine conference to include look at Clotilda science
The Alabama Historical Commission has moved to protect the site; as yet, no decision has been made about whether the wreckage will be excavated ...

Italian dignitaries in town for start of renovation work on upscale downtown restaurant
Pietrasanta, founded in 1255 on the coast of northern Tuscany, has an early art historical connection to Alabama. More: Tale of 2 cities: Montgomery, ...


Soil collection ceremony honors one of Montgomery County's lynching victims
In addition to a jar of soil going to the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama, other jars are headed to the Montgomery County Historical ...




Alabama is home to 3rd most endangered species in the nation; Here's what we can do about it
Alabama has a lot of endangered species because it has a lot of species ... His book on Alabama biodiversity is aimed at general audiences, not ...

"Mockingbird" Courthouse Gets Preservation Grant
The south Alabama courthouse linked to Harper Lee's novel "To Kill a ... Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning book used the red-brick courthouse as the model ...

On this day in Alabama history: Author, businessman died
Clifford Lanier (1844-1908) was the younger brother of poet and musician Sidney Lanier and died of tuberculosis at age 39. The brothers served ...


Butler County is celebrating its 200th birthday this year- along with the state of Alabama's 200th Bicentennial. A special celebration was held Saturday ...


Kathleen Varn Has Released New Historical Women's Fiction Novel - Gardenia Duty
Author Kathleen Varn has announced the release of her new historical women's fiction novel, ... In 1957 jobs are scarce in rural Ashland, Alabama.

Does Ghost of Sumter County Sheriff Haunt Campus Bridge?
... University of West Alabama, has authored 30 books on paranormal activity. ... Valerie Burnes, the president of the Sumter Historical Society, teaches ...


Alabama constitutions on display for bicentennial celebration
Alabama constitutions on display for bicentennial celebration ... Alabama Department of Archives and History's “We the People: Alabama's Defining ...

Traveling Alabama bicentennial exhibit to open Tuesday in Decatur
After a 19-month, 66-county tour, “Making Alabama,” a bicentennial traveling exhibit celebrating the state's history, will open in Decatur on Tuesday.


On this day in Alabama history: World War II hero died
John Geraerdt Crommelin Jr. (1902-1996) was one of five brothers from Wetumpka who were named the “Indestructibles” by Time magazine in 1944.

Spooky happenings at an old Alabama Mental Hospital
“It's a spooky place, in a lot of ways,” said Tommy Stonecypher of the Mt. Vernon Historical Society. “I'm sure if there's such a thing as paranormal ...

CMS holds Alabama Bicentennial Birthday Bash
Prior to the birthday bash, students had participated in other Alabama-related activities in their art, history and social studies classes. “Our state has ...

Bo Jackson prominent in top 100 runs in NFL history
The runs with Alabama football roots selected for the top 100 include: ... in NFL history with a 99-yard run from scrimmage with a stiff-armed-filled romp ...

On this day in Alabama history: Cobb suffered accident
William Robert Winfield Cobb (1807-1864) served in the Alabama House of Representatives (1845-47) and U.S. House of Representatives (1847-61) ...

“We're on the largest battlefield in the state of Alabama,” says Mike Bunn, Director of Historic Blakeley State Park. A battle occurred here many years ...

Book club to read 'Finding Langston'
Book club to read 'Finding Langston' ... an African American boy whose mother died, moves with his father from beautiful Alabama with its magnolia ...


Exonerated Alabama death row inmate shares his story to Wilmington audience
That's part of the reason he wrote the book “The Sun Does Shine: How I found Life and Freedom on Death Row”, that was featured by Oprah's Book ...

Friday, November 1, 2019

Readings on a Desert Island

This past Saturday Dianne and I journeyed to the Woodlawn neighborhood of Birmingham to hear some authors read and converse at the Desert Island Supply Company (DISCO). DISCO has been located since 2012 on First Avenue North in part of the historic Woodrow Hall building (yes, there will be a blog post soon on that!). The non-profit Desert Island  program works with Birmingham-area students to develop their creative writing skills "to explore and document their worlds." Anthologies of student work are available. The venue is also available for concerts, readings and other events.

The program we attended featured a full afternoon of author readings and conversations with each other and audience members. Livingston Press at the University of West Alabama sponsored the event. Livingston has been publishing novels, short story collections and non-fiction since 1984; their list of some 140 titles includes many Alabama authors.

We arrived about 4:30 p.m., so we unfortunately missed the earlier authors. We did hear T.K. Thorne, Faith Kaiser, Loretta Cobb, William Cobb, Mike Burrell, Alina Stefanescu and our son Amos Wright. You can see a book cover image for each of them below. The venue was nice, and the format worked very well. The authors read a bit from their works, asked each other questions and took questions from the audience. Books were available for sale, and there was free food and libations. 

All photos are mine unless otherwise indicated. 









Woodrow Hall; the DISCO entrance is on this corner

Photo by Amos Wright 




Photo by Amos Wright







Photo by Amos Wright










Naturally I took a bunch of photos of Amos and Alina!





























You can read more about her writing here



You can read more about her writing here.






Winner of the twelfth Tartt First Fiction Award